Spotlight on Federal Hill Businesses | Phina’s Fine Linens

Article From BaltimoreSmall.com

“Textiles have always been a passion of mine. My dad worked in the New York garment industry so I learned a lot from him. He would take me clothes shopping as a kid and he always turned the clothes inside out to inspect the quality. That was so embarrassing to me, but he would often find less expensive, quality clothing that was better made than most of the awfully expensive labels.

My mother Josephina, who was an octogenarian, discovered that good linens were hard to find in Baltimore. She’s the one who recommended opening a linen shop."

"Prior to opening a fine linen boutique, I worked in radio and television. It was there that I learned how to ask the right questions to better understand someone’s story and their shopping needs.

I ask my clients, ‘How do you live in your bed?’ It’s an important question because everyone lives in their bed differently. They spend a good portion of their lives relaxing, resting, and sleeping in this one special place. A bedroom is no longer a place to just sleep.

Most people don’t want to talk about their private lives, especially about their bedrooms. To lighten the mood I ask fun questions like:

Do you have dogs and kids popping up on the bed?

Do you watch sports, eat in bed, or do you just relax and read at night?

Connecting with people is such an important part of what I do. It allows me to better understand what products are a good match for their lifestyle. It also creates a stress free atmosphere for shopping.

The Covid19 experience made it necessary to pivot and rethink the importance of how to present bedding to my customers. By simply shifting to ‘Personal Private Shopping’ for part of the week I created a safer environment for our bedding clients, which they greatly appreciated. During the lock-down I also opened a ‘Soap Bar’ knowing that soap was relevant in helping to stop the spread of the virus.

Quarantining made self-care items more important because people couldn’t visit spas or places to be pampered. I searched for lovely products that made our customers feel good, such as special soaps, spa brushes, towels, and bathrobes; items that felt like you were experiencing a personal retreat on the homefront.

When all is said and done, I experience a positive feeling knowing our clients received quality service and products."