Comfort has always been a strong passion of Susan Fowler, owner of Down to Basics. She had a back injury at the age 12 which resulted in months in the Mayo Clinic. From that time on she craved the comfort of cozy, luxurious bedding and the healing peace of mind that comes with that comfort!
Later in Susan’s young life, another fateful moment came while using a Eurail Pass through Europe, she found a down comforter in Switzerland. There she slept for the first time under a big, lofty comforter and enjoyed the most restful, cozy night’s sleep ever. She has been infatuated with practical, luxurious comfort ever since.
Upon her return to the States, while teaching Home Economics, Susan searched for a down comforter – not so easy to find in the 70’s! Since comforters were so rare in the US at that time, she started to sew and design comforters and duvet covers for The Company Store, Scandia Down, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller, Barney’s, and Bergdorf’s Leslie Anderson linens.
In 1985, Susan left teaching to start her first company, The Upstairs Down Shop. She opened locations on Madison Ave, Great Neck Long Island, Shrewsbury, NJ and Princeton, NJ. Her first hotel client was the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA in1985. They were one of the first to use down comforters and duvet covers in US and she still supplies to them today. Luxury and comfort to their guests is important to them.
After the sale of the Upstairs Down Shop, she started Down to Basics in 1991. For over 29 years, Susan Fowler and her long time, expert bedding staff at Down to Basics has provided the very best in down comforters and linens to individuals, designers, hotels, spas and hospitals in the US and in Europe.
Susan designed and patented the unique Diagon® down comforter providing the lightest and loftiest comforter on the market. The combination of the patented Diagon® design, the Swiss Batiste shell and the high fill power down create the unusual luxurious loft. In addition to that, her Tie-Down combination solves all those problems of the shifting comforter inside the duvet cover and then gives the look and feel of that tufted feature.
These comforters are also versatile – they can be either puffed up or flattened depending on the the desired look. This is the same comforter in both these pictures.
Another wonderful, unique product Susan has designed is her travel (personal) down comforter/pillow. Everyone can travel though life in comfort from crib, college, career and beyond. The last word in versatility! A 4 in 1 item. Open, it is a little personal or crib comforter, folded in half it is a down pillow, and folded into its pocket it becomes a travel pillow! Since Susan understands the importance of comfort in a hospital, these have been placed in some of the best hospitals in America – a coveted gift of healing comfort to their patients! An added bit of coziness on your bed every night, and you can take it with you anywhere you go!
Her list of hospitality clients include Andre Balazs’ Chiltern Firehouse in London, England, The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, FL, Miraval Spas (in Tucson AZ, Austin TX, and Lenox MA) , New York Yacht Club in NYC, The The Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA and more… The hotel can also accommodate their guests’ desire to purchase the bedding – we will drop ship.
Susan believes that a good night’s sleep is a BASIC necessity to your well-being. We invite you to nestle into our clouds of heavenly comfort – for only pennies a night for years of luxurious, comfortable sleep. Invest in the REST of your life! Visit our Down to Basics shop at 2 Bridge Ave. – The Galleria in Red Bank, NJ and enjoy our web site at www.downtobasics.com
800-822-2135
