The State of A50: 2025 in Review

To our valued A50 customers and supporters,

Happy New Year! As we settle into 2026, it's time for our annual tradition: The State of A50. Since we launched on Kickstarter a decade ago, transparency has been our North Star. While most companies don’t pull back the curtain and share the inner workings of their business, we truly value having you as part of the A50 community! We believe you deserve to know exactly what’s happening "behind the seams" of the products you bring into your home - especially ones made with pride and care right here.

2025 wasn’t just another year for us - it was a milestone! We celebrated 10 years of Authenticity50, launched heritage-defining products, and visited the farms, factories, and friends who make our Seed-to-Stitch® mission possible. Join us as we look back at a truly unforgettable year. 🎉

 

A Decade of American Craftsmanship

Ten years ago, we started with a simple, bold idea: world-class bedding could be crafted entirely in the USA, from the cotton seed to the final stitch. We believed in this concept so much that it became our trademarked term, Seed-to-Stitch®. And it guides our brand and company mission to this day.

 

To celebrate our 10th Anniversary, we threw a big party to remember - with goodies, giveaways, live music, and more! It was so special to gather with our team, friends, partners, and long-time supporters to toast a decade of USA manufacturing.

We’re still pinching ourselves that A50 has grown into the American-made business and community that it is today, and we're humbled by your trust in our products and enthusiasm for our locally-made mission. We’re grateful that Authenticity50 is a brand that you appreciate and want to continue supporting  - as that in turn helps us sustain a local supply chain with over 1,000 skilled American workers across the country!

 

New Product Launches

The 10th anniversary spirit led to the launch of our Northwest Wool Throw - meaningfully done so on 10/10 at 10am PST! Woven from Oregon wool by the legendary Pendleton Woolen Mills® in Washington state, this limited-edition heirloom piece took two years to develop and perfect. Seeing it in your homes this holiday season, and getting exciting press (including a large feature in The Oregonian, video coverage in Apartment Therapy, and much more!) was the ultimate 10th-birthday gift for us! It’s a product we’re very proud of, and we know you’ll enjoy it with your loved ones for generations to come.

"What's not to love about this throw! Natural fabrics, perfect size for wrapping up, high quality, and beautiful. Treat yourself or a loved one, they will love it too!"

- Dina L.

 

In addition to our new wool throw, we followed that up in December with the launch of our A50 Travel Pillow! We realized that our community loved their Custom Comfort Pillows so much, they were trying to stuff them into suitcases for trips! Many of you reached out to us over the years to ask about one and we knew it was something we had to offer. We developed a travel version with our pillow team that provides that same adjustable loft and fill you love, but in a portable size. Our first run quickly sold-out (especially after our friend, HGTV star Jenny Marrs, shared her "obsession" with it on her Instagram Stories!) Don't worry, we're getting more in soon - be sure to sign up for the waitlist so you know when they're back!

 

Visiting Friends, Farms, and Factories

Staying connected to our Seed-to-Stitch® roots is very important. We love seeing our manufacturing partners, their teams, and workers, and keeping our relationships strong. Whether it's our fabric team in South Carolina, our pillow manufacturers in California, or weavers in Washington, these visits remind us that every A50 purchase supports over 1,000 American jobs across the country.

One of our favorite trips this year was out to the Oregon sheep farm, where the wool for our Northwest Wool Throw is grown. We love visiting the people behind the farms and factories, that is the most rewarding part of making our products! We stood in the pastures, met the farmers who have been ethically raising sheep for generations, and saw firsthand the work that goes into the wool harvesting process. 

Sheep shearing day comes only twice a year, and it’s a rare experience to see skilled shearers carefully remove the wool from the animal. They are so good at what they do, and do special training in order to treat the sheep humanely and with care during the process. It takes roughly two minutes to sheer one, and is painless - it's just like a haircut, and the sheep feel much better once the thick coat of fur is removed.

We also visited the Pendleton mill in Washougal, WA, several times throughout our Northwest Wool Throw manufacturing process; witnessing first-hand all of the intricate production steps required to make our blanket. One of the very last woolen mills remaining in the USA, Pendleton is the true embodiment of American-made craftsmanship. With a legacy dating back to 1863, and a storied history, it's one of the most well-known American brands around the world. 

The incredible Pendleton team gave us exclusive access to their 100+ year old mill, to see what goes on behind-the-scenes to make their iconic blankets. From the wool cleaning and baling to the dying, weaving, cutting, and sewing, it’s all done by expert craftspeople who love what they do. We're grateful to all of the staff and team who helped us create this special throw. And stay tuned, we plan to expand our Pendleton offerings in the future!

 

We’ve developed a great relationship with HGTV’s favorite couple, Jenny & Dave Marrs, and their incredible team since 2022, when they discovered our products. As kind and fun as you see on their show, they're wonderful people who love supporting small, local businesses. Last spring, we visited Jenny and Dave in Arkansas and celebrated the grand opening of their newest store, Marrs on Main.

This is the second time we've been invited by Jenny and Dave to a store opening (the first for their flagship store, Marrs Mercantile), and their retail locations are beautiful. You'll find our Custom Comfort Pillows (which Jenny is "obsessed" with and considers one of her "favorite things"!), Heritage Blankets, and Northwest Wool Throw stocked there, with more to come.

We're so grateful for their continued support and thrilled for their continued success with their popular show Fixer to Fabulous (now in its 7th season!) If you're ever in Bentonville, Arkansas, stop by their stores and tell Jenny's team we said hi.

We also collaborated with Jenny and her store team again - for our fourth (and biggest!) Instagram giveaway together - sharing the love for American-made goods with thousands of her fans. 

 

Giving Back

As a small business, community is very important to us. Every year, we hold fundraising campaigns to help organizations and causes that are close to our hearts. This year was no different. On both Memorial Day weekend and Veterans Day, we held our annual EOD Warrior Foundation Giveback Campaigns:  With your help, we raised $1,600 for this incredible organization - and to date, we've now donated over $10k total to help brave EOD techs and their families. 

Authenticity50 has its roots in Los Angeles, and LA is home to our pillow manufacturing team and their families. When the devastating wildfires ripped through the city, we wanted to help relief efforts. Through our pillow fundraising campaign, we proudly raised $1,100 for the California Fire Foundation.

We're so thankful that our A50 community always comes through, supporting our efforts to give back. We truly appreciate your generosity during these campaigns, and we will continue our giving efforts this year to help those in need.

 

Looking Ahead

As we kick off 2026, we've got some exciting news to share with you: Our highly anticipated colorway, Carolina Gray, is finally coming back! A best-seller when it was offered years ago, it’s currently being cut & sewn by our skilled team in New Jersey.

We're hoping to get it in stock in the next 4-6 weeks, so please keep an eye on your inbox for more details! (Psst, if you signed up for a notification about Carolina Gray Signature Sheets in the past, don't worry, you're on the list for this restock.) We know you've been waiting, and we're so excited to get Carolina Gray in your hands!

We're also working on getting towels back on our shelves. We were hoping to get them back in 2024, but unfortunately, we weren't able to get our weaving program up and running with our manufacturers. We will try our very best to get them back this year!

Final Thoughts

As always, we thank you for your continued support of our American-made small business and for helping us keep manufacturing ethical and local. We literally wouldn’t be here without you!

When you choose to buy from us at Authenticity50, you aren’t just buying a blanket or a set of sheets. You're investing in American manufacturing and craftsmanship. You're investing in American manufacturing and craftsmanship. You're helping to support workers and their families in small towns and communities who rely on the textile industry for their livelihoods. You're keeping farms and factories open, and skilled jobs here for the next generation.

We love having you as a part of our community and appreciate all you do to spread the word about our mission, company, and USA-made products. Please continue to share A50 with your friends and family - word of mouth is the greatest gift, and means so much to us!

Here’s to another decade of quality, community, and comfort.

With gratitude,

Steph, Jimmy, and the A50 Team

 

P.S. Please leave a comment below, or reach out to our US-based team with any thoughts, feedback, or ideas you have. We value your input, and are always happy to hear from you!