Why Crushed Linen is starting as it means to go on
I’m Angie Scales, and I’m the founder of ethical homewares company Crushed Linen. While many retailers have faced difficult times recently, the lockdown challenge was particularly tough for me. After investing four years in the idea of setting up my company and selling my house to fund it, I was just weeks away from opening when my Sri Lankan suppliers had to lock down and cease all non-essential manufacturing. With no products and no timescale for getting them, the obvious thing to do was delay the launch. Taking the easy route has never really been in my nature though, and I realised that my suppliers needed me more than ever.
Bringing stunning, unusual things to the world.
I was brought up in Africa and lived among communities who combined a really extraordinary creativity with extreme poverty. They made stunning, unusual things and couldn’t get them to a wider market, because they had no budget available for things like marketing and export. That gave me the idea that one day I’d like to form a worldwide community of enterprises, giving them a platform to market their wares while ensuring fair pay and conditions for their work.
My new company Crushed Linen followed on from that idea. It started when I saw some photos of a friend’s Sri Lankan house and absolutely loved the bright, vibrant colours and bold style. I started to research where I could find similar items and came across a Sri Lankan artisan community weaving their own fabric and making their own unique products. The Sri Lankans are the loveliest of people, bright, cheerful and friendly, and through their work this group offered education, training and an economically sustainable way of life. I ordered table mats, runners, napkins and cushions for my new business and was very excited about making them available to a wider audience.
Working through lockdown
When Covid-19 came along my Sri Lankan suppliers went into lockdown and had to shut down all non-essential manufacturing. In order to keep as many people as possible employed they continued to make masks, making sure they were a top quality product and conformed as closely as possible to World Health Organisation regulations. It may sound counter-intuitive, but when I heard about the lengths they were going to to keep their workers and supply chain employed and safe, I just knew I had to go ahead and do my bit, selling their masks. The group came out of lockdown just a few weeks ago and are catching up with back orders, and as products come back into supply I will add them to my range.
As you can tell, I’m very invested in this project and to say I was disappointed is putting it mildly, but I had to do what I could to help.
Giving something back
Over my years of travelling I’ve seen how these communities help each other and, most importantly, empower women. I’m planning to gradually add products made by other community enterprises to my range and offer homewares that are a world away from mass production. In my years of travelling I’ve seen some incredible sights and met some incredible people, and this is my way of giving something back.