Walking up the jute stair-runner, with walls embellished with ethnic mirror patchwork wall hangers, I was instantly captivated into an antique mood. Every corner of the store was splashed sporadically with a multitude of colourful paraphernalia of various shades, shapes and sizes…
Words Dheena Sadik Photographs Menaka Aravinda
“I just love colour and textures. This is more of my hobby rather than a business per se” said Naushaly Wijemanne, proprietor of Cozy Linen. With a passion for household items, wanting to offer a wide spectra of soft furnishing within the confines of a cozy and comfortable establishment, she founded Cozy Linen in 2005. Today, Cozy Linen is known for its cotton bed linen. This vibrant boutique offers various soft furnishing (except curtaining), offering a wide range of products to customers’ choices.
All bedding products are exclusively cotton. Recently, bamboo cotton was introduced to Cozy Linen, which is a delicate fabric, manufactured by a mixture of bamboo pulp and cotton. Bamboo is environmentally friendly, being 100% biodegradable. This pure linen has a soothing and sophisticated texture compared to the well-reputed Egyptian cotton, with its elegant silky shine sharply seen on both sides of the sheet. Feeling the texture, all I experienced was luxury! The lustrous finish ensures light is absorbed more efficiently, giving a vibrant appearance. For those seeking aesthetics with a delicate smoothness, bamboo linen beautifully satisfies both the eyes and skin, making your sleep experience a paradise journey through comfort. The shop also offers other types of fabric such as fine jacquards, embroidered linen to silk, brocade and handloom fabrics in various colours and forms.
“Quality is very important for us since it’s the ‘feel-good’ factor that matters for bedding” highlighted Naushaly, explaining certain varieties of linen may look good but can be of low quality making it uncomfortable against the skin. She further elaborated on how fine details such as the embroidery’s position is cautiously considered since this can potentially disturb a customer’s comfort during sleep; Hence, attention to such detail becomes a priority to ensure maximum clientele comfort. Item-wise, there are multicoloured lively options ranging from bedding, duvets, bright quilts, varicoloured cushion covers, a plethora of bedspreads, pillows of different sizes, bright towels, upholsters of various shades, table linen, mats and runners, serviettes, throws, comfy rugs, ethnic wall-hangers and also a unique collection of wooden costume jewellery. Recently, Cozy Linen introduced intricate beeralu (lace-woven) and exotic batik bedspreads designed by creative batik artists. Extending its unique Sri Lankan products further, Cozy Linen offers a selection of pan and weed items which have been relatively fast moving. International items are also sourced from hand picked craftsmen from India, Pakistan, China and Indonesia.
“A significant milestone for Cozy Linen has been exporting products to Australia, South Africa and Dubai which is a great progress for us since our humble beginnings” asserted Naushaly with a sense of achievement.
Since last December, Cozy Linen custom-makes sofas and upholstery of various colours, shapes and sizes to suit its clients’ individual preferences and also accepts bulk orders for hotels, boutiques and hospitals, not having a minimum order quantity which is an added advantage to customers. “Sometimes we have customers telling us themes of their living room and we offer them solutions to suit their range of soft furnishing from bedding, sofas, etc. I’ve also visited their houses and helped display their products. We always try our best to give customers the most affordable prices,” revealed Naushaly, mentioning that the additional home-visit service is free of cost.
“My dream is for Cozy Linen to be known for high quality linen. The moment customers walk in, they should be absolutely certain to find what they are looking for. This is a challenging goal; slowly but surely we’re getting there” concluded Naushaly with a smile.
33 1/1, Queens Road Colombo 3
Tel: (+94 11) 555 5549
thecozylinen.com
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