For The Love Of Sleep With Ava Innes
Joan Johnston, Founder of Scottish natural bedding house Ava Innes, reflects on her journey for better rest and how we can all fall back in love with sleep
One of life’s greatest luxuries is the clear, weightless feeling of waking up after a night of deep sleep. We all dream of it. Yet for most of us, why does it remain frustratingly out of reach?
Joan Johnston, the founder of Scottish natural bedding brand Ava Innes, had exactly this problem in her 50s. On a quest for deep sleep, Joan brought together her understanding of natural fibres and her love of nature rooted in her Scottish Highland home to create something exceptional for repairing her relationship with sleep. The choice of Jo Malone CBE, Claudia Winkleman, and Kelly Rutherford, Joan’s world-first cashmere guard duvets have kick-started a new, luxurious revolution of falling back in love with our slumber. Here, Joan discusses her pioneering design and shares her relationship with sleep.
How did you make the connection between sleep and the natural fibre of cashmere guard?
I always thought the idea of sleeping under cashmere was the ultimate in luxury. The luxury of true rest also becomes so important to you as you get older, particularly as a working woman, juggling caring responsibilities. We all need sleep to be able to function. The difference of having a good night’s sleep versus a poor night’s sleep can totally change the tone of your day. Why not make it something we can absolutely love and look forward to?
What is the experience of sleeping under cashmere for the first time?
The experience is complete anticipation. Climbing under the covers, the first thing you feel is the gentle weight all around you. The comforting weight is very soothing. There are no cold pockets and you can feel the duvet gently laying on you with a natural warmth. Our duvet differs very much from a feather duvet and, in fact, from other wool duvets by being slightly heavier, with an even level of fill. It is the comforting weight that makes such a difference, feeling cocooned while you sleep. What I then realised quite quickly, it was working for me and my husband, who like most couples, have different temperature needs. We were both consistently sleeping longer and getting deeper sleep.
You often share snippets of your life in the Highlands. How does this inspire your love of sleep?
If I don’t get walking on a beach within a week, I get withdrawal symptoms. Regularly being outdoors, getting up every morning and having a walk through all seasons, watching the sunrise, and the wild open spaces, along with a cool dip in the sea. It taught me how to love rest that follow’s nature’s rhythm. And that’s what good sleep is. It’s natural. It’s holistic. You really notice the difference in the air up here too. Ava Innes was born here in the pure air of the Highlands, the home of the cashmere guard duvet. I want to share what we have here as much as possible to help people live a much more fulfilled, rejuvenated, and contented life centred around their best ever sleep.
Find out more about Ava Innes at avainnes.com and follow their journey from Scotland on Instagram at @avainnescashmerebedding
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