Meet the Maker: Luks Linen
We’ve been huge fans of Lüks Linen’s Turkish textiles for many years now. From their signature peshtemals - traditional Turkish bath towels - to their luxurious dressing gowns and blankets, they’re of exceptional quality and strength.
That’s reflected in the Lüks Linen 20-year guarantee, a true outlier within products of their kind. How do they do it?
For the latest instalment of our Meet the Maker series, we spoke to the lovely Rachel Ward, founder of Lüks Linen. In this brilliant interview, Rachel tells us all about the traditional processes behind the brand, lessons from her Granny and her favourite products in the collection. Take a look.
Please introduce yourself and your role at Luks Linen?
Hi, I’m Rachel Ward, founder of Lüks Linen, (which means I wear a lot of hats)! Lüks was founded in 2015 after a lightbulb moment on a beach in Turkey. In a former life I worked in design agencies managing clients in TV, Games and Music. I come from a family of makers and am a qualified interior designer.
What was the driving force behind setting up Luks Linen?
The driving force behind Lüks has multiple threads. I was keen to move away from the corporate world and into a smaller, more meaningful space. To build a brand that supported family artisans and to create and curate products with longevity, versatility and sustainability at their core.
Tell us a bit about your materials and production methods?
Lüks uses natural materials, predominantly long staple Turkish cotton, which is the best in the world. Over the last couple of years we have introduced recycled cotton, linen and also Tencel into our product range and our made to order rugs and cushions are hand knotted using locally sourced wool from the villages where our weavers live.
We want to avoid anything synthetic that expends lots of energy, uses chemicals or releases micro plastics into our water supplies.
We use reactive and plant based dyes that set at lower temperatures and require less mordants (salt). The effluence from these dyes can be recycled as can the water used to dye them.
In terms of production, our weavers use a range of looms. The oldest of these is the traditional wooden shuttle loom which is worked completely by hand and foot - (it is what most people would envisage when thinking of weaving). In addition we also use power looms that are mechanically driven with the shuttle managed by hand and finally the jacquard loom which allows us to create more complex designs.
Using more gentle weaving processes rather than mass machine manufacturing puts less strain and heat on the yarn fibres which means that the finished result is better quality and lasts longer - a lifetime in fact if cared for correctly.
Tell us a bit about the design of your products. How and why were certain design features chosen?
There is a strong sense of simplicity across the Lüks range. Geometry, stripes and weaves that create texture feature heavily. Although we are not averse to the occasional statement piece. Our Lale blankets for example are an explosion of colour that are woven just once a year due to the intricacy of the warp set up and the availability of looms.
From the beginning we have worked with our weavers and have leaned into their experience. It’s a collaborative process. In our designs you will see a nod to process and a celebration of Turkish culture. There are also classic patterns running through the products, such as our best selling Damla and Ferah peshtemals and blankets. With these innate heritage pieces we influence the quality of the cotton used, the colour palette and scale, which is what sets us apart.
What frustrates you about the textiles & clothing industry?
How long have you got? Wastage, landfill and health & safety, environmental impacts are big frustrations. Whilst there are a lot of brands out there (mostly smaller ones who tend to hold themselves to a much higher standard) really looking at circularity, end of life and workers rights there is not enough being done by the big players who have a tokenistic, profit first approach to ‘sustainability, recycling and welfare.’
What makes Lüks Linen different?
Like most products not all peshtemals are created equal - that’s for sure and you can, of course find cheaper versions out there. My Granny always used to say to me ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ and that is something I carry with me always. We’ve worked really hard over the years to find the best weavers, using the best quality yarn and dyeing processes and not all of them have made the grade (there have been some howlers along the way). Our customers always comment about the quality and softness of our products and we like to back that up with our 20-year guarantee.
Which is your favourite piece and why?
Ooh - I'm not sure I’m meant to say…but if pushed it would be the Mete range of peshtemals and dressing gowns. We’re not a seasonal brand and the Mete is testament to that - they have been in our collection almost since we started and are a real customer favourite. They are hand woven by a beautiful family in Hatay and are just classic, timeless pieces.
As with a lot of our peshtemals they are ridiculously versatile. In addition to using them as a traditional hamam towel people wear them as sarongs and scarves and use them as table linen - one of our customers even uses them as curtains! That’s the joy of our textiles - so open to interpretation!
Have you got any exciting plans for Luks Linen over the next year?
Yes! We have a wonderful collaboration launching in October with one of our favourite luxury retreats (keep an eye out for that) and a brand new range launching in Paris in January. That one is a bit of a departure for us in terms of palette and is really playful. It taps into the joy of nostalgia and fun we can create in the home.
Tell us about a product in your life that has lasted a really long time?
It’s back to Granny for that one - I have a cream fisherman style jumper of hers that was made in 1976 - when Marks & Spencer was labelled St. Michaels. It’s the same age as me and still going strong!
Browse the full Luks Linen collection of hand-loomed textiles here.
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