It’s the little things in life that bring joy, and that includes warm, freshly laundered bed linens tucked into a mattress. Soft cotton sheets with an embroidered monogram, pillowcases with elegant stitching over a down pillow, crisp white duvet covers—all these ingredients transform the bedroom into an oasis of luxury.
“Once you experience the quality of sleep that it gives you and the quality of the product, it’s hard not to want it,” Joanne Walgren, the owner of Linen Boutique, says of the collection of linens she carries.
Walking into the Dallas shop, one can feel the difference in the products. With more than 50 brands represented in the store, the softness of Italian 100% Egyptian long staple cotton sheets is unmatched. “It’s one of the finest fabrics that you can buy, and everybody needs a good sleep,” Walgren says. While the store carries silk pillowcases, down pillows, duvet covers and other linen accessories, the selection of products goes beyond the bedroom. There are also bath towels, table linens, napkins, baby blankets and home accessories for yourself or you can find the perfect gift for a housewarming or baby shower.
“We really cater to the home; that’s our bread and butter,” Walgren says. “But, we have so many people in here looking for gifts and those kinds of things that we get into some other things like bath accessories, tissue holders, wastebaskets—all those decorative pieces. We have a whole wall full of those from different vendors.”
Walgren’s story didn’t start in linens. For years she worked in corporate America as a sales executive for software companies. Then she decided to pivot and work for herself. She bought a clothing store in the Mid-Cities area and expanded to include a linen store. In 2007, she moved her work to Dallas and opened the doors to Linen Boutique.
Of the products on the shelves and on display at Linen Boutique, its top two sellers are Sferra and Matouk, both founded almost a century ago by families hailing from Italy. The two brands have been renowned in the industry for their quality and craftsmanship, and Walgren had the chance to experience the artform herself. Fifteen years ago, she traveled to Italy and took a train to a town north of Venice to one of Sferra’s weaving mills.
“That was fascinating to see how everything was being made,” she recalls. “I think it helps you understand why they take a lot of pride in it, number one, but you also understand what it takes to make a quality product. It’s not just thrown together; it’s done very carefully. Real craftsmen are working on it. The way they thread the looms and work the looms is very tedious.”
Linens are steeped in tradition, not just in their creation in the Alpine mountains of Italy but here in the United States. For generations, couples have been given monogrammed napkins, bed linens and towels for their weddings, and although styles have changed over the years, the default to tradition has not. At Linen Boutique, customers can put in custom orders to add monograms and decorative stitching to their purchases. Walgren and her staff also are partnered with local embroiderers who can accommodate their requests.
“There’s a part of Dallas that grew up with quality linens and appreciate quality product, and that’s what they want for their households as well,” Walgren says.
Christiana Lilly is a freelance journalist in Pompano Beach, Florida. See more of her work spanning the arts, community news and social justice at christianalilly.com.
