4th June marks the official day for celebrating Devon. 

Devon is celebrated on the 4th June each year as it is the feast day for St Petroc (also known as Petrock) (a 6th century  British prince and Celtic saint), who up until 2019, was the Patron Saint of Devon and is to whom the Devon flag is dedicated.

To celebrate all things Devon, we have a Blog post from one of our Corporate Partners; Devon Duvets:

Devon Duvets: Proud to be Devon born and made

When the co-founders and owners of Devon Duvets, Dick and Pauline Beijen, made their decision to change their busy international lifestyles for a more sustainable way of life, they set their hearts and minds on a smallholding on Dartmoor. Falling in love with the wild beauty of Devon, they soon purchased a flock of sheep with the aim of creating craft products from wool. They soon came up with the idea to make the UK’s first individually handcrafted British wool duvet and so started to speak to other local farmers about using their wool too. 

Dick and Pauline spent months on researching how they could make wool filled soft bedding that would help people to sleep better. They were also committed to crafting products that would always be authentic, 100% natural and sustainable - using materials that would be responsibly sourced, from farmers and other suppliers who shared their values. 

This means that Devon Duvets only ever uses 100% British wool from local farmers they know have the highest standards of animal husbandry – and the wool is certified as fully traceable by British Wool (formerly the Wool Marketing Board). The wool is also washed and needled in traditional British mills, without using any chemicals. The 260 thread count pure cotton fabric used to encase the wool filling is made from cotton fibres certified by Better Cotton, a global initiative that promotes more environmentally friendly cotton farming practices. Better Cotton also supports socio-economic issues in cotton growing communities, such as fair pay and gender equality. Pauline adds: “If cotton grew on Dartmoor, then we would use that! However, it doesn’t so we’ve sourced our cotton fabric as close to home as possible and it’s woven in Europe.” 

Each duvet, topper and pillow is individually handcrafted by experienced seamstresses in the company’s own energy efficient workshops, based on the edge of Dartmoor.  Dick says: “We’re proud to call our company Devon Duvets, as not only do we live in Devon but each and every one of our duvets, pillows and toppers are also made in Devon.” 

Last year, Devon Duvets launched an additional range of duvets, the Rare Breeds Collection, which focuses on using wool from British rare breeds. The first wool used for this range has been sourced from Devon Closewool flocks, which has exactly the right kind of quality and springiness to sit alongside their already established soft bedding ranges. The Devon Closewool breed is on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust ‘at risk’ list and Pauline said: “Developing this new range was important because it highlights the quality of rare breeds wool and that it can be used to make a luxurious product that helps people to sleep better. We’re delighted that we are able to work together with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust to raise awareness of heritage British breeds.”

  

Photo: The Beijen family outside Devon Duvet premises. Dick and Pauline started the business over 15 years ago, when their children, Jake and Anna were young - and now both of them are also working in the business. The dog in the image is Ash, the office dog.

 

   Photo: Devon Duvet seamstresses hard at work making duvets

To view the rare breed sheep wool duvet range, click here