An Inside Look at Luxury Sheets with SFERRA President, Paul Hooker

I had the chance to discuss luxury sheets with Paul Hooker, the President of SFERRA, one of the oldest linen producers in business today. I was curious to know the reality behind the mystique. After hearing Paul’s thoughts I think you’ll agree that it’s time to overcome our intimidation about considering a high quality sheet for your bed. After all, as Paul says, we spend a third of our lives between the sheets.

DH: Why are sheets in general so expensive?

PH: Well, in general, most sheets are not that expensive. The better ones are.  As with all other products, you truly get what you pay for.  The price, if considered high, may reflect the quality of the yarns used, the quality of the bleaching, dying, and washing. Also, it may reflect the quality of the cutting and sewing. As with a very fine automobile, some are better than others, and you often pay for that quality.

DH: Where do most people purchase their sheets – Target, K-Mart, department store?

PH: Yes, I would say the majority of Americans buy their bed linens from the stores you mention, but of course, these are not where the luxury sheets are offered.

DH: SFERRA has a reputation, among the general public, of being very expensive. Are your linens actually more expensive? If so, what makes them worth the extra price?

PH: Actually, that is not the reputation that we should have, because we are not the most expensive. The best? Yes. The most expensive? No. We have always considered SFERRA as affordable luxury for we source better than anyone else in the industry.

We are textile people; we design and construct all of our own creations. We buy directly from the best weaving mills in the world. We bleach, dye, wash, and finish directly. We also cut and sew directly.  We go directly to the source on all aspects of our creation, so we feel we can buy the best and create it for a very fair price.

Perhaps the perception that we are expensive comes from the fact that we don’t sell to any big box stores, or any stores that ends in “mart.” We sell to the finest specialty stores in the world, and perhaps therein lies the perception.

DH: So I guess that means we need to get over our intimidation and start shopping in those specialty shops. What is the difference between a 300 thread count sheet from Target, Restoration Hardware and SFERRA?

PH: Generally, there are 3 things that differentiate us from our competitors.

1. The yarns we use for the weaving.
2. The finishing recipe that we use on the fabric to make it silky-soft, smooth, never pilling. And…
3. The detailing we use in our sewing of the product.  We source our entire SFERRA collection in Italy, where we can work with mills that have been doing this for hundreds of years.  Keep in mind we have been doing this continually since 1891.

DH: How important is the thread count when it comes to linens?

PH: Thread count, as a guide to judge quality, is meaningless. The length of the staple (or fiber) is really the most important aspect. The longer the staple, the better the cloth will be. Long staple Egyptian cotton can only be grown in certain regions of the Nile, and of course, SFERRA buys the very best of the Egyptian cotton available.

DH: So it’s true that Egyptian cotton is the best?

PH: Egyptian cotton, as a whole, is considered the best in the world.  It is grown along the very fertile Nile River where the soil and climate is unlike any other in the world.  But like all things, there is good, better, and best when it comes to Egyptian cotton.

In addition, the longer threads are much finer than cotton grown elsewhere. Combine the length of the staple (over 30 mm is considered a long staple cotton) with the fineness of the yarn, and the soil from whence it came, and there you have the best cotton available.

Part Two of my interview will post tomorrow. Do you questions for Paul? Leave them here.