Carlotta Casals & Georgie Cavanagh from Carlotta + Gee
Friends and business partners, Carlotta Casals & Georgie Cavanagh, are founders of Carlotta + Gee—they share their work journey, love of locally made quality linen bedding, new and exciting pieces in the pipeline, and much more!
Photography: Nic Gossage & Courtesy of Carlotta + Gee
Yellow Stripes linen bedding from Carlotta + Gee.
Carlotta Casals (pictured left) and Georgie Cavanagh (Gee), founders of Carlotta + Gee. Photo: Courtesy of Carlotta + Gee
Carlotta + Gee linen tablecloth in Yellow Stripes and napkin in Bumblebee.
Vintage Pink and Pinot linen bedding from Carlotta + Gee.
Hello Carlotta and Georgie—can you introduce yourselves?
Carlotta & Georgie: We are Carlotta + Gee or Carlotta and Georgie who founded Carlotta + Gee. Carlotta is from Barcelona, Spain, who has lived in Australia for over 5 years—she is a swimmer and thinks Bondi and Icebergs are one of her favourite places in the world! Georgie (Gee) is a seasoned publicist and was a travel journalist for News Corp—Gee is now a new mum to baby Amelia.
Take us back to the beginning… what were you doing before you founded Carlotta + Gee?
Carlotta was working in events and activations running large events such as the Australian Open and Netflix events. Gee was in PR and publicity for large consumer brands such as Westfield, Officeworks and Cadbury. She also was in the founding team for Jules Lund’s TRIBE tech Influencer app. Both our former work lead to the success of Carlotta + Gee, as we’ve been able to play on our strengths to develop our own brand.
Why is all-natural, sustainable locally made French linen bedding so important to you?
Carlotta’s family have had connections in French linen ‘flax’ for a long time so it is very important heritage. We strongly believe in quality over quantity, which is why we believe in French linen so much rather than less quality flax.
Your collections are in a range of warm, earthy tones—why are you drawn to these tones?
At Carlotta + Gee we will always have our classic tones such as the earthy tones such as natural, cream and olive, among other 20 or so colours. We then ensure we have our favourite stripes, which pair back with our earthy tones.
Tell us a little about your current collection and new pieces…
Last year we released 14 new colours such as Pinot, Chocolate and Tobacco Stripes for autumn/winter and then very bright, fun colours for spring/summer, such as Green Fig, Vintage Pink and Yellow Stripes. We believe that linen is not seasonal and can be mixed and matched. Noticing a gap in the market, we brought back valances, and have seen lots of people starting to use these on their beds again. We believe in custom pieces and making every item unique—so we have launched embroidery in our warehouse. This is where you can add a name, initial or a sentence on any product you like such as a robe, napkins or our aprons.
When did quality linen bedding first have an impact on you?
When we stayed at a unique hotel in Byron Bay, The Atlantic, we experienced linen. We slept so well and then came back to Sydney where we didn’t and got caught up back in the rat race. We wanted to continue our holiday vibe and feel into our everyday life. Like when you have a coffee each morning, why not sleep in linen each night to ensure a great night sleep.
‘Be unique and don’t follow anyone else. Own your look and feel, and don’t sway from this.’ Photo: Courtesy of Carlotta + Gee
“The most rewarding part of our job is seeing people sleeping well, and the joy that brings. It also has so many health benefits, which means we’re helping people.”
Linen bedding in Summer Floral from Carlotta + Gee.
Linen tablecloth in Green Fig and napkins in Yellow Stripes from Carlotta + Gee.
Linen European pillowcase in Lavender Check from Carlotta + Gee.
Linen bedding in Green Fig from Carlotta + Gee.
The most rewarding part of your job is…
Seeing people sleeping well, and the joy that brings. It also has so many health benefits, which means we're helping people. It’s also exciting when people haven’t slept in linen and we can help them try it—there is no going back for them and they want to tell everyone.
And the most challenging aspect of your job is…
It’s a good problem to have but we would love to keep expanding a lot faster than we can.
Where do you mainly go for inspiration?
We’re lucky to have Carlotta as one of the founders being from Europe so we can draw a lot of inspiration from there. While having another founder Gee, from Australia, so it’s a great mix for our designs.
Three words that sum up your design approach?
Sophisticated, effortless chic and sustainable.
The most valuable piece of advice you would give to a designer looking to break into the industry is…
Be unique and don’t follow anyone else. Own your look and feel, and don’t sway from this.
Are there any dream projects or collaborations you both aspire to undertake?
Last year we created a napery collaboration with well-known, influencer Nadia Fairfax, which we’re still selling on our website. It was a highlight and definitely one we had dreamt of. We’re always looking at what’s next and anytime we undertake a collaboration it has to be very unique and done properly. We have a few in the works so you’ll have to follow us on Instagram to find out more!
What’s the first design element you always notice when you walk into a bedroom?
The bed is always the first design element we notice… everything else leads from there. It really is the central focus and the rest of the design follows. If you can have a cosy bed then it will ensure cohesion with the rest of the room. Then we would say windows and natural light—this is critical to a calm room where the flow continues.
What are you most excited about that’s coming up for Carlotta + Gee?
Being a new mum, Gee is very excited to announce we’re launching a children’s range towards the end of this year. Currently we already have single/king single designs, however we are stepping it up with unique designs that will be children focused. We will also be adding cot sheets, mini quilts and little children PJs as lounge wear. It will fantastic as there’s a big gap in the market. Our colours, which are very popular, will also be available for the little rug rats.