Eight years with the same linen mill in Panevėžys, Lithuania

Our linen comes from a family mill in Panevėžys, in the north of Lithuania. We first ordered from them in 2018, a single roll of natural flax for a handful of summer dresses, and we have not bought linen anywhere else since. Every Ariadne, every Daphne and every piece in the Linen Edit starts there.

The number we talk about most is 185 gsm: grams per square metre. Lighter linen looks lovely on the roll and goes see-through in sunlight; heavier linen holds its shape but feels like a tablecloth. At 185 the fabric has weight in the hand, falls straight from the shoulder and still breathes on a hot day. The mill washes it before it reaches us, so it is already soft and it will not shrink after you buy it.

Staying with one mill is not the cheapest way to work. It is the way that lets us promise you the same fabric this summer as last summer, in the same colours, from people who know exactly what we cut it into.