Discover Benelux | (Hand)made in Belgium | Top Designs
TOP LEFT: Piet Oeyen holding up down. MIDDLE: Seamstress sewing duvets in Mol. TOP RIGHT: Washing down duvets. BOTTOM LEFT & RIGHT: Fja-Oeyen showroom in Mol.
or even abroad – without breaking from our traditions.”
Like snow Behind the showroom where all down products are displayed, from baby sleeping bags to king-size duvets, pillows to slippers, lies the storage room, washing room, and sewing atelier. Everywhere, down falls like snowflakes. “It’s a scarce product of nature, considering one goose can only deliver ten grams of it a year,” An clarifies. As opposed to the meat industry, where animals often live in poor conditions, only geese and ducks that live in natural environments and are bred specifically for down can deliver the finest quality. “Our down originates from many countries including Canada, the Falkland Islands, and Hungary. We buy it from German companies that strictly control the quality according to European standards.” Fja-Oeyen Mol offers five types of quality, ranging from ‘down mixed with plumes’ to ‘pure down’. The higher the quality, the longer it lasts, but also the lighter the
weight of the duvet: a bigger layer of air increases the isolation effect. Down does not give you warmth, but it maintains your body heat at 37 degrees and absorbs sweat. An: “The entire year you can sleep under one and the same down duvet: they are nice and warm during the winter, light and fresh during the summer.”
getting back to business. “And aren’t eating and sleeping the two most important things in life?” www.fja-oeyen.be
Everlasting down Every 100 per cent down product has a lifelong guarantee. “After seven years, a down duvet should be cleaned,” An explains, while showing the laundry machine. “We tear open the duvet, wash the down with water and soft soap at 120 degrees, dry it, and wrap it in a new duvet. After washing, the down opens up like a flower and takes its exact same form again. Pure down never loses its quality.” Plumes on the other hand, are structured differently, and will break after a while. After washing a mixed down-plumes duvet, the volume will shrink. Not so much of a problem, as the content can be refilled. But by doing so, the weight will increase, lowering the isolation effect. “Down is a life-long investment,” Piet argues before
ABOVE: Fja-Oeyen down scarf. LEFT: Fja-Oeyen down duvet and cover. BOTTOM: Down collection.
Issue 24 | December 2015 | 17