7 May 2023. Our natural linen products are the foundation of Fog Linen Work. The original line started with a few simply designed pieces in natural linen and stamped with their function. From there, a product line was launched. We recently asked founder, Yumiko Sekine, to say a few words about the story behind the creation of Fog Linen Work. Here's what she said:
Some of my favorite pieces from Fog Linen Work are the products that made up our original collection.
When I visited Lithuania for the first time over 25 years ago, I was a wholesaler of foreign housewares, books and stationery. Knowing Lithuanians produced high quality linen, I was hoping to find products to buy. As there were no trade shows or wholesale showrooms, I walked around the city looking for nice linen products in the stores, so that I could identify the manufacturers. Though I didn’t find what I was looking for there, I found a phone book in my hotel room and searched the word "Linas" (linen in Lithuanian). I called the few companies that were listed, but most didn’t understand English and just hung up. Finally, I managed to talk to one company and asked them to send me their product catalogue and price list. After a few days, I received a few small samples of linen fabric with a note asking what kinds of products I needed. I didn’t have any experience designing items for factory production, but luckily I had a friend who had experience making patterns and sketches for a factory in India. With her help, I made product sketches to send to the factory in Lithuania by fax. Our first collection included the Kitchen Cloths, Napkins, Tablecloths, the Full Apron, the Cafe Apron, the Garcon Apron, and a Tote Bag. We still carry most of them as our standard collection and I still enjoy using them at home.
Explore all of our items incorporating "natural" linen here.