Founded in 2020 and brand new to Goodhood, Peace Cabin create multi-use cushions and utility goods for the outdoors as well as your home. We caught up with Pennsylvania based co-founders and creative duo Angela & Daniel Crebbin to talk about starting a company after 20 years in the fashion industry, the positives of being an outsider, the music of the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, and the key to happiness. Check it out below.
GOODHOOD: For those who don’t know, who are you and what do you do?
PEACE CABIN: Hey there, we’re Angela & Daniel Crebbin, a creative duo and co-founders of Peace Cabin. We make multi-use cushions and small utility goods by hand in our studio just outside Philadelphia.
GH: Can you talk us through a day in the life?
PC: Coffee and getting our kids to school are the first orders of business… then we’ll typically start our day sharing priorities and discussing ideas and updates. Most days are super mixed, everything from social media, financial stuff, marketing, sales outreach etc. We try to make time for creativity every day, exploring new ideas in the studio, making connections and discussing additions to the product line. Then there are the orders to process and typically we have several other projects running at once, so we’ll be working through logistics and ideas for collaborations or custom work. If there are bigger quantity orders, then our days are full-on production mode. That’s a general day in the life, but anyone who runs their own business knows that on any given day the wheels can come off or an exciting opportunity might come up that we need to jump on, or we get distracted by.
GH: What was it that made you start Peace Cabin back in 2020?
PC: A combination of many factors really - wanting more autonomy, challenging ourselves to go beyond being design focussed in our careers, and feeling like we had an exciting brand/product idea that we thought others might be into as well. I (Daniel) was also looking for new opportunities and wasn’t excited about anything that was coming up, it felt like a good time to take a break from working in fashion after 20+ years and to take on a new challenge. Staring down a pandemic was pretty motivating in figuring out a new path forward too.
"WE LOOK AT STYLING, SNEAKERS AND VINTAGE CLOTHING IN OUR CREATIVE PROCESS AND YOU SEE THAT IN OUR FABRICS AND COLOUR USE"
GH: What does your creative process look like, how do you find your inspiration?
PC: Inspiration-wise, we mostly stay true to the DNA that we started the brand with. The premise was cushions that work in your home, but have a functional element and aesthetic that we think makes sense for occasional outdoor use. At the time we were spending a lot of time camping (OK maybe more glamping…) and found that most of the products in that market were very techy looking or outdoor-themed kitsch. We look at vintage outdoor clothing and ‘gear’ as a reference point, things like backpacks, tents, vintage sailing or climbing gear. That was where the idea to use CORDURA®️ on the base of our cushions came from. Another influence for us is our background in menswear and denim design. We look at styling, sneakers and vintage clothing in our creative process and you see that in our fabrics and colour use. We love mid-century interiors and modernist architecture as another reference point, we typically don’t reference contemporary home and interior trends, there’s a lot of folks who do a great job of that.
GH: Can you talk us through what your product is and how they are made?
PC: ‘Floor cushions’ is probably the easiest way to describe what we make, but we approach the design of our cushions as multi-use. They can work on the floor, but also on chairs/benches etc. Because we use durable and water-resistant Cordura nylon on the underside, you can take them outside too, for wherever you want a comfy seat.
We make everything by hand and one of our biggest differentiators as a cushion brand is our commitment to using natural, biodegradable filling materials. We use Kapok fiber, raw cotton and shredded organic latex foam which is not only better for the planet but they’re also more comfortable than synthetic fillings. As a brand, we partner with 1% for the planet and believe we have a responsibility to give back as a generator of products.
GH: Your tagline is “Goods for insiders and outsiders”. Can you go into this?
PC: It’s a double meaning of sorts - being either an insider or an outsider are both positives in our view. It also speaks to the idea that our goods are multi-use, intended for both indoor and outdoor activities.
"BEING EITHER AN INSIDER OR AN OUTSIDER ARE BOTH POSITIVES IN OUR VIEW"
GH: You are partners in life as well as partners in business. How do you maintain a work/life balance?
PC: We’re very lucky to have both a shared studio area and our own individual workspaces, so that definitely helps. We also have two kids, so it can’t all be work. It just kind of balances out and because we are also life partners we both feel comfortable saying if we need a break.
GH: Favourite room in your home, and why?
PC: Our studio is part of our home, it’s full of light and is a great place to be creative and spend the day.
GH: Describe Peace Cabin in 5 words.
PC: Adaptable, Thoughtful, Quality, Future Vintage.
GH: Top 3 tips for camping?
PC: Well obviously you’ll not want to head out without some Peace Cabin cushions… More seriously though, leaving nature as you found it is super important and respecting other campers and the camping environment. Everyone is out there for different reasons, so try not to over-impose your vibe on others!
GH: What are you listening to at the moment?
PC: Right now we’re enjoying Ryuichi Sakamoto’s eclectic music - rest in power!
"LEAVING NATURE AS YOU FOUND IT IS SUPER IMPORTANT AND RESPECTING OTHER CAMPERS AND THE CAMPING ENVIRONMENT"
GH: Describe your dream weekend spent outdoors in nature.
PC: Family, friends, a body of water - more sun, less rain.
GH: Who or what is the inspiration behind your interior design choices?
PC: Our home is quite eclectic, so we tend to stick to a mostly neutral palette, dark woods and black accents to tie things together. We have some mid-century pieces that we bought when we started creating a shared home space together, the clean Iines have stood the test of time and allows us to mix other elements in with them. Our backyard cabin that we built is more of a paired-down space - just simple plywood and good light make it great for focussed conversations or decompressing.
GH: What’s your favourite product you’ve ever made?
PC: Our ‘Wanderer’ cushions that are fully built from Cordura nylon. We’ve taken them all kinds of places, beaten them up, got them wet and had the bonus of having a comfy seat on hand.
GH: What is the key to happiness?
PC: Growth through taking on uncomfortable challenges has been important for both of us. Having a family of your own makes life so much richer and we also find that living with animals can usually turn any bad day around.
