Linenblue: Starting the Revival of Irish Linen

Lisburn, United Kingdom, September 28, 2012 --(PR.com)-- A new website has been launched that promises to revive the fortunes of Irish Linen.

Linenblue.com is a new Web store dedicated to Irish Linen and 100% flax linen from across the globe. Linen is made entirely from the fibres of the flax plant and helped put Northern Ireland at the centre of the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, over recent decades Irish Linen has lost out to cheaper fabrics – including man-made yarns and cotton.

Linenblue.com has been started by Internet entrepreneur Jeffrey Peel who is now based back in his native Northern Ireland – having worked in Britain and America for several leading technology companies. He explains that Linen is now experiencing a renaissance thanks to the fact that it’s a natural fibre, it’s durable and has a supreme appeal at the high end of the market for table linen and bed linen.

“I grew up with the Irish Linen industry all around me. My mother worked in the local mill and thousands of other men and women were employed by companies that manufactured some of the world’s finest cloth. The industry doesn’t employ as many here now but there’s still a vibrant linen industry here in Ireland that aims its products at those who appreciate this beautiful cloth. Some of the finest linen weavers are still based here and produce wonderful fabrics in hot demand by some of the world’s leading interior designers.”

“I was inspired to build Linenblue.com because my wife – an avid Internet shopper – found the process of buying real linen very hard. She had difficulty finding sites that sold genuine Irish flax linen – rather than cheap cotton. And when she did find some sites they were badly laid out, tricky to use and visually unappealing. So I set about building relationships with some of the top linen suppliers – creating Linenblue.com with easy-to-order fine linen tableware, bedding, and more.”

Linenblue.com is based in Northern Ireland but ships globally. As well as Irish Linen Damask tableware, the site also sells looser woven Irish Linen Etamine in both white and natural colours, as well as fine plain flax linen sourced from Ireland and Belgium. Linenblue also sells 1100 and 1400 thread count bed linen – bed linen supplied to several members of the British royal family.