Woods Fine Linens
An Interview with William Woods, CEO of Woods Fine Linens, a luxury retail store in Harrogate, England since 1895.
The Interview
Q: THE WOODS FAMILY NAME HAS BEEN SYNONYMOUS WITH FINE LINENS SINCE THE 18TH CENTURY. CAN YOU TELL US HOW IT ALL BEGAN?
W: In 1733, my ancestor, William Woods, was a Mercer in Laugharne, South Wales, importing all manner of exotic textile and linen products directly from Europe. That trade was then passed down to Thomas Woods, it was then Thomas’ son George Woods who owned and ran the Castle Mill, Knaresborough flax mill in the early 19th Century, famous for weaving fine linens and contributing to the area’s famous association with superior textile production.
Q: Your great-grandfather W.E. Woods established the present-day business Woods Fine Linens over a century later in 1895, supplying the local major hotels with bed and bath linens. How has this business model evolved since then to where you are today and when did you first start working with the local nobility and members of the royal family?
W: The Woods shop has thankfully survived through two World Wars and has had to adapt to much adversity during its' time. Following my experience gained working at Heal & Son Ltd in London during the 1960’s, when it was still family owned, I learned a great deal about bedding and interior design. Using this knowledge, I returned to Harrogate and set up our own professional interior design service and workshops, recognising at the time that customers were showing great appetite for home-styling advice. I also became an original founding member of the British Interior Design Association, now known as the BIID.
Q: WOODS AND PRATESI HAVE A LONG-STANDING AND CHERISHED RELATIONSHIP, WHEN DID YOU FIRST START CARRYING PRATESI AND WHAT LEAD TO THE PARTNERSHIP?
W: Our journey with Pratesi started over 80 years ago, we always sought out the finest linens available and Pratesi was an intriguing company with peerless embroidery skills from their artisan workshops and they defined a romanticism in their bed linen in extraordinary ways. Pratesi is a love story, I suppose we too, fell in love. Even then it had been an historically important company born from a passion in Remigio Pratesi. Something I was very much drawn to.
Q: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PRATESI COLLECTION AND WHY?
W: One of our favorite designs was ‘Impero’ a wonderful leaf pattern set within a border, very similar to the Federico of today’s collections. Also, we can’t underestimate the influence a design like 'Tre Righe' has had on the bed linen industry as a whole, the simple triple cord border is much imitated the world over, the greatest form of flattery!
Q: WITH SO MUCH HISTORY BETWEEN OUR BRANDS, DO YOU HAVE AN INTERESTING PRATESI ANECDOTE TO SHARE WITH US?
W: No real anecdotes but memories of Pratesi's agent in the 1980’s, Morandi and Harris who were exclusive Italian textile agents based in London and way back then it was only Roy Cox (the famous linen buyer at Harrods), The White House in Bond Street and Woods of Harrogate who were Pratesi's stockists in the UK. Despite the demise of so many famous linen shops it is indeed an honor to have survived all these years and still have our name associated with the iconic Pratesi brand.
Q: WITH OVER TWO-CENTURIES OF RICH HERITAGE, HOW DO YOU SEE WOODS EVOLVING AND LOOKING TO THE FUTURE?
W: Digital and AI is influencing a great deal of change, we fully expect that from a visual representation perspective to maybe even new designs themselves AI will take a more prominent roll. However, we remain cautious and do not think you can ever replace the experience of feeling and seeing bed linen in person. Our senses are extremely nuanced, you can only tap into those senses in traditional ways.
