About Hampton & Astley - award-winning luxury homeware

Based in Staffordshire, Hampton and Astley is a luxury homeware brand founded in 2017 by young British entrepreneur Caroline Brooks, who has a passion for producing stylish, high-quality homewares that perform better than their High Street equivalents. 

After purchasing a 'luxury' soft and fluffy bathroom towel from a well-known high street store and being disappointed by its lack of absorbency, she set about designing her own Egyptian cotton range, to be both super soft and highly absorbent.

It proved an instant success, and the company has since expanded its range to include Egyptian cotton bedding, bathrobes, natural wax scented candles and much more.

A few years ago, the founders of Hampton and Astley purchased some towels from a well-known high street store. On the face of it, the towels were thick and soft and therefore were perceived to be luxurious.

However, upon getting the towels home and washing them, although still thick, the towels immediately felt like they had lost some of their softness compared to how they felt initially in the store.

Worse still upon using the towels for the first time they simply did not have the absorbency expected, rather, they tended to smear water around the body rather than absorb it. They also shed thousands of fibres in the bathroom, creating a bit of a mess in the process.

The penny dropped. A thick, soft towel is not an indication of quality nor the ability of what should be a towel’s core competency - to dry a person quickly and effortlessly.

Our values and mission

Hampton and Astley towels are different. Made from pure 100% Egyptian cotton, they are not only irresistibly soft – and remain so after being washed - but have superior absorbency. Indeed, we make towels that actually dry you. Who would have thought it!? 

Our approach to towels is the same approach that we take across all of our collections. 

Our bedding, for example, is crafted using 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sateen to balance luxury with breathability for year-round comfort.

Our mission is to offer luxury, high-performing homeware at affordable prices that delight our customers and capture that five-star-hotel feel. All of our collections, whether that be bedding, bath towel sets or candles have been crafted to perform better than the equivalent priced product on the high street and therefore give our customers exceptional value for money.

That's why we're proud of more than 2,500 5 star Trustpilot reviews. Not only that, but the company founders personally test each collection to ensure that it meets the highest standards and, more importantly, our customers’ expectations.

1. Absorbency: The towel had to absorb water properly, not push it around the skin. The final construction uses fine Egyptian cotton or long staple cotton equivalent (for example, in the US they use Pima cotton) fibres threaded into loops and woven tightly together to create a large surface area, helping the towel wick moisture away quickly.
2. Softness after washing: A major part of the test was how the towels felt after repeated washing. Many towels feel good when new but quickly become flat, rough or crusty. We wanted towels that continued to come out soft and fluffy, rather than becoming hard after the first few washes. This remains a strong customer language point today, with brand research highlighting phrases such as “stays soft and fluffy even after washing”, “they actually dry you”, and “unlike other towels that go hard and rough after washing.”
3. Shrinkage and shape retention: The towels needed to keep their shape and size through normal washing. Some towels we developed never made as they would shrink after washing and could not meet our strict tolerance.
4. Colour retention and no colour run: Colour performance was important from the start. Towels needed to wash well, keep their colour, and avoid colour run after washing. Many coloured towels fade after the first few washes.
   
5. Fibre shedding: The towels needed to feel plush without leaving fibres behind. A lot of the towels I purchased to compare against in 2017 would shed fibres, which came off in the washing machine or when drying yourself with them.
6.  Drying speed: The pile had to feel luxurious but still dry efficiently after use and after washing. With heavy towels 800gsm they take ages to dry, so when you come to use your towel after your next bath or shower, it’s still damp. They also sit damp in your washing basket and collect mould.

Enjoy,

Caroline & Matt 😊