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as they say, the rest is history. Over time, Gabler carved a successful niche for Peacock Alley with the premise that an all-white bed is akin to fashion's little black dress: Buy the best neutral basics and thoughtfully work everything else in. The company helped popularize matelassé as a staple and added bath towels, robes, and other accessories to its collections. Today, Gabler is credited with building the first woman-owned, woman-operated, multimillion-dollar bedding brand in America. The path to success hasn't always been easy. In 1983, China flooded the market with cheap handmade lace, causing Peacock Alley's intricate lace coverlets to plummet in value. Woven on authentic Nottingham looms in New England — which had once produced coveted American Battenberg lace — the looms had lain dormant in a shuttered New England factory until Gabler helped rescue them. In a half-century's time, the company has weathered two major global recessions — challenges for any company, but even more so for smaller, family-run businesses. Major turning points came when her sons Jason and Josh came aboard, and later when they built up its ecommerce business, Gabler says. There are now six Peacock Alley stores in three states and 250 retailers nationwide carrying its products. The brand is a favorite of interior designers such as Alessandra Branca, Ray Booth, and Mark D. Sikes, who used Peacock Alley linens in his redesign of Blair House, the private guest quarters of the White House. You'll also find the bedding at boutique hotels around the country, including The Louis Hotel in Wilson, Arkansas, and the Alfond Inn in Winter Park, Florida. Peacock Alley's newest lineup includes nonallergenic mulberry silk inserts for pillows and duvets, along with a sumptuous two-inch-thick wool mattress pad, which is "truly like sleeping on a cloud," Josh says. Peacock Alley bedding in a room by Mary McDonald for Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York 2023 NICK SERGANT The Peacock Alley family farmhouse in Granbury was built in the 1880s. A bed from the Mark D. Sikes for Chaddock collection, dressed in Peacock Alley linens. Peacock Alley bedding in Natasha Baradaran's room at Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas 2022 Josh Needleman Mary Ella Gabler Jason Needleman PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHEN KARLISCH 74