A Special Opportunity

This weekend (starting March 3rd, 2012), collectors will have a chance to purchase Pendleton’s Vintage Collection Blankets at 20% off during the Retired Blanket Sale.

These blankets were introduced in 2008 to offer the aged allure of a vintage wool blanket to boutique customers and collectors.

Poster for the Pendleton Vintage COllection

Our 2008 wholesale catalog copy described the blankets: “At first glance, these lovely blankets seems to have been discovered in the hacienda of a beloved grandmother. But they are newly woven in our own Northwest woolen mills. The blankets reflect both our reverence for Pendleton history and the wealth of design inspiration in our design archives. We have given these fresh interpretations a luxurious finish with the rich patina of age – a fitting tribute to our heritage. The stonewashed, distressed surface lends the feeling of a well-loved and well cared for heirloom. The colors are softly muted and the hand is sumptuously soft."

What these beautiful words can’t describe is the hard work, experimentation and sheer number of blankets that went into refining the “aging" of a Pendleton Vintage Collection blanket.

“We burned through so many of them!" says Robert Christnacht, the head of the Pendleton Home Division. “We wove and finished the blankets in our mills, minus any labels. Then we sent them to an outside commercial laundry, where they were washed and shrunk down to the right dimensions. It was a huge job to get the process right, because we wanted to take out a certain amount of color and we needed the right appearance and hand. Time after time, we’d pull a load of wool mush out of the machine. We’d have to start over."

The blankets were finally ready to go in 2008. The collection unveiled with four designs in 2008: Window Rock, Los Lunas, Gallup and Flagstaff. In 2009, Ganado joined the mix. Unlike most actual vintage Pendleton blankets, they are square-edged and carry a modern label. They are uniform in size, but the process insures that each blanket is slightly unique.

These blankets caught the eye of the press immediately and have been featured in Martha Stewart, ELLE Decor, VOGUE and many more. This collection was always intended to be limited. All five styles have been retired officially for 2012. They will go fast this weekend, so pay us a visit at pendleton-usa.com and complete your collection!