Luxe bedding line Flax Sleep cozies up to Vancouverites at Mount Pleasant pop-up

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      Following in the footsteps of direct-to-consumer bedding lines like Brooklinen and Hill House Home, a Vancouver trio is hoping to cozy up to Canadians with its own brand of Canuck-designed and delivered bed sheets.

      Dubbed Flax Sleep, the label was founded by local entrepreneurs Anna Heyd, Oana Papuc, and Vivian McCormick when Heyd, impressed with the simple direct-to-consumer process that led her to purchase a mattress online, began looking for quality, relatively affordable bed sheets that were sold through a similar model. When that search proved unsuccessful, she linked up with friends Papuc and McCormick to make her own.

      “There were a lot of manufacturers and providers from abroad, but nothing from Canada,” Heyd tells the Straight during a recent Flax Sleep launch in Mount Pleasant. “So when you kind of add duties and shipping and exchange rates, it gets prohibitively expensive for the Canadian consumer to purchase linen sheets online.”

      Heyd had one demand: the sheets that the threesome dreamed up would have to be linen. Stronger, softer, and more durable than cotton, the fabric lends itself well to bedding due to its breathable nature: it works for both hot and cool sleepers. It’s also hypoallergenic, antibacterial, and sustainably produced. Its durability means you won’t be running to the store for another set in a few months, too.

      Lucy Lau

      “When I think of fast fashion and the textile waste that happens in consumerism these days, the thought of linen—something you can buy and have for 10-plus years—makes me feel good about it as a textile that we can invest our time in,” adds Heyd.

      Flax Sleep offers three linen bedding packages (from $270)—each available in calming tones like white, grey, and pale pink—that come complete with pillowcases. The sheets are designed in Vancouver and responsibly produced in Shenzhen, China, from 100 percent French flax.

      While the brand operates exclusively online through a direct-to-consumer model, where prices are kept as low as possible thanks to the removal of costly middlemen, Vancouverites will have a chance to get up close and personal with Flax Sleep’s products for a limited time at a pop-up store at Little Mountain Shop (4386 Main Street). There, shoppers will be able to get into bed—quite literally—with the uber-soft linen sheets before deciding if they’d like to invest.

      “If you’re gonna spend a little more money on something, you want it to last longer,” says Heyd. “There’s more value in that.”

      The Flax Sleep pop-up runs until Monday (July 2) at Little Mountain Shop (4386 Main Street).

      Follow Lucy Lau on Twitter @lucylau.

      Places to go nearby

      Approx. 15 minutes away

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