The design story

It all started with a dream - to create bed linen of a quality above the norm. Not only because the bedding would last longer, but because Peder Wehtje was convinced that quality gilds the entire sleep experience.

A conviction that has created 30 years of stylish design with inspiration from both grandpa's checkered shirts and life itself. A successful design saga where classics have been produced side-by-side with long-standing customer favourites while new patterns and influences have always been welcome.

Hello Catherine Wehtje, designer at Mille Notti! It was your father Peder who started this family business, and you are now going to guide us through the 30-year design history. How does one begin to summarise so many years?

I think we should start from the beginning. During the first years our primary focus was on finding reliable suppliers who could produce the high quality we were looking for. We quickly saw the benefits of operating in Europe.

Over the years we have developed our design process, and that led quickly into higher detailed work. We have found our own expression and identified our colour scale. Our basic idea - to produce the highest possible quality in a timeless design - is something we still subscribe to today. A vision that includes sustainable production and social responsibility as the most important basic prerequisites for achieving our lofty goals.

When we look back through our archives, we can clearly see that we have followed our design line. We can see that the majority of our products designed over the years are still as relevant today. Perhaps this is because we have always been inspired by things in our own lives. It doesn't have to be something major, there are so many beautiful things around when you just stop and look. My father took inspiration from the simple things, like his own shirts.

The largest and most important part of our range is still our wide base collection that has stayed year after year. We're improving on the designs, but we usually leave the qualities exactly as they are, for the sake of our regular customers. We have found what works, and we are not making unnecessary changes. We have many years of experience and knowledge that have led us to these qualities. When removing a product, it is always a trade-off because many of our regular customers also have a design favourite that they want to continue with. That's something we see as a creative challenge! New and exciting designs that have the basic feeling and maintaining the original expression.

Although we don't want to change the feel and quality of our classics, we're constantly working to develop higher quality and find new sustainable materials. When we go to our suppliers in Portugal, we often sit for hours with textile technicians who study different qualities and possibilities. A large part of our range is GOTS-certified, but we also work with other exciting materials such as Tencel and silk.

We're so pleased with the interest and commitment our customers have shown us through the years. They are highly involved in our design process, and through them we have received lots of feedback and inspiration that we are extremely pleased with and grateful for.