Designer Spotlight

Designer Spotlight:

Meet Bennett Laine Home Décor Head of Design & Production: Colleen Quinn

~ Tell us about your design journey ~

“I started sewing at the age of five with my mother – she of course did most of the sewing – making a Cleopatra Halloween costume,” Colleen shares. “From there, I was hooked! My mom taught me how to read commercial sewing patterns, while I taught myself how to drape clothing on my dress form and redesign vintage clothing from thrift stores. Eventually I started my fashion design and production business – CQuinn.”

"My journey has made me a bi-coastal designer. I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. I went to college in Athens, where I received a degree in Fashion Merchandising. Then I decided to change things up and moved to Los Angeles to attend the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, where I received my fashion design degree,” she recalls. “After this program, I got my first job back in Atlanta, as head of design and production for five years for a womenswear fashion designer. When the pandemic hit, I moved back to Los Angeles to further my career in the fashion industry, and I also started to work on home décor projects.”

“I have always preferred working with small and new businesses that needed assistance in creating their pieces, as I have experience in almost all areas of the industry: designing, sourcing, manufacturing and production. I started freelancing, providing these services to multiple clients. That’s where I met Dana Long, and started working with her on designing and producing for Bennett Laine Home Décor!”

“Home décor has always been a passion of mine throughout the years. I’ve always enjoyed making a space of my own with paint, textiles and furniture, often making each piece from scratch or refurbishing vintage pieces. Since I work from home, it’s extremely important for me to create a space I love, and I’m able to do that with my home décor.”

~ What’s your design process? ~

“When designing a collection, I first research color and home décor trends for the upcoming season. After my research, I compose an overarching theme for our season’s collection.”

“I then create a color story to fit our overall seasonal theme and proceed to my favorite part – fabric sourcing! The Pacific Design Center is one of our favorite places to source high end, luxury fabric for beautiful, durable pillows that will last for years. Our entire team visits our fabric suppliers and pulls all the fabrics relevant to both our collection theme and color story for the season. After this, we compile all our fabric options and narrow them down into our final, cohesive seasonal collection. We then assign the pillow sizes we want produced for each fabric, and proceed with making the collection for that season” - often watched over by her adorable cats, Luna and Bramble.

~ Customers rave about Bennett Laine Home Décor’s craftsmanship ~

Colleen is a design and technical production talent! Our customers love our luxe designer pillows:

~ Marilyn P.

~ What are your most popular pillow sizes? ~

“We have a wide range, but our top sellers are 20” inch by 20” inch square pillows and our #1 best-selling size is our popular 14” inch by 24” inch lumbar. For larger homes we go up to 24” inch by 24” inch,” she explains. “We also have a popular “Pillow Finder” guide on our website, bennettlaine.com, which informs our customers how to build different layering options for their home.”

~ What are your favorite holiday gift item picks from the entire Bennett Laine Home Décor Collection? ~

My holiday favs are:

Designer Pillow – Burlap Petals in 24” inch x 24” inch. “I love the intricate embroidered flowers on the background, and the weight and texture of the fabric.”