‘Fabric of the future’ — Aggie alumni start blanket business

*Audio clip is the voice of Jacque Colemere, Aggie alumnus and owner of Make it Blanket.

Spencer and Jacque Colemere were lying in bed one night, struggling to wrap their blanket around their legs due to its disproportionate size.  

That’s when Jacque, the Utah State University alumnus, came up with the idea to customize blanket sizes, creating a new business — “Make it Blanket.”  

The business allows customers to choose their sizes, stitching, colors, and patterns of blankets and beddings.  

“One of our partners we’re working with — she’s been trying to find a blanket like this for years, and she can’t find anything within the price range. It’s just satisfying knowing you’re actually filling that niche,” Spencer said.   

Neither expected their futures to entail a blanket-making business, especially with Jacque majoring in nursing and Spencer majoring in economics at Brigham Young University. Then, in 2019, both graduated from Utah Valley University with an MBA.   

With Jacque working mainly in business marketing and Spencer forming Make it Blanket’s business strategies, Jacque said they have loved working in this business as a couple.  

Besides working alongside her husband, one of Jacque’s favorite parts of the business is the blanket customization.  

“It’s just fun to see people get creative, and they’ll choose the most unique colors and put them together and somehow make it work,” Jacque said.  

But what makes their blankets stand out the most, Jacque said, is their fine linen.  

“The quality is unreal. I’ve never felt linen like this one,” she said.  

According to Spencer, linen is not just one of the most comfortable fabrics; it’s one of the healthiest for the environment and customer.  

“It’s more environmentally friendly to grow and make linen than it is to make cotton, or a man-made polyester fabric — so it’s actually making a difference, and it’s going to start catching on,” Spencer said. “It’s one of the fabrics of the future.”  

European customers have also been buying more linen, and Spencer said he believes the U.S. consumers are close behind.  

After the customers customize the blankets, the design is shipped to a European company, where the blanket would be specially crafted, according to Jacque.  

To maintain the privacy of their designers, she did not name the European business; although she did mention they met at a business conference.  

According to Spencer, the quality of their blankets, fabrics, and designs will last longer than any cotton or polyester blanket.  

“If you buy one linen blanket, it’ll last your whole life,” Spencer said.  

Spencer said he hopes more customers will latch onto Make it Blanket’s vision for the planet and people.  

“It’s rewarding to see people understand that vision, and then hopefully apply it to other areas of their life. This idea of minimalism, and how buying less and consuming less, you can help the planet, is what I think will be what the younger generations catch onto,” Spencer said.  

-Jenny.Carpenter@usu.edu

Submitted photo