Our Story

We are Aslihan and Gizem, two sisters from Istanbul based in New England. When we came to Boston to attend college, we fell in love with it right away. Boston has played a central role in American history. The city is full of life and culture and boasts beautiful architecture, delicious food, and an entrepreneurial spirit. We have had tons of fun, made many close friends, and have grown both personally and professionally.

In Boston, we have learned a lot about business, technology and innovation and became passionate about sustainability and fashion. Equipped with business degrees from Northeastern University, we became part of the corporate world and have worked for Fortune 500 companies. Yet, deep down we have always known that we would like to start our own business and do something we are 100% passionate about, something that could highlight our values and culture.

When visiting Istanbul for Christmas Holiday breaks, we would bring peshtemal gifts for our friends back in Boston. They became incredibly popular because of their versatility – they were used as towels, shawls, and home decorations. Our friends also loved the story of peshtemals, their beauty, and the quality of organic cotton. Seeing our friends’ enthusiasm, we developed our own Peshtemal Collection. We partnered with local artisans in Turkey, famous for the quality of their weaving on a hand loom and launched our store. Since then, we have been sending our designs and patterns to the artisans, while ensuring that they use sustainable materials and are fairly paid.

Today, Peshtemal Collection offers top textile products in Boston, Rhode Island, Maine and California. For the last two years it has been featured at West Elm, SOWA, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston Women's and many other markets that bring together thousands of people passionate about making and owning handmade sustainable products. What is the secret of our success? We really love what we do and stand by our values. We truly believe in sustainability, supporting local women artisans, and of course enjoying the unbeatable softness of our Peshtemals.

Love,

Aslihan & Gizem