Source: Blog – Alliance for American Manufacturing

Courtesy Seek & Swoon

“I think you take pride in owning something special,” says the owner of the Oregon-based blanket company.

When Jala Smith-Huys launched her luxury throws and blanket company in the fall of 2016, she knew that despite domestic obstacles she had to produce American-made product.

Now, more than eight years later, Smith-Huys, owner and “chief blanket boss” of Seek & Swoon, a small business in Portland, Oregon, has found her niche selling American-made textiles.

“There are a few reasons I wanted to pursue Made In America and one is I think it’s increasingly becoming more important to consumers,” said Smith-Huys. “And even more than that, I felt the supply chain would just be easier for me.

“Dealing with an American manufacturer would make my process shorter. If I have a custom request, I can get my knitting mill to turn around a project in two to three weeks. That would never happen if I was working with a company overseas.”

Smith-Huys does not employ her own manufacturing team, preferring to contract her supply work to a small, family-run knitting mill on the East Coast. And in today’s rough and tumble world of domestic textile production, Smith-Huys, like many other small apparel or textile manufacturers in America says that the name of the mill is a “trade secret.”

“You have to be looking for something kind of special in order to spend $175 on a blanket. You’re investing in American-made, and you’re investing in sustainability, so you have to find those customers that care about those things.”

Jala Smith-Huys, Owner of Seek & Swoon

“There is only a handful of mills that will make this type of product here in the U.S.,” said Smith-Huys. “I knew that making them in the U.S. was going to be the right choice. I knew that would make the throws more expensive, but I also knew that there were several other brands out there creating a similar product and doing it in the U.S.

“I’ve worked with the same mill from the beginning. They buy the yarn that is only made by a couple of American companies. That makes the price-point higher when you’re using recycled yarn and when you’re having them made in the USA, because my blankets are not for everyone.

“You have to be looking for something kind of special in order to spend $175 on a blanket. You’re investing in American-made, and you’re investing in sustainability, so you have to find those customers that care about those things.”

The mill that knits for Seek & Swoon’s throws creates the colorful blankets on large knitting machines. The yarn is made from 75 percent recycled cotton and 25 percent recycled polyester, which helps in making the yarn sturdy so the fabric keeps its shape.

The inspiration for Seek & Swoon came after Smith-Huys, her husband and two young boys took a summer-long vacation across Europe in 2015. Upon returning to Oregon, Smith-Huys was inspired to design throws that would remind her of all the countries they visited across the pond.

Undercut by imitators

Like so many American manufacturers, her products have been knocked off by a Chinese entity that is selling on Temu.

“The knock-off is not the same blanket, just the design,” said Smith-Huys. “It’s fuzzy. It’s synthetic. It costs $22. They are not competitors because their customer is not looking for the same thing as my customers.

“They are looking for something aesthetically that they’re drawn to in the terms of design, but if you’re buying a $175 blanket you’re buying it because you care about other pillars of the brand – like the sustainability piece.

“I think you take pride in owning something special. That’s very important. I have customers that have purchased from me 20 to 25 times, and for every single present they give they buy my blankets. They purchase because they care about supporting small business, supporting American-made, supporting sustainability.

“I think when you purchase something for yourself or another person that has all those brand pillars behind it, it makes you feel really good.”

Smith-Huys partners with a small warehouse in Dallas that stores the manufactured blankets and fills the incoming orders. She enjoys the advantages of working with other small businesses.

“If I was working with a large company, I would be one of a thousand customers but with my warehouse. If I need something specific or unique, it’s really easy for me to get a hold of them.

“This gives me the opportunity to work to work on corporate orders. I just did a project with Nike; I’ve done things for the Timbers (Portland’s Major League Soccer team) and hotel projects. I like to be able to turn things around pretty quickly.”

At the price point for heirloom quality

Seek & Swoon was one of the small businesses that turned around for the better during the Covid-19 pandemic years. Customers were mostly shopping online and were willing to pay a slightly higher price for the convenience.

Seek & Swoon throws come in three assorted sizes: standard size, which is 50”x60”, large blankets, which are 60”x80”, and the 30”x40” baby blankets. It offers nearly 45 distinctive designs and a large variety of colors.

Prices for these heirloom quality throws range from $90 to $230. The blankets are often draped on the family couch or at the foot of the bed, serving as both a warming, cozy vessel or just an upgrade to a room’s décor.

Seek & Swoon blankets are sold in select stores and boutiques throughout the country and are available on line directly from the company here.

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