Imagine if your family's business was linen. Neat, huh? I say this because my family's business is really large machinery, something which tends to befuddle me. (I still don't understand how any of it works.) But linens? I totally get that. So say if a family member started a company like, oh, Peacock Alley, well, I would probably want to continue the family tradition too.
Peacock Alley was started in good old Dallas, TX back in 1973 by former stockbroker Mary Ella Gabler (that's her, above). Gabler was prescient in her prediction that people would start spending more quality time in the bedroom. As such, Gabler saw the linen business as an opportunity to introduce high quality, fashionable bed linens to people who may not have thought much about bed linens before. Starting with patchwork pillows (remember, this was the 1970s) and evolving into a full line of bed and bath linen, Gabler developed Peacock Alley into a successful business that still thrives today. In fact, Gabler's sons run the family business today and are positioning the company to remain viable well into the 21st century.
I remember growing up with Peacock Alley linens; they just always seemed to be somewhere around our house. My mother bought a set of sheets at either Lord & Taylor or Neimans back in the late 1970s, and she still talks about how they wore like iron. If you look back at the Peacock Alley archives, you'll see the different bedding trends: prints, neutrals, minimalism, and prints once again. But the thing about Peacock Alley's prints (and their color selections too) is that it's all rather subtle. I believe that people prefer sedate bedding (meaning no loud prints), and these linens fit that bill. You can buy a few pieces, and more than likely it will go with what you already have on your bed. Just take a look at their Spring 2010 collection. Can't you see some of these linens working with what's in your linen closet?
From the Spring 2010 collection, the Lotus Ensemble collection
Fortuna Ensemble, Spring 2010
Eden Collection, Spring 2010
It all started with patchwork pillows.
Another look from the 1970s. I think this Lily of the Valley print is actually quite sweet.
A minimal look from 1998.
All images courtesy of Peacock Alley