designer's notebook - from founder Anki Spets

Last year leading up to Valentine’s Day, a very agitated woman popped her head in at our Los Angeles store. She was walking up and down West 3rd Street in a panic. Weeks before, she had, as usual, ordered personalized gifts for her clients: a “loving reminder” that they take care of themselves during the busy pilot season in LA....

AREA founder and designer, Anki Spets, came across baby alpaca about 15 years ago. It was sourced from Peruvian artisans in villages where they used traditional shearing, dying and looming methods. As a fiber, it was almost unknown to the world of bedding. See baby alpaca designs on the website. The possibilities of the fiber, the sourcing, the sustainability, as well as the...

  For our new fall blanket, I wanted to continue the large scale patterns we did with NATURE and SQUARES, but in a warmer, softer fabric for the colder months. I was inspired by the simple shapes of Constructivism but with a more versatile palette to play with our new PERLA colors, stone and plant. I had in mind something...

  ‘Cozy’ is as much a feeling as it is an aesthetic. When the temperature drops, we seek comfort and warmth indoors. Being cozy is about feeling comfortable, warm, and relaxed. When something is cozy, it looks and feels soft and warm. How we feel about our home is connected to how we feel when we’re inside of it. A...

    This season we are introducing two new colors of PERLA, our softest cotton sateen sheet series. PERLA is now available in seven colors, five of which are named after colors found in nature. The name of each color tells us its origin. The name PERLA itself comes from pearl. It is actually a new generation of an old...

This time I wanted to design something bold but versatile that could transition in and out of the bedroom. The new coverlets, SQUARES and NATURE, are soft enough to sleep with, but also sturdy enough to be used as sofa covers, on a table, or brought to the park and beach. They are large scale prints.  The coverlet itself is a soft lightweight cotton...

This season we’re introducing three new linen lines, each woven in a distinct way. I thought it would be nice to break down the differences between them beyond just the colors. The way that a fabric is woven not only affects visual patterns, but can drastically alter the way it feels and drapes. The first is the updated SIMONE, a...

Recently, there has been a lot of debate about whether or not to use a top sheet. Statistically, more people these days are choosing to forego a top sheet than ever before. For those opting out, the reasons include: comfort and convenience top sheets get bunched up at the bottom of the bed, they are an extra hassle they might make...

When it comes to our wool blankets and clothing, we prefer baby alpaca over other types of wool. The term "Baby Alpaca" refers to the grading of the fineness of the fiber. It’s the softest part of an adult Alpaca (usually the chest), not the age of the animal. Why we choose baby alpaca.  Alpaca fleece is soft and silky. It is lighter...

it's that time of year when you cannot have enough blankets. it's hard to pick favorites, but this season's best 3 are ELLIOT, WILLIAM and OLIVER. ELLIOT Our most elegant blanket, ELLIOT is refined, super-soft and lightweight yet still warm. The color combinations are sublime - a dyed color mixed with original shades of the fiber. Available in six colors,...