Your event is finally here! In the months and weeks leading up to the big day, you carefully picked the perfect patterns, chose your favorite colors, and selected all the right sizes. They arrive on hangers ready to go, and each linen helps set the stage perfectly for your special event. Ever wonder how they got there? Behind each linen is hours of skillful crafting, the latest tech, and, most of all, teamwork. We wanted to give you a glimpse inside the process of creating and caring for the thousands of linens in our inventory and take you behind-the-scenes to see how each linen comes to life. Check it out!
Every linen starts when our team prints a ticket that shows what size, fabric, and color or pattern is needed for an upcoming order. The team first checks to see if the required linen is available in our inventory of over 140,000 linens. If the required linen isn’t “on the shelf,” the team prepares to create the linen either by cutting down a larger linen (part of our sustainability initiatives to help reduce waste) or by pulling a bolt of fabric from our supply.
The team feeds the fabric into a spreading machine that helps smooth the linen before applying the pattern for the specific shape and size required. They carefully trace and cut the pieces according to the template. The pieces are handed off to our skilled sewing team who joins the pieces, attaches the linen’s RFID chip, and finishes the ends with a serging machine for a polished look. Our quality control team measures the finished linen to make sure the dimensions are just right, presses out any wrinkles, folds the linen, and places the linen on a hanger. Then, the linen’s RFID chip is programmed with all of the linen’s information — including size, shape, fabric, color, and pattern — before it is placed in labeled bag for delivery. After traveling through the warehouse on a complex conveyor system, the linen is loaded onto a truck destined for one of our regional warehouses or its ultimate destination, one of 55,000 events we partner with every year.
After the event, the linen arrives back at our warehouse and is shuttled over to our dedicated laundry facility that cares for all of the linens in all of our locations. (They process an average of 3,000 linens every day!) Similar to your laundry process at home, the linens are sorted by the type of care needed and pre-treated for any spots if necessary. Large batches of linens are then loaded into the tunnel washer — a massive, automated commercial washing machine that can process over 1,500 lbs of laundry an hour. Our more delicate linens that require special care are loaded into smaller commercial washing machines.
The clean, damp linens are then brought to our pressing machines where they are dried and pressed simultaneously. As they exit the presser, our Laundry team works in pairs to inspect and skillfully fold each linen — the duo is precise and perfectly in sync as they carefully fold each linen, like a ballet. After they are folded, the linens move to our Quality Control team, who scan the RFID chips, check the dimensions, and use a smart camera technology to ensure that the color is correct. Once the linen passes the inspection, it’s placed on a hanger and sent up a conveyor belt to the bagging machine. After the automated bagging machine wraps the linen in its clear, protective bag, a Laundry team member scans the RFID chip one last time to create a label showing its fabric, color, and size, and let the system know that the laundering process is complete. If the system sees that linen can be used for an upcoming order, it’s brought from Laundry right to the Loading Dock, ready for its next party. If the linen isn’t headed out to another event just yet, it’s shuttled back to our Linen Department for storage until its next big day arrives.
Our Linen and Laundry departments are massive operations that help us provide our clients with a vast selection of linen options from solids to sequins. Teamwork, technology, excellence, and innovation are the cornerstones of both departments. From integrating the latest technologies to tweaking templates, they’re constantly looking for ways to improve the process, make it more sustainable, and find new ways to provide our clients with high-quality linens, napkins, cushions, table runners, pipe and drape and beyond.
So great to get a peek behind the scenes! Thanks to all the hardworking folks who make it happen.