How this Texas woman’s history with asthma inspired her to create a lifestyle brand that has made history

Robin Wilson is a serial entrepreneur and an author. She left the corporate world in 1999 after an IPO from Heidrick & Struggles provided her with a windfall in order to become her own boss. In 2000, she became the creative director for her own brand, Robin Wilson Home, and in 2006, she founded A Blue Egg Corporation.

Based in New York, A Blue Egg Corporation is a conglomerate focused on real estate, design, and licensing. In the early years Wilson started her business, she could not gain the necessary traction due to financial inequality.

“Most Black families have not created generational wealth because they didn’t have access to bank loans to buy land or build businesses,” Wilson explained, according to BlackPR Wire. “It is my hope that we can change that paradigm as we continue to build our brand and license into other categories,” she said.

Fast forward to 2022, Wilson is now the founder of CLEAN DESIGN HOME x Martex collection at Macy’s that includes pillows, sheet sets, comforters, robes, and towels, and a special collection of allergen-barrier utility options for mattress and pillow protection.

“The collection is available in a minimalist palette of white, grey, light blue, ivory, and blush, and will also include 400 thread-count sheet sets and duvets. All the products are made with BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) cotton and certified Made-in-Green by Oeko-Tex. Plus, the towels are supima cotton-loop and tightly woven bathrobes are low-linting, so they reduce the presence of airborne allergens,” according to BlackPR Wire.

Essentially, the brand offers a line of fabrics designed to keep asthma and allergy triggers like dust mites, pet dander, and pollen at bay, Wilson said. The collection is sold at 165 Macy’s stores around the United States, including Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Wilson grew up in her hometown of Austin, Texas with allergies and asthma. Her parents went through a lot trying to find treatment until they found a pediatrician who gave them a “plan for dietary, exercise and home interior wellness,” Wilson said in an interview.

Her history with allergies and asthma inspired her to launch her CLEAN DESIGN HOMETM x Martex collection. Wilson is now recognized as the first Black-American female founder of a global, licensed hypoallergenic textile brand, which is expected at retail in the United Kingdom and Japan soon.

Besides being the first known Black woman to start a global, licensed hypoallergenic textile brand, she is also on Inc.’s “Top 100 Female Founders” list.

“Think about the irony!” said Wilson. “My grandfather was a sharecropper who picked cotton in Texas. Now, my luxury 100 percent cotton [and] hypoallergenic collection is sold nationwide at Macy’s. It is a legacy story in three generations. Plus, our development arm will be designing a subdivision outside of Austin on 80-plus acres of land owned by my family for generations.”