About Us

Heirloom Linens is a real live "bricks and mortar" store, located in Broadmead Village Shopping Centre, in Victoria, BC. We have been in business since 1995 and conducting business via the internet since 1999.

The store is owned and operated by Joan & Bob Ianson and their daughter Kristen. Store Manager Elizabeth and our staff very much enjoy the linen business, and this dedication and product knowledge is evident if you ever have the occasion to chat with them.

Joan had aspirations, when Heirloom Linens opened the doors back in 1995, to only oversee the financial aspects of the store.  However, she found herself often out on the sales floor working with clients to show off the products that she is so proud of.  Joan is now, what she calls, in "semi-retirement" and works mainly from home.  She still enjoys coming into the store on occassion to  work, when needed, during the busier times.

Bob began his career with Woodward's Department Stores in the early 70's and yes... joined the linen department as a stock boy. When he left Woodward's fifteen years later, he was the bedding buyer for several million dollars of product and store locations in BC and Alberta. A two-year stint with Pacific Linen in Seattle only reinforced his desire to launch his own operation. This prompted a move back to Victoria and the opening of Heirloom Linens. Now many years later, as the saying goes... the rest is history. Bob has served on the Board of Directors for the Retail Council of Canada, and in 2012 was inducted into the Retail Hall of Fame.

Kristen has been around linens her entire life because of her father Bob. She officially joined the team in 2000 to manage re-purchasing store inventory. Since then she has taken over all the purchasing for the store, as well as accounting and website maintenance. She enjoys picking out new items for the store and overseeing events that Heirloom Linens hosts.  Bob and Joan are very proud of the work Kristen does and she will eventually take over the operation completely.

Heirloom Linens has been giving back to the community for over 24 years! For Heirloom Linens' 20th birthday, Joan, Bob, and Kristen decided to give back in a big way: they started the 12 Months of Giving program. Every month a local charity and product is selected. Heirloom Linens then gives the charity 50% of the net profits of that product for the month. With Heirloom Linens 12 Months of Giving, they have given back over $100,000 to the community and continue to do so.