Five Minutes With Rana Argenio, 10 Grove Founder

by Lisa Davis on November 12, 2019 in Lifestyle, Home, Living Texas, Houston,
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To say luxury textiles run in Rana Argenio’s blood would be an understatement. 

Her family has been in the textile industry for five generations selling luxury bed, bath and table linens to retailers and interior designers for more than 30 years. It came as no surprise when Argenio decided to create her own textile brand.

This Texas designer’s vision for 10 Grove was inspired by the same scents, colors and textures Argenio recalled from her own childhood home—located at 10 Grove in Houston. 

“We believe bedding should be treated as a gift to yourself or your loved ones, as opposed to a home essential that you only think about when it needs replacing. Just because you use your bedding every day, doesn’t mean that the experience shouldn’t be special,” says 10 Grove founder Rana Argenio. Courtesy photo

Argenio believes making her products in Texas fosters a sense of community, not only between the people crafting the product, but also the consumers who enjoy it. 

Did you always want to go into the textile industry?

No, not at all! I actually started my career working as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, focused on companies in the consumer/retail industry. However, after having grown up in a family business where I experienced my parents’ entrepreneurial journey first hand, I knew I wanted to build something of my own. I knew I wanted to craft products and bring happiness and comfort to people’s homes.

Rana Argenio wanted to create the feeling of home at the core of 10 Grove. Her team touches, feels and oversees each product every single day, which is a rarity in a digitally driven e-commerce business world. Courtesy photo

Has your family helped you with 10 Grove?

My family has been in the luxury textile industry for generations, so growing up with fabrics helped train my eye and hand for quality from a very young age. I remember when I was younger, we’d go shopping for clothes, my parents would always turn the product inside out to look closely at the craftsmanship—and it’s something I find myself doing today. 

What was your 10 Grove home like?

Over time, 10 Grove no longer just represents that address in Houston, but stands for a feeling of belonging in a space that is uniquely mine, filled with pieces that I genuinely love and make me feel truly at home.

How does the Blind Feel Test work?

Our mission is to provide our consumers with the most comfortable night’s sleep so we came up with a series of questions aimed at getting a better idea of how a consumer sleeps and their tactile preference. We then provide our recommendation for which fabric, percale or sateen, we think is right for them. 

It was really important for Rana Argenio to make 10 Grove products in Houston and following in her family’s footsteps who have been designing luxury textiles for decades. Courtesy photo

How do you come up with names for your collections?

I spend a lot of time in New York, where each neighborhood has its own unique look and feel despite being part of the same city. Our current collections are named after those streets in New York. The personality of the individual streets in New York is something I want our consumers to have the ability to express. 

Cover: Rana Argenio, courtesy photo

Lisa Davis lives in Austin and is the Editorial Assistant for Texas Lifestyle Magazine and an honors graduate of Concordia University Texas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Public Relations.