Are you familiar with the brand ALDIN?
CREER has had a long-standing relationship with them, similar to R&D.M.Co-, and it's already been 10 years! They are a wonderful brand that weaves their own fabrics from scratch, primarily linen, and creates cloths and bags.
Their greatest appeal is how they become more seasoned and cherished the more you use them!
Many staff members, including myself, are fans, and before we know it, we have one, two, or even more cloths... To convey the charm of ALDIN, I'll introduce some items, including my own.
First, some cloths have a stiffness from the sizing used in the yarn when you first purchase them. This sizing gradually washes out, making the fabric softer and more tightly woven.
For example, take this Vacances Trousse [9-175]. It starts out like this, but after years of use...
Isn't it adorable? The design becomes more three-dimensional and clearer. Perhaps it's easier to see when placed side by side.
All of the embroidered series made with this 50% linen, 50% cotton fabric are lovely. I hope you'll nurture your favorite design!
I've also used a pillowcase [1-051] made of the same fabric for about 5 years, and it's become incredibly soft. I want to sleep on this pillowcase so much that I've washed and dried it repeatedly, using it for about 350 days a year. The product page photos might not convey it well (it looks stiff there...), but it's genuinely good and highly recommended.
It's become quite white, which might depend on the detergent used. One thing to note is that it shrinks considerably, so be careful with the size. The product page lists the size as H50cm x W85cm, but my 5-year-old one is about H48cm x W78cm.
Unwashed 100% linen kitchen cloths [10-218] also change easily with use.
The one in the back is a crisp new item. The one in front has probably been used for about 2 years. It's become a bit whitish and very soft. This one also shrank by about 5cm in both length and width. The same applies to aprons and bags made of the same fabric when washed.
Even 100% linen fabric becomes softer, like gauze, if the threads are fine.
The Gauze Cloth [3-176] is small from the start, making it perfect for a handkerchief. It's thin and easy to put in a pocket, dries quickly, and has excellent absorbency!
If you prefer something larger, try the Petal Cloth [149] or the Tasha Cloth [9-174]. I personally love them.
Cloths that are pre-washed from the start are less likely to shrink (though some slight shrinkage may occur). They're great if you want stability, like when wrapping a bento box. The Dish Cloth LN-04 [4-107], also a staff personal item, showed almost no change in size when measured. It's relatively close to a square, so it seems easy to wrap a bento. Above all, it looked good and lifted my spirits.
All of the many cloths are highly recommended, no doubt about it.
This is because Toku Shimura, the designer of R&D.M.Co-, also designs for ALDIN.
Some of R&D.M.Co-'s fabrics are also made by ALDIN's company, so they have a very close relationship. It's fun to look for commonalities and think, "Oh, that makes sense!"
And then there's the pouch that, I suspect, every staff member has owned at some point.
It's large enough to hold a lot, easy to wash if it gets dirty, and the fabric becomes denser and cuter over time.
It's interesting to see the personality reflected in the chosen pouch. The Avignon pouch above simply doesn't wear out, so I've been using it for about 5-6 years now. For now, I'm aiming for the 10-year mark.
There's still so much I want to tell you, but it's getting long, so I'll stop here for today.
Finally, I'd like to conclude by sharing my super personal latest ALDIN purchase.
Chambray Bag [294-LN-47]. The color feels very (Toku-san) -esque, doesn't it! I've just started using it, so I can't wait to see how it changes. I hope to share more with you another time, so please keep an eye out for it.