Our Story
Inspired by their love of Southern culture and experiences living in two of the South’s most important cotton port cities, Shreveport and Savannah, Laura and Brian Williams created Upriver Cotton Co. to connect their enjoyment of cooking and hospitality with the land that means so much to them. Their interest in and family connection to cotton, that staple of the Southern landscape, led to the creation of cotton table linens for homes across the South and for those Southerners who find themselves far away.
For Brian, cotton is a return to roots of sorts. His grandfather was raised on a small farm in Telephone, Texas, near the Red River, where cotton was grown, and his great-grandfather ran a cotton gin in Allen, Texas. Brian grew up in Dallas, where his mother, from whom he learned a thing or two about throwing a good party, had been an editor's assistant for Southern Living.
For Laura, the concepts behind the products created at Upriver Cotton Co. are a conscious return to family traditions and older ways of celebrating life. She is continuing part of that tradition as her grandfather, like Brian's, was also raised on a family farm that grew cotton near Summerfield, Louisiana. Laura grew up in Shreveport in a home where parties and hosting were frequent and joyful, even if they did stay up all night getting the house clean or furiously finishing chandelier decorations before the first guest rang the doorbell!
Brian and Laura have learned that putting together a Southern celebration is a community effort between families, neighbors, and good friends—“send someone over to borrow Mimi’s silver! Does it need to be polished?” After nearly fifteen years of marriage and the addition of three children, Brian and Laura continue finding great joy in hosting celebrations both large and small, for the young and not-so-young, formal and informal, and through every season of the year and life. To them, the extra care put into hosting a thoughtfully planned occasion, complete with its decorative elements, fortifies relationships in both the preparations and with guests.
For Brian, cotton is a return to roots of sorts. His grandfather was raised on a small farm in Telephone, Texas, near the Red River, where cotton was grown, and his great-grandfather ran a cotton gin in Allen, Texas. Brian grew up in Dallas, where his mother, from whom he learned a thing or two about throwing a good party, had been an editor's assistant for Southern Living.
For Laura, the concepts behind the products created at Upriver Cotton Co. are a conscious return to family traditions and older ways of celebrating life. She is continuing part of that tradition as her grandfather, like Brian's, was also raised on a family farm that grew cotton near Summerfield, Louisiana. Laura grew up in Shreveport in a home where parties and hosting were frequent and joyful, even if they did stay up all night getting the house clean or furiously finishing chandelier decorations before the first guest rang the doorbell!
Brian and Laura have learned that putting together a Southern celebration is a community effort between families, neighbors, and good friends—“send someone over to borrow Mimi’s silver! Does it need to be polished?” After nearly fifteen years of marriage and the addition of three children, Brian and Laura continue finding great joy in hosting celebrations both large and small, for the young and not-so-young, formal and informal, and through every season of the year and life. To them, the extra care put into hosting a thoughtfully planned occasion, complete with its decorative elements, fortifies relationships in both the preparations and with guests.