Jonika Griffin, founder and designer of Rest Simple, named her first pillow cover collection after her grandmother, Alfie, who was the first person Jonika saw using a home sewing machine. Even more special was the fabric in the Alfie collection, which came from a stash of vintage cotton bolt ends that Granny Alfie gave to Jonika’s mother almost 40 years ago.

Jonika started Rest Simple, during the COVID-19 pandemic, from her home sewing studio. She wanted to create home goods that honored and preserved her grandmother's legacy; products that inspired more restful home and office spaces with elegant, simple, colorful and one-of-a-kind designs.

For years, she moved from house to house with a small bin of fabric. The fabric included pieces that her mother and grandmother collected and gave to each other over three decades ago.

One night, she was carefully experimenting with some fabric. She told herself that there was no room to fail; the fabric was much too beautiful to do so. She made sure everything she did was perfect: correct tension, the right thread color, appropriate zipper for closures, and measuring everything about four times. She ran a stitch, then wavered because it wasn’t a straight line. She would rip out the uneven stitching and ran it over and over until she fell in love with the final result. It was like solving a puzzle in three dimensions.

It was what her brain needed and what her heart needed.

While planning her future products, she found a local fabric wholesaler, who imported most of their textiles from Ghana. She purchased a few yards of different fabrics to incorporate West African textures into her designs. She hasn't looked back since!

Her ancestry is to whom Rest Simple pays homage with its regal designs and vibrant colors. Armed with the knowledge and lessons from her mom and grandmother and a desire to bring to life your most intimate spaces, Jonika creates statement pieces for the person who believes in the expanding definition of luxury.

Her product line is inspired by the textiles, patterns and color palettes of the Caribbean and African diaspora. The soft linen that blows ever so gently in the Caribbean breeze, the colorful Ankara and Kente cotton cloths, and other natural fabrics that tell a story of resistance.

Jonika is inspired by small details. She believes that small decor details evoke maximum comfort. Those small details not only increase comfort, but it increases productivity while adding to the aesthetics of the room.

Today, Jonika handcrafts each product with eco friendly, natural fabrics like 100% wax-printed cotton and soft, medium-weight linen. Some products also include upcycled clothing and repurposed home textiles, which keeps those products out of landfills.