Anyone serious about not losing sleep over bedclothes will be interested in the new YELEN brand. It offers original bedclothes, made of pure linen and drawing attention with straight design and interesting colors.  It has been created by two young women: Marta Urbanek and Anna Małecka, whose friendship has lasted from primary school. 

 

”Our idea is to combine modern design with top quality of natural material”, explained Anna Małecka.  “Against the trend favoring things that last but a season, we want our products to be durable and of perfect quality.  Therefore, we use classical linen and more complex but stronger seams.  Additionally, when preparing our products, we focus on respecting human effort and environmental protection. We seek contractors among locals, minimize the use of plastic, and our tags are made of recycled yarn. 

 

Linen pillowcases by YELEN are quite different from what we know from traditional bedclothes stores or the coarse linen products from the past.  The first collection is limited to three colors: grey, white and peach, ideally matching modern interior, intended for those who prefer simple minimalist design. Special finishing of the fabric makes it soft and nice to touch, and most importantly, durable. 

 

“The idea to establish a business has originated from our observations”, explained Marta Urbanek. “Right now, Ikea is the only place where you can find nice bedclothes with interesting design and attractive prices, but sometimes lacking quality.  Traditional bedclothes shops, in turn, often scare people away with what they have for sale.  Since shops have little to offer to people with more than average taste, we have decided to try to fill the gap.” 

 

The two women have considered doing business together for quite a while.  Before, each had pursued her own career.  Anna had specialized in graphic design and advertisement; Marta is a landscape architect by education, but her cooking hobby made her a vice-chef in a Szczecin restaurant.  As soon as the idea to establish a shared business struck them, though, they have become totally occupied by. 

 

“Finding the appropriate fabric was the most difficult task”, they recall.  “We did not select linen at once; before, we had examined tens of other fabric samples, mostly cotton, but none met our quality standards.  Only when we found the linen offered by our current counterparty, we knew this was it.  The fabric was just right, as we had wanted.  We went to the manufacturer at once to discuss all details, select colors and order the first delivery.” 

 

They used their skills and experience to build the image of the new brand, arrange a website store, take care for marketing and first commercial relationships.  The on-line sales commenced less than a month ago.  YELEN bedclothes are available at yelenshop.com and on web platforms promoting good design.  The offer includes full sets, as well as single pillowcases, good to start your linen adventure with. 

 

The industrious women decided to carry out a “regular” promotion, too.  They presented their products at a Warsaw fair.  "Before we went there, we had asked our families and friends for opinion. They liked both the idea and the finished products", said Anna.  “We had tested our bedclothes ourselves and we truly enjoyed the comfort it gave us.  Of course, this could not be considered an unbiased view.  Only during the fair we actually faced our potential clients.  To our delight, their opinions were very good.”

 

A few sets sold at once.  The internet sales have been gaining pace.  And although it is too early to make any assessment, the business owners already think about producing a new lot.  The collection will be extended with new components, such as decorative cushions.  At the same time, the women keep working to gain more distribution channels, also in traditional stores, and to promote the brand.  They even think about cross-border sales, sometime in future.  “We survey foreign markets since the quality and price we offer may be highly competitive there”, said Marta.  “But now we want to focus on winning domestic clients.  We know from our own experience that once you have slept on linen, you do not want to sleep on anything else.” 

 

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