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Choice Linens News and Events. Choice Linens On lower Queen Anne 312 West Republican Seattle, WA 98119 206-728-7731 Choice Linens Provides Luxury Linens for Photo Shoots USA Today (excerpt) Each morning, Keller contemplates the day. Will she be visiting clients or staying at the office? “I look in my closet and think, ‘Do I want to wear red today?' or ‘I haven't worn those shoes in a long time.' ” It's important to have a good closet experience, she says. “It dictates how the whole day will be.” Choice Linens Website Queen Anne Life: The Fabric Of Our Lives Eleven years ago/ color enthusiast and fabric fanatic Klaudia Keller moved her bed out of her bedroom and replaced it with a fabric-cutting table and a 1956 industrial Singer sewing machine. "You know how people get lost in gardening or whatever it is they are passionate about?" asked Keller, owner of Choice Linens, Seattle's premier specialty table-linen rental company. "That is how I am about fabric." Keller, the original seamstress and vivacious stylist of Choice Linens, which recently moved to 312 W. Republic St. in Lower Queen Anne, describes her love of fabric as a "core thing." She keeps more than 100 different fabrics on site, convenient for client accessibility, and is introducing a dozen new fabrics from her spring line. "My passion came while choosing the fabrics," recalled Keller, casting back on the beginning of her love affair with linens. "I would think, Oh my gosh, what would work in the Spanish Ballroom at the Four Seasons? It was just so buttery in there — what fabric would work?" Buttery?
Maybe Telluride, this spring's masculine fabric, a light fawn suede,
could complement the buttery walls of the Ballroom. Maybe not. But one
thing is certain: Keller, who names each one after cities around the
world, could find the perfect fit. "Every luncheon had different fabrics and damasks and really cool cloths," she remembered. "The linens had such an impact in each and every event, and the patterns and textures were perfectly suited for the style of the event." For the first time in her catering life, she saw the linens take center stage. "I had never seen it done at that level before" she explained. "It was all so tasteful and effective." A few weeks later Keller was on her way to the Carolinas where all the fabric was milled. She visited many factories and, at the end of each tour always posed the same question. "I wanted to know where the seconds and closeouts were," she said, smiling. "I never paid more than $3 a yard for fabric on that first buying trip." She returned to Seattle and using the industrial sewing skills learned during her college summer job at Jantzen, a sporty clothing line famous for its swimsuits — she transformed her vibrant fabric into standard-sized tablecloths. "I mean, who needs to know pi [3.14...]?" she asked. "Well, I do. I didn't ever think I was going to need that, but it came into good use." She used her experience at Jantzen, and the never-ending number pi to convert her bedroom into a mini-production line and stitch yards of fabric into party-ready linens. "My clients were my friends in the beginning." she explained. "I would just call all my friends in hotels and catering facilities, and it was weird because some people didn't get it." Many wondered, especially the men, why they should incur more cost to rent colored tablecloths when they already had white tablecloths. The women, on the other hand, were beside themselves. "Oh, I can see how this really changes this!" they told Keller. "It really adds dimension and it just transforms it!" Today, Keller and her linens are still adding dimension and transforming events throughout the Seattle area. Choice Linens, which also offers chair covers and tabletop accessories such as napkins, place cards and sashes, serves top clients like Microsoft, Boeing, Nordstrom, Starbucks, Tiffany and Co., Cartier and of course, elegant weddings and social events. "Truly, you can create a feel from fabric," asserted Keller who wants customers to "catch" her enthusiasm about the fabric they choose. "The right fabric can help make people feel more comfortable. It adds thought and feeling and soul to the event." Keller is transported, possibly to a world draped in watery velvet, as she talks about fabric. But is fabric and its many colors, patterns and textures symbolic for something deeper? "It truly is a way to for people to imprint their style on a party," she replied. "It's about celebrating each other and food — the really basic things." One might add that, in the end, those "really basic things" make up the fabric of our lives. What does your color palette look like? Homestyle
Today: All About Linens (http://homestyletoday.com/resources/articles/linens.php) Klaudia Keller, owner of Choice Linens and Chair Covers in Seattle, Wash., rents out table and chair linens for upscale parties, and her taste is impeccable. Though she loves rare antique linens, in her business, practicality is key. She believes that quality table linens can be sumptuous and practical in the same package. "Darker colors are better for spills and will hide a multitude of sins, but the white linens with a faggoted hem are what our mother's mother used and will be with us through generations," says Keller. "Those tablecloths that won't wash are not practical, and using a cloth just once seems such a shame. We have had numerous clients request Dupioni silk. The colors in Dupioni are gorgeous and the look fabulous, but [Dupioni] can only be used once as the laundering takes all of the life out of the cloth. Keller says that shopping for table linens isn't always easy these days, because table sizes aren't as consistent as they used to be. Keep the use of the table cloth in mind as you shop. Are you looking for cloths for family use? Then perhaps you will want to find a cloth blended with a bit of polyester for easy stain removal. Remember to keep the china and silver in mind if you are looking to dress up a table for a holiday party. Linens
in the Laundry "We usually err to abundant flow with poofs at the guests' feet," says Keller.
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