5 MINUTES WITH… Bedfolk founders Nick and Jo James on their stylishly uncomplicated bedding brand
While shopping for their new home, husband and wife team Nick and Jo James found it tricky to find the right bedding for the right price. Taking matters into their own hands, in 2018 they launched their own stylishly uncomplicated bedding brand
TELL US HOW BEDFOLK BEGAN…
JO Nick and I both have backgrounds in the interiors industry, and, at the time, we were renovating our home. We’ve always found it easy to source great homeware, but bedding was a real sticking point. We wanted it to be good quality, and affordable, but the shopping experience felt confusing. You’re often choosing between rows of plastic-wrapped sets, so you don’t really know what you’re buying. NICK We didn’t know the first thing about running a business and were more used to thinking about products from a user perspective than the manufacturing side. We were also just about to get married and ended up spending our honeymoon in Portugal touring textile mills and learning the processes! That’s where the journey really started.
WITH SO MANY BEDDING BRANDS TO CHOOSE FROM,
WHAT MAKES YOUR PRODUCTS UNIQUE?
NICK We only sell three styles of cotton bedding – Relaxed, Classic and Luxe – each with a different weave and finish, so customers just need to decide how they like their bedding to look and feel, rather than choosing between different thread counts and other confusing factors. JO Our ethos is ‘buy less but buy well’. We want people to enjoy a high-quality product in a timeless colour palette that can be mixed and matched effortlessly. Not only does that reduce waste generated by outdated designs and poor quality, but it also means our customers can update their bedroom easily by layering our products.
HOW ARE YOU MAKING BEDFOLK SUSTAINABLE?
NICK We know that making textiles uses valuable resources, but we really try to minimise our environmental impact wherever possible. The offcuts from the manufacturing process are turned into cotton
bags that we use as packaging – there’s absolutely no plastic involved. Our bedding is also certified Oeko-Tex, which is a rigorous standard – higher than organic – covering the finished product. It takes into account everything from growing to manufacturing, ensuring your bedding doesn’t contain any chemicals or synthetics that might be harmful to you or the planet.
SLEEP CONTINUES TO BE A HOT TOPIC OF CONVERSATION. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR 2020 AND BEYOND?
NICK Until quite recently, bedding was a bit of an overlooked product mainly, I think, due to the uninspiring shopping experience. Now, more and more people are mindful of choosing the right products to enhance their sleep. Recognising that we spend a third of our lives in bed can be a real wake-up call!
JO And even if you don’t get that sought-after eight hours, elevating your sleep experience can help your overall wellbeing. We’ll be introducing a couple of darker colours to complete the ‘core’ range that will all go seamlessly together. We’re also working on quilt designs to add to the range in autumn. bedfolk.com