Linen is the Bedrock of Citron & Date’s Dreamy Home Goods Collection

Photo: Courtesy of Citron & Date

“Last year, we had to find joy and comfort in our homes,” says Jasmine Mullins. “Soft goods became a necessity.” For Mullins, that meant snuggling up in linen sheets that she bought in Portugal a few years ago—which she plans to grow old with. They inspired her to research European linen mills, find an amazing partner (her mom), and start Citron & Date—a modest (garage) atelier that specializes in linen bedding.

We caught up with the hair and makeup artist and it’s clear she made the right decision. The label’s early success includes creating one-of-a-kind bedding for two Vladimir Ossipoff-designed homes and for several boutique hotels, designing linen drapery and aprons for a commercial space and many custom requests. She explains Hawaiian hygge, why linen should be your new obsession and what we can learn from the younger generation.

HONOLULU Magazine: From hair and makeup to home bedding, what inspired the leap?

Jasmine Mullins: When you think about beauty and interior design, both industries affect you mentally and emotionally via the external. Insert 2020, the world shut down, we were out of jobs and left with a creative hole to fill. We started researching the happiest places to live and were shocked that they were countries that experienced darkness and polar night half the year. How could this be? Hygge: interior design that focuses on the senses resulting in curated happiness versus circumstantial happiness. We wanted to create what we call Hawaiian hygge: sensory-driven interior design products specifically designed for the local market.

HM: Why linen?

JM: It’s awesome, especially for Hawai‘i weather. It’s organic, very lightweight and it doesn’t get moldy. It gets better and softer with time.

HM: Where is Citron & Date made?

JM: Our linen is grown all over Europe, but milled in Lithuania, Northern Ireland, Poland and Portugal; different mills create different types of linen. We have it shipped as raw natural linen and from that point everything, from sewing and dyeing to packaging, is done on O‘ahu.

Photo: Courtesy of Citron & Date

HM: What makes Citron & Date stand out from other linen bedding?

JM:  Like a good wine, the quality and the value is dictated by the growth cycle, the region, the air quality, the harvesting and the production process. A lot of other brands are mass marketed, generically designed and made in bulk at a factory. We wanted to create something new here and give customers the opportunity to select the color, stitch, size and pattern of their beddings. 

HM: What’s been the most challenging order? 

JM: The most challenging by far was a Japanese-inspired patchwork (boro sashiko) duvet and bolsters for the Ossipoff cabin at Pālehua. Each duvet took almost 500 strips of different hand-dyed shibori patterns that were brick-laid and resewn together to make their own unique textile. It took almost 100 hours for just one bedding set.

HM: You just expanded to robes and towels. Is the goal to create a full lifestyle line?

JM: In 2020, we all answered [the door] in a stained 5K giveaway T-shirt and yoga pants, so we made the robes and towels as a vehicle to feel better in your home. Eventually we will be expanding into custom furniture, stoneware and art.

Jasmine Mullins, right, with her mom, Pamela Allen. Photo: Courtesy of Citron & Date

HM: As part of a business run by women, what advice would you give other women looking to pursue something new?

JM: Women are blessed with the gift of gab. Use your superior powers of communication to ask questions and find out what the world needs. If you’re older like me, then listen to younger generations. They’re savvy and know what the future will want. And always be humble enough to evolve and grow. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Haha.

citron-date.myshopify.com, @citron_date