JAC + JACK BLANKET COLLAB GIFTS HUNDREDS OF WARM HUGS TO WOMEN'S SHELTERS.

In collaboration with Jac + Jack, Two Good Co launch their latest range of Buy 1, Give 1 Blankets, with one special feature; every blanket purchased will include another donated to women’s shelters.

Made with love in an artisan workshop in Jaipur, India, they have been carefully crafted with 100% hand-plucked cotton and made into rolls of extra fine 100-count fabric, to deliver the same soft and comforting hug of a traditional razai.

But the best feature of all? Each blanket includes a coded tag that matches a gifted piece, creating paired designs...because by purchasing this blanket, you're actually purchasing two. One for you, and one for someone staying at a women's refuge.

Explore the story behind these luxury comforters that share a warm hug with those who needs it most.

“These blankets help women and children feel warm, loved, safe and protected. ”

A true gift of love from Jac + Jack and Two Good, as they carry on their tradition of gifting to those feeling isolated or marginalised.

They remind me of a quote by Rumi; "Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” With this purchase, you can be sure that your gift will be received warmly and wholeheartedly by women and children who are so deserving of comfort, love…and a sense of home.”

- Simone, Work Work Participant, Two Good Co

THE INSPIRATION.

“Our starting point was that we knew we wanted to incorporate Indian handicrafts - something that we've had long association with. Anything handmade is very much in the DNA of our brand. We used to have a store on William Street in Paddington, with all our homewares. Hand-knitted woolen quilts, blankets out of India, cushions, hand-made and hand-dyed linen sets from LA, and the traditional razai - which are Indian hand-quilted blankets, and a product we’ve been doing for more than a decade, in a variety of sizes and styles.

Traditionally, a razai is created through the Kantha method, which is the hand-stitching of many layers – usually, layers of old saris or dhotis. The kantha method is over 500 years old; it's a very unique and traditional handicraft. Even today, you will find a kantha-inspired razai in every Indian household. It’s very decorative, but also very functional.

I love that practicality of how a lot of Indian handicrafts are formed – functionality and beauty combined. There's an excellent synergy between making something for purpose, something that's practical and needed…and then making it beautiful, inspiring, joyful.

THE GOOD FEELS.

It's so important that everything we do is done with integrity…and these blankets are truly something you'd be proud to own. I really treasure that; I love how it makes you feel, when you've got something on your body or in your home that is so sensory.

Physical touch is a sense that sometimes gets a bit under-valued - everyone's all about the visual a lot of the time, whereas this is a very tactile thing. It’s a sense that we often don't think about, but we know it when we feel it; when we've got something lovely on our bodies, you can’t help but think, ‘oh gosh, that feels so nice’.

It's a sense that’s for the wearer to enjoy, rather than being for anyone else. It becomes something we reach for. I've travelled extensively in India – and always, with a razai packed. I've had one now nearly 35 years – a very particular one of a very particular size – that went all over India with me. I'll never part with it - it was almost like a friend.

As a young woman of 21, the travel was very overwhelming at times. During the more difficult moments – an awful hotel, or the middle of nowhere, or surrounded by absolute chaos – having that razai on me gave me a great source of comfort. When I’d had a hard day and it was all too much, it added a little resilience for me.

“You can't underestimate what these pieces do to the spirit, when they feel good and they serve a purpose so closely tied to comfort and safety. ”

Which is exactly what I was thinking about, when considering the kind of blanket I’d want to create for women seeking refuge in shelters.

THE CRAFTSMANSHIP.

These blankets have been created by my artisan community in Jaipur, in central India, which I've been working with for 15 years; we're very much connected. A traditional kantha-method razai would have been impossible to match the sheer volume of the Buy 1, Give 1 concept, so these have been machine-quilted - but it’s still very hands-on.

I visited the machine-stitching unit, and it's very artisanal. It's not some big, industrial factory - it's a community-based workshop, where men and women work from the village to support their families. There might be 50 workers, often husband and wife - sometimes their children are nearby. The men are usually the ones stitching, and the women do the finishing details - attaching labels, trimming threads, washing, packing. It's a very friendly environment; a beautiful semi-indoors, semi-outdoors setting, where everyone sits and works together. Everyone eats together. There's even a temple there.

For me, these artisan factories are still very much important pillars of the communities there. The supplier I work with, he's absolutely brilliant. His father has one of the biggest antique vintage textile collections in India, so he's a real purveyor and conservator of Indian handicrafts. He understands a lot of these traditions and we work in that space together, always traveling India, looking for different communities that we can work with to build on that handicraft industry.

It’s one of the greatest perks of my job. I get to see exactly what my makers and artisans put into their work. I love their smiling faces as they're presenting you their wares; they have such pride in what they do, and such joy in sharing it. The pride in these quilts was immeasurable. They knew all about the Buy 1, Give 1 project, so they wanted to do well for it. The joy in their faces, when I was given the first few to sample - like they were saying,

“Look what we did for you. Look what we've done for this project.”

I love that about the Indian culture; they have a strong sense of humanity. They’re so giving…even though they don't have much themselves.”

THE NITTY GRITTIES.

We’ve put a lot of considerations into understanding the cotton, the yarn count, how it's been woven and then stitched together, to inspire that instant comforting feeling of a razai. We created them from a beautiful hand-plucked cotton, made into rolls of very fine 100-count fabric, to deliver a softness similar to muslin.

We chose a size that was incredibly usable - to drape at the end of your bed, to throw against an armchair, to cuddle up with on the couch, or to wrap around your shoulders when you’re enjoying the fresh, crisp outdoors. It’s large enough to comfort, without being overwhelming, so it's got a multitude of purposes.

The sophisticated colourways give it a modern feel, bringing in beautiful lilac and rust orange stitching against the classic pale grey and off-white bases that are synonymous with Jac + Jack. To give it a splash of fun and support another Indian handicraft, we also created dip-dyed muslin drawstring bags - with the added bonus of reducing plastics in the packaging process.

When it comes to sustainability, there’s always a counterbalance; it does take a lot of water to produce cotton, but it’s also a natural fiber, which is important to us. There's no waste in their creation - we're making the fabrics to fit the piece, rather than cutting from larger reams and creating waste through all these offcuts. Our packaging is all biodegradable, we use natural dyes where possible, we don't use safety pins or plastic, the blankets themselves come in a cotton bag that can be repurposed.

The initial joy in the dip-dyed packaging is so uplifting, too; and then to discover that it's this lovely, soft, beautiful quilt that could be used in so many ways! To have a moment of such joy, and then find something that's so personal and so nurturing…that’s the reaction I hope people experience when they receive these blankets.”

- Jac Hunt, Jac + Jack

THE PARTNERSHIP.

“We started Jac + Jack back in 2004, after working together for over 10 years - we basically launched out of my Bondi apartment! We always intended for the brand to be minimal and modern; relaxed and elegant. When we first started thinking about our brand, there was a lot of cheap fabrics being tarted up with embellishments or prints; that understated luxury wasn't really here in Australia, apart from a few import brands.

So we knew we wanted to use luxury yarns and fabrics - which is a great strength of Jac's, she's very good at sourcing beautiful textiles, as well as a wealth of knowledge and experience working with makers and artisans. All in nuanced colours, particularly neutrals; that's something that's really strong for us, and has very much become part of our DNA.

For us, quality, longevity, and wearability is very much in the heart of what we do – and that is still synonymous with the brand today. The ‘touch and feel’, and the origin; that’s what is all comes down to. We started with super fine merino wool, cashmere, mercerised cotton – all in simple, elegant shapes. Always starting with the essence of good quality ingredients. As Jac often says, to bake a good cake, you start with beautiful raw ingredients; organic eggs, great flour.

Our customer expects that of us, now - and that's also how we want to dress, that's what we love. Touch and feel is so important; I don't like knowing where synthetic fabrics and polyester are coming from, what it's doing to Mother Earth, how it feels on the body.

We first collaborated with Two Good in 2018 - they had only been going for two or three years. We were the first fashion brand to collaborate them. We did these beautiful, soft, organic cotton jersey sets for a Buy 1, Give 1 campaign - a long-sleeved tee and drawstring pant, in darkest navy. Super easy and elegant and lovely…and they were really successful.

We shared a deep foundational value with Two Good, too, in that we treat everyone with respect. We believe that everyone is equal and that everyone deserves the best. In our own business, we’ve got a great culture of team spirit and supporting each other; to give opportunities to team members to grow in their roles, to try other things. I love that aspect of having your own business; to be able to see people grow and know you can have such a positive effect on others. Everybody helps each other, no matter what your role is - including Jac and I. We all dive in and go elbow-deep in cashmere to get the job done. Which was very much how Two Good operated; it was a partnership that shared a lot of the same values around equality, growth, worth, quality.

When Kristina reached out to us about a Buy 1, Give 1 Blanket campaign, it seemed really natural to us - to create something nurturing, useful, luxurious. But also something intentional; the B1G1campaign is already such a lovely gesture, but we also wanted the product itself to make sense, and be important in itself. We do a lot of work with artisans out of India they’ve been making these blankets for many, many years; many hands touch it, even though they're not actually handmade all the way. A lot of these artisans are very, very proud of what they do, and the end product shows it.

When I think of the women in refuges receiving these blankets, I want them to know that they matter; that we all believe in them. That they are us; we're all women. It could happen to any of us, where we end up in a vulnerable situation. We all want to end these cycles of disadvantage, and domestic violence; that's the end game. But until then, we want them to find their way home again. We want them to feel that they're safe…and that they’re seen.”

- Lisa Dempsey, Jac + Jack