‘A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book’, according to an old proverb – a rule we could all take cognisance of as winter sets in.
Getting a good sleep is something Foxford knows all about, given that it has been keeping people warm in the leaba and everywhere else with its luxurious woven blankets since 1892.
With the days getting shorter, our bodies naturally crave more rest, making quality sleep more essential than ever for our health and overall wellbeing. And why shouldn’t we have comfort given that it’s estimated that we spend up to a third of our lives in our beds.
While the picturesque Mayo mill on the banks of the Moy still makes the gorgeous heritage throws and blankets it is famed for, a massive part of the business is now an elegant bed linen collection that’s a big hit at home and abroad.
It is showcased in an expanded retail store at the mill, featuring clothing, homewares and gifts from a wide range of Irish and international designers. An award-winning café also allows for a relaxed shopping experience.
Renowned designer Helen McAlinden, who has been working with Foxford for over 20 years, explains that she was first drafted in to make the offering look more contemporary.
To bring a modern flair to what Foxford was doing, the Belfast native opted for a Scandi vibe and geometric shapes. At that stage, Foxford was doing very traditional pieces, only blankets and throws, and managing director Joe Queenan asked her to get involved in a modern redesign.
“It’s a lovely place in a lovely setting,” Helen says of the historic working mill, which dates back to 1892.
“It was nice to be given the challenge to completely change it. Now, they did continue to do some of the stuff they had been doing for years, but I gave them a small range of contemporary, new designs which sold very well in export markets.”
Design-led future
Fashion designer Helen McAlinden and Joe Queenan, managing director of Foxford Woollen Mills in Mayo where they recently launched an expanded retail outlet. \ Michael McLaughlin
While Helen says some outlets were nervous of that shift from a traditional Irish brand, Joe Queenan was convinced they needed a “design-led and design-driven future.”
That ambitious thinking has served the company well, and in 2005, Foxford moved from the old blanket tradition into current bed dressing with its own luxury range of bed linen.
“Nobody was using blankets at that time,”says Helen. “Everyone was using duvets, so it was the natural progression from the blanket to the duvet.
"Now, ironically, blankets are coming back. They won’t come back as a mainstream thing, but they are quite cool and trendy now in grey and lovely fluffy white.
“It’s a huge part of the business now,” she adds of the bedding range. This year Foxford introduced a new, more “accessible price point” with its 180-thread count range for those who want luxury and quality but cannot afford to spend €500 dressing the bed.
It is, according to Helen, “more colourful,” featuring patterns “inspired by country flowers and wild meadows.”
There are vintage and cottage-inspired cornflower blue prints, peach and green blossoms, a dainty lily, or pink magnolia, all of which can be mixed and matched with other elements of the range over several years.
“We do not design in isolation; we create collections that evolve and complement so it is possible to add to and update your collection from season to season.
“If you buy a new sofa, you’re going to have to live with it for 20 years. Now, you’re not going to have your bed linen that long, but you don’t want to throw out your bed linen this year, just because we have offered something new.”
We are introducing a very nice coloured range of washed linens, which will be a new development. It’s a really big trend
However, you may add to the room aesthetic with a lambswool blanket, a woven product or pillowcases, or a scarf that fits the colour scheme you already have.
For 2025, vintage remains a big trend in interiors, and it’s not going anywhere for a while yet, according to Helen, who says the “country florals and country gardens” of their new Everyday range picks up this trend well.
“They [the patterned prints] are referencing in a way the trend towards vintage and recycled because they are the kind of things that would go with older furniture. Three seasons ago, everybody would have thrown older furniture out.”
Sustainability is also hugely important now to customers, says the designer, who with this in mind is looking forward to launching a range of coloured washed linens in 2025.
“It’s not pristine; it’s a washed look, it’s slightly creased,” she says of the new collection.
“We are introducing a very nice coloured range of washed linens, which will be a new development. It’s a really big trend.
“First of all, linen is really comfortable to sleep in, and secondly, it’s very sustainable. Sustainability is really important to our consumers, and it’s really important for the planet, so it’s a core value.
“Linen is one of the most sustainable fabrics, and the fact you don’t have to iron it – just throw it on the clothes line ideally, rather than the tumble dryer – to be sustainable.”
Their original 300-thread count range remains hugely popular with a “more pared back palette and sophisticated” vibe. It has a big customer base of architects and interior designers and a sophisticated design-led customer in the slightly high-end price point.
Interest in interiors
Fashion designer Helen McAlinden checks out fabrics for a new range in Foxford Woollen Mills in Co Mayo with Jen Murray and Una McAndrew. \ Michael McLaughlin
You only have to look at the popularity of shows like Room to Improve and Home of the Year to see the upsurge in interest in interiors, she says, something that is certainly benefiting what they are doing with Foxford bedding, which is stocked in Arnotts and Brown Thomas.
“People are obsessed with interiors, definitely, much more so than they used to be. Even since Covid, when people were locked at home, what did they do? They did up their homes, painted rooms and bought bed linen,” says Helen, who designs the range here in Ireland before it is made in a sustainable factory in the north of Portugal.
“In Ireland, people are much more design aware in terms of sustainability and the use of products than they ever have been before.”
Always looking forward, the designer balances her work with Foxford with her shop at 19 Drury Street in Dublin, where she produces two new collections a year. Her recently launched autumn range features a collaboration with model Sophie Anderton’s lingerie range ‘By Sophie’.
Dressing is more relaxed. The fact that people are working from home has made a difference to what they need
Post-Covid fashion has changed considerably because of the way people’s lifestyles have altered considerably, she tells Irish Country Living.
“Dressing is more relaxed. The fact that people are working from home has made a difference to what they need,” says Helen. She believes that “pared-back Italian glamour” will be the style du jour going forward.
“It can be slightly scruffy,” laughs Helen, but there is a way to dress like that, like the Italians and continentals. “In terms of my ready-to-wear, that’s what we offer. It’s a more polished but relaxed look.”
The one thing she believes Irish women need is to develop their own style, to be confident in it and know what suits them.
“The last time I did an interview, I said Irish women should be more concerned with style than fashion, and I think that is true.”
However, when that piece was published, she had about 15 customers who rang up complaining that they wanted fashion, not style. This is a misinterpretation, according to Helen, who emphasises style and elegance don’t always coincide with trends.
“I think we should all be more concerned about style. We should learn a trend is a trend, and that’s fine, but if a trend doesn’t suit you, ignore the trend and dress in your own style.”
foxford.com
‘A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book’, according to an old proverb – a rule we could all take cognisance of as winter sets in.
Getting a good sleep is something Foxford knows all about, given that it has been keeping people warm in the leaba and everywhere else with its luxurious woven blankets since 1892.
With the days getting shorter, our bodies naturally crave more rest, making quality sleep more essential than ever for our health and overall wellbeing. And why shouldn’t we have comfort given that it’s estimated that we spend up to a third of our lives in our beds.
While the picturesque Mayo mill on the banks of the Moy still makes the gorgeous heritage throws and blankets it is famed for, a massive part of the business is now an elegant bed linen collection that’s a big hit at home and abroad.
It is showcased in an expanded retail store at the mill, featuring clothing, homewares and gifts from a wide range of Irish and international designers. An award-winning café also allows for a relaxed shopping experience.
Renowned designer Helen McAlinden, who has been working with Foxford for over 20 years, explains that she was first drafted in to make the offering look more contemporary.
To bring a modern flair to what Foxford was doing, the Belfast native opted for a Scandi vibe and geometric shapes. At that stage, Foxford was doing very traditional pieces, only blankets and throws, and managing director Joe Queenan asked her to get involved in a modern redesign.
“It’s a lovely place in a lovely setting,” Helen says of the historic working mill, which dates back to 1892.
“It was nice to be given the challenge to completely change it. Now, they did continue to do some of the stuff they had been doing for years, but I gave them a small range of contemporary, new designs which sold very well in export markets.”
Design-led future
Fashion designer Helen McAlinden and Joe Queenan, managing director of Foxford Woollen Mills in Mayo where they recently launched an expanded retail outlet. \ Michael McLaughlin
While Helen says some outlets were nervous of that shift from a traditional Irish brand, Joe Queenan was convinced they needed a “design-led and design-driven future.”
That ambitious thinking has served the company well, and in 2005, Foxford moved from the old blanket tradition into current bed dressing with its own luxury range of bed linen.
“Nobody was using blankets at that time,”says Helen. “Everyone was using duvets, so it was the natural progression from the blanket to the duvet.
"Now, ironically, blankets are coming back. They won’t come back as a mainstream thing, but they are quite cool and trendy now in grey and lovely fluffy white.
“It’s a huge part of the business now,” she adds of the bedding range. This year Foxford introduced a new, more “accessible price point” with its 180-thread count range for those who want luxury and quality but cannot afford to spend €500 dressing the bed.
It is, according to Helen, “more colourful,” featuring patterns “inspired by country flowers and wild meadows.”
There are vintage and cottage-inspired cornflower blue prints, peach and green blossoms, a dainty lily, or pink magnolia, all of which can be mixed and matched with other elements of the range over several years.
“We do not design in isolation; we create collections that evolve and complement so it is possible to add to and update your collection from season to season.
“If you buy a new sofa, you’re going to have to live with it for 20 years. Now, you’re not going to have your bed linen that long, but you don’t want to throw out your bed linen this year, just because we have offered something new.”
We are introducing a very nice coloured range of washed linens, which will be a new development. It’s a really big trend
However, you may add to the room aesthetic with a lambswool blanket, a woven product or pillowcases, or a scarf that fits the colour scheme you already have.
For 2025, vintage remains a big trend in interiors, and it’s not going anywhere for a while yet, according to Helen, who says the “country florals and country gardens” of their new Everyday range picks up this trend well.
“They [the patterned prints] are referencing in a way the trend towards vintage and recycled because they are the kind of things that would go with older furniture. Three seasons ago, everybody would have thrown older furniture out.”
Sustainability is also hugely important now to customers, says the designer, who with this in mind is looking forward to launching a range of coloured washed linens in 2025.
“It’s not pristine; it’s a washed look, it’s slightly creased,” she says of the new collection.
“We are introducing a very nice coloured range of washed linens, which will be a new development. It’s a really big trend.
“First of all, linen is really comfortable to sleep in, and secondly, it’s very sustainable. Sustainability is really important to our consumers, and it’s really important for the planet, so it’s a core value.
“Linen is one of the most sustainable fabrics, and the fact you don’t have to iron it – just throw it on the clothes line ideally, rather than the tumble dryer – to be sustainable.”
Their original 300-thread count range remains hugely popular with a “more pared back palette and sophisticated” vibe. It has a big customer base of architects and interior designers and a sophisticated design-led customer in the slightly high-end price point.
Interest in interiors
Fashion designer Helen McAlinden checks out fabrics for a new range in Foxford Woollen Mills in Co Mayo with Jen Murray and Una McAndrew. \ Michael McLaughlin
You only have to look at the popularity of shows like Room to Improve and Home of the Year to see the upsurge in interest in interiors, she says, something that is certainly benefiting what they are doing with Foxford bedding, which is stocked in Arnotts and Brown Thomas.
“People are obsessed with interiors, definitely, much more so than they used to be. Even since Covid, when people were locked at home, what did they do? They did up their homes, painted rooms and bought bed linen,” says Helen, who designs the range here in Ireland before it is made in a sustainable factory in the north of Portugal.
“In Ireland, people are much more design aware in terms of sustainability and the use of products than they ever have been before.”
Always looking forward, the designer balances her work with Foxford with her shop at 19 Drury Street in Dublin, where she produces two new collections a year. Her recently launched autumn range features a collaboration with model Sophie Anderton’s lingerie range ‘By Sophie’.
Dressing is more relaxed. The fact that people are working from home has made a difference to what they need
Post-Covid fashion has changed considerably because of the way people’s lifestyles have altered considerably, she tells Irish Country Living.
“Dressing is more relaxed. The fact that people are working from home has made a difference to what they need,” says Helen. She believes that “pared-back Italian glamour” will be the style du jour going forward.
“It can be slightly scruffy,” laughs Helen, but there is a way to dress like that, like the Italians and continentals. “In terms of my ready-to-wear, that’s what we offer. It’s a more polished but relaxed look.”
The one thing she believes Irish women need is to develop their own style, to be confident in it and know what suits them.
“The last time I did an interview, I said Irish women should be more concerned with style than fashion, and I think that is true.”
However, when that piece was published, she had about 15 customers who rang up complaining that they wanted fashion, not style. This is a misinterpretation, according to Helen, who emphasises style and elegance don’t always coincide with trends.
“I think we should all be more concerned about style. We should learn a trend is a trend, and that’s fine, but if a trend doesn’t suit you, ignore the trend and dress in your own style.”
foxford.com
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