About Raw Materials
Outsourcing is out. Integrity is in.
Raw Materials Design started in 2008 as an “ah-ha!” moment for designer and photo stylist Janna Lufkin, who had a simple idea for a stylish yet sturdy grocery tote. Today the family-based company produces a full line of workhorse aprons and table linens that are tough enough for a professional kitchen yet have a soft familiarity perfect for the home.
Janna’s product portfolio is born of her love of celebrating the beauty inherent in what’s simple and natural. Her earthbound sensibility comes from her family’s pioneering roots as Idaho ranchers and her grandmother’s gift for finding beauty in simple, well-made objects.
That ranching background of community self-reliance also fuels her commitment to everything at Raw Materials Design being made in America from domestically sourced materials. Janna demands local sourcing and quality craftsmanship while providing jobs for other Americans.
Consistent with that spirit, each Raw Materials Design’s purchase strengthens the company’s Ties that Bind program, which donates to local food security organizations that ensure people who need a meal, get one.
Though growing fast, Raw Materials Design remains family based. Janna is the founder, product designer and inventor. Her husband, Kent, manages catalogue development, the website, shipping, accounting and contracts. Daughter Kate, a college equestrian and business major at the University of Montana, handles social media for the brand.
Besides being a regular contributor to Better Homes & Gardens magazine, Janna regularly consults and blogs about home design and organization topics through her site at www.beiteversohumble.com.
Q&A with Janna Lufkin:
Q: You use the simplest cotton fabrics and most basic, almost industrial design. What happened to frou-frou?
Janna: We’re celebrating the joy of simple things. Americans tend to over-refine and over-do when so many things are beautiful in their natural state.
Q: What was your biggest influence?
Janna: People and place, inside and outside the ranches and farms in central Idaho where I grew up. My grandmother was a home economics teacher; I’m sure she’s the reason I became a stylist. She made do with whatever she had without spending a lot of time thinking about it.
Q: Is that what’s behind your devotion to all-American made and all-American sourced?
Janna: Our goal is to have our products be 100 percent American made from domestically sourced materials. When I started Raw Materials Design, people kept telling me it couldn’t be done and I’m so glad I resisted. What pushes me forward are the naysayers; I thrive on challenge.
Q: Your company values take us back as Americans to a time of national pride in what we do. Why is that so important to you?
Janna: I believe that Americans expect quality products, especially when they see a label that says, “Made in the USA”. That’s how Americans used to do it. If it was made in America, you knew it was done well and made with pride. My family came as pioneers to the big open American West that was filled with opportunity. A lot of what is engrained in my business comes from how I grew up. Do the right thing. Stay loyal to the people you work with. My husband came up with the best line: Integrity is in, outsourcing is out!
Q: America had a proud textile industry fueled by cotton from the south. That was gone by the 1990s thanks to our appetite for wanting only the lowest-cost fabric from the lowest-cost producers all over the world. How can you source materials here?
Janna: It’s true that a lot of the fabrics I want to use are not available in this country. But I’m committed to using what’s available, so it’s like going back to what we did on the farm. We use what we have. We use what’s available in America. As fabric producers return to the US, we’re constantly looking for better domestic fabric options.
Q: Have you had to make compromises?
Janna: I love the feel and the toughness of painter’s drop cloth fabric for aprons and placemats, but it’s not produced in this country. Instead we’re using an American-sourced cotton canvas. For our dishtowels and napkins, we found a canvas sateen. I’m not 100 percent in love with it but it does soften and wash up nicely. When I find something that works better, we’ll start using it instead.
Q: What about your workforce?
Janna: Our products are made in Seattle by a contract sewing workroom. A second-generation company, the owner and his Bernese Mountain Dog puppy Tosh greet us whenever we visit. With decades of experience in commercial sewing, the pattern maker commutes to work on his full-dress Harley!
Q: Any downsides?
Janna: Early on, the folks at our workroom would tease us about the fabric. They thought that it’s tough, industrial feel made it the dregs of the fabric world. But the simple, industrial look can go so many ways: it’s modern; it’s farmhouse; it’s country cottage; it's down home. My grandmother made beautiful aprons from old flour sacks by paying attention to the details and the overall design. That’s the whole point. We’re using raw and unrefined but it is beautifully made, made to last, and American made.
Q: A portion of your proceeds go to feed the hungry. Why do you feel so strongly about that?
Janna: Tying on an apron says "It's time to make dinner!" Sharing a meal binds us together as families. Since we make aprons, it makes sense to me to devote a portion of our sales to help to provide a meal to those in need. That helps bind together families in crisis and binds us all together as a community.
