Have you ever noticed how a table changes when it is dressed in linen? The light softens, the colours settle, and suddenly an ordinary weekday dinner feels like an occasion. That is what Libeco does for us, and why we have carried their linen in our shops for years.
Belgian linen, made with care
Libeco is a family weaving house in Meulebeke, in the Flemish countryside of Belgium. They have been weaving linen since 1858, and the flax they use grows in the fields of Flanders and northern France, where the climate and the soil are just right for it. Flax needs very little water and almost no fertiliser, which is part of why we like it so much: a beautiful material that is also gentle on the land.
Their linen is washed and softened before it reaches us, so it feels relaxed from the very first use. And it only gets better. After a few washes, the fabric becomes softer and more lived-in, the way good linen should.
What we have in the shop
For the table, we have the striped Arlo tablecloth with its matching Arlo napkins, and the calm Olympia tablecloth, which pairs nicely with the Olympia napkins. If you prefer colour, the washed Riverside napkins in jade and storm blue are lovely to mix around one table.
For the kitchen, there are linen kitchen towels in red and blue checks and soft stripes, such as the Parma and Dock towels. They dry glasses without leaving lint and look good hanging from the oven door.
And for the sauna, the beach or the bathroom, we have The Belgian Towel foutas, like the Tack Stripe fouta. They are light, they dry quickly, and they fold small enough to take anywhere, which we have come to appreciate on summer days in Hanko.
A small tip
Wash your linen at 40 degrees, shake it out and let it dry on a line if you can. Skip the iron. Libeco linen is meant to look a little rumpled, and that is part of its charm.
September is a good month to bring linen back to the table, as the evenings grow darker and we start gathering indoors again. Come and feel the fabrics in our shop in Espoo, we would love to show you. Welcome!