At French Presse in Amagansett, a Son Takes His Mom's Vision and Adds His Own Touches of Design

Walking inside French Presse in Amagansett, you would expect to find a sweet French woman behind the counter.

Once upon a time, there was — with founder Sarah de Havenon-Fowler running the store since it opened in 2016. But since her son Dylan Fowler decided to keep the business going when his mother became ill, there has been a recognizable change to the brand. A new touch of modernity and masculinity keeps the brand fresh and keeps Fowler creative.

A surfer, Fowler brings his own style to the shop every day and is usually in a pair of black Converse high tops, which pop against the creamy neutrals of the shop. His hair is slicked back and likely salty from a morning surf at Ditch Plains.

He’s not what you would expect in the owner of a luxury linen brand — and, honestly, it’s not what Fowler was expecting either.

He laughs at being called a “lax bro,” but five years ago it was an accurate title: He was playing lacrosse at Middlebury College. After graduation, he traded in his lacrosse stick and started working in equity banking in New York City.

His insightfulness eased the transition to running a brand associated with relaxation and lifestyle, though he admits that it started out as just survival, to keep the business alive. Now, he is in a place of adding his own touch to the store.

“Nice setups like nice rooms, taking your time being present. Taking that concept: taking the time being present, engaging in the beauty of what’s around, being intentional with the things you do. And then just kind of applying that to, like, everything, including the bedding or the tablescapes and stuff like that,” said Fowler.

He shared that when he isn’t at the store he enjoys surfing in Montauk, sharing a beer with friends and playing basketball. He also likes to wander museums to look at works by Monet, sit with a journal and take drives with the windows of his truck down.

The East End of Long Island — and the South Fork in particular — had been part of his life for his entire childhood. In 2019, after his mother was diagnosed with brain cancer, Fowler took over the business.

There was no crash course on how to run a linen store, though, so he used her emails to piece together aspects of the business that he didn’t know about in the early days.

Now, after five years of running French Presse, you can see Fowler’s touch throughout the store as he works to keep the concepts fresh and fun. His goal is “mixing what my mom established with my own personal interests or aesthetic.”

He added a collection of merch for the store, part of his mission to make this aesthetic a lifestyle. The merch collection shows Fowler’s influence on the brand, combining wit and soft fabrics to create a brand easily marketable on social media.

The collection includes a white graphic tee, part of Fowler’s go-to wardrobe, that says: “Normalize Asking What’s Your Thread Count.”

In the past few years, he also has added embroidery to the shop, working with the rest of the team to create beautiful designs, or witty phrases, like a collection of colorful cloth napkins with “tuck here” embroidered on one corner, in case anyone needed a little reminder.

Fowler’s passion for keeping his mom’s legacy alive is clear, as is his desire to create and innovate. He’s the kind of person who doesn’t just decide to sell rugs in the store, instead deep-diving into the history of rug-making and culturally relevant designs before creating a collection that features both the muted neutrals typical of French Presse and a bold pop of color — Fowler’s touch, if you will.

The company remains committed to using dependable suppliers and sustainable supply chains — products at French Presse meet all the Global Organic Textile Standard and are OEKO-TEX certified, guaranteeing a guilt- and harm-free experience of luxury.

“I kind of took bits and pieces that I liked from all the different collections and then worked with a more, like, product-specific designer,” he shared.

“I think that this has been a great first thing for me. It’s been a cool learning experience,” said Fowler. “Going forward for myself in life, it’s been great, because I think that I know what I want to create: experience-driven stuff that reflects, kind of, the movies I have going on in my head.”