Our Story
A small kitchen in an old apartment with tall windows, on a Sunday evening. The window is open. A linen cloth lies a little crooked on the table, a lamp with a scalloped shade is already on though it isn't dark yet, and someone has left a half-written letter by the fruit bowl. Nothing in that room matches perfectly, and that is exactly why you want to stay. It feels collected, not bought.
For a long time, my own home felt nothing like that. White walls, a grey sofa, shelves with nothing to say: the minimalist look everyone had. It was tidy. It was also a little empty. What I missed were the things you find in a grandmother's home: a lampshade that turns the evening amber, a napkin with an embroidered edge, a box tied with ribbon, a calendar you turn by hand each morning.
Real antiques are lovely, but they are fragile, expensive and one of a kind. So I started looking for new, vintage-inspired pieces instead: ribbed ceramics, scalloped edges, velvet ribbon, embroidered linen. Some call this style grandmillennial, some call it nostalgic. To me it is simply a home with an old soul. These pieces have the charm of a flea-market find, and you can use them every day without worrying.
That is how Linen & Quill began. Linen, for the fabrics of an old family home: tablecloths ironed on a Saturday, curtains that grew softer with every wash. Quill, for letters written slowly by hand, back when people still took their time. Together they describe the home I wanted: soft, a little old-fashioned and unhurried.
Every piece in the shop is one I would keep in my own home. If something doesn't feel right to me, it doesn't make it here.
So choose something. Use it every day. Let it get a little worn. That's what it's for.
— Claire