In Bed founder and director Pip Vassett has spent the last few years dreaming up ways to give old fabrics a second life.
‘I’ve always loved the idea of creating special, one-of-a-kind pieces from textiles that already exist, or are already in circulation,’ Pip says.
‘Even as a very considered, B-Corp certified brand, it’s just a reality that as a brand that makes things, there will always be offcuts, excess and the occasional fault. The waste of this never sat well with me and aside from the sustainability aspect it also just seemed like such a wasted opportunity.’
This also pushed her to launch In Bed’s recycling program a few years ago. Dubbed Back IN BED, the initiative accepts disused bedlinen from customers — even giving them a 20 per cent discount if they wish to repurchase — and turning these into unique one-off collections, working with local designers.
Following a successful collection of up-cycled quilts, In Bed’s latest collaboration was designed by Ruby Farley-Steere of Melbourne clothing label Kateri.
‘All Kateri garments are made-to-order by Ruby herself. There is something so special about that and the idea that your garment has been made, lovingly and especially for you,’ Pip says.
‘The time and care that takes means that you’ll cherish it for life, and likely hand it down.’
Given her own values around ethical, well-made textiles, and meticulous kills as a talented seamstress, Ruby was the perfect person for the collaboration.
From many boxes of offcuts, faulty fabrics, and reclaimed In Bed linens Ruby has created a (very limited) range of handmade bed covers, bed runners, cushions, curtains, along with a special stand-alone wall hanging. Each piece reveals a beautiful patchwork of varying patterns and colours, that she painstakingly stitched together from her South Yarra apartment-turned-atelier over the course of the last 12 months.
‘We’ve used a mix of our different fabrications: 100 per linen, organic cotton, hemp, organic cotton corduroy, heavy linen, and more,’ Pip adds.
In a bid to practice what they preach, In Bed offers a two-year warranty on all products, but they’re taking this one step further with the IN BED x Kateri One-Of-A-Kind collection.
‘Ruby herself is offering repairs and mending if ever anything goes wrong,’ she says. ‘We really want people to enjoy these pieces and love them for life.’
Shop the IN BED x Kateri One-Of-A-Kind collection online now here.
