40. The Bed Linen

40. The Bed Linen

Update: 2025-09-02
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When the ultra-wealthy want a new set of bespoke bedding for their mansion or superyacht, they email a mill that sits just outside Blackburn, Lancashire.

 

Peter Reed – whose customers include the Royal Household – has been producing handcrafted bedding for more than 160 years.

 

Number 40 on our list of the greatest products we make here is The Bed Linen.

 

Managing Director Sean Clayton explains how the company survived as the British cotton industry rapidly declined, questions why some skills are under-appreciated, and reveals why he never talks politics or religion.

 

We also learn how a single duvet cover can take five hours to complete with 12 embroidery machines, each with nine bobbins on, stitching simultaneously.

 

Say hello on Instagram @thefactorynextdoor

 

The Factory Next Door is supported by AVEVA, a leader in industrial intelligence. 

 

Sign up to their bi-weekly newsletter about manufacturing here:

 

www.aveva.com/factory


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40. The Bed Linen

40. The Bed Linen