Brian Severson, owner of Blankets by Brian, still has his Grandma Bonnie’s original WWII-era Singer sewing machine. (Peri Kinder/City Journals)
Using bolts of luxurious minky fabric, Brian Severson makes customized blankets, wraps and fidgets. (Peri Kinder/City Journals)
Long before he created Blankets by Brian, Brian Severson used sewing as a way to connect with the people he loved the most.
Growing up in Heber, which was then a small, rural community, Severson often felt excluded but his Grandma Beverly and Grandma Bonnie took him under their wings. Their unconditional love and easy companionship taught him a deep appreciation for quilting, sewing, crocheting and Doris Day.
Even his Blankets by Brian logo is a tribute to their memory, a lower case “b” (for Brian) nestled between two capital B’s.
“They were my best friends and the inspiration for my sewing,” he said. “My grandmas were always my shield. They never treated me like a child. I was always their equal. We talked and, wow, we laughed so hard.”
Those hours spent with his grandmothers, creating items with thread and fabric, would later shape Severson’s career path. When he discovered the ultra-soft minky fabric, he became obsessed with the plush texture and would splurge on yards of the material. Severson started Blankets by Brian in 2015, creating products that rival his biggest competitors.
When his best friend was going through a terrible divorce, he made her a minky blanket with customized charms sewn into the seams. The charms represented things that mattered most to her. Severson wanted the blanket to be more than a comfort, but a reminder that life is worth living.
“I told her, ‘Look, you’re crashing. You’re not even at zero. You’re negative, like you’ve got nothing. All I need you to do is this. You just need to get back to zero to survive. And so the challenge is to look through or feel through the seam of the blanket and find the charms.’”
Severson runs his company out of his Midvale home, where he lives with his husband, George. He even used his Grandma Bonnie’s original WWII-era Singer sewing machine when he first started, before upgrading to an industrial machine.
His handcrafted, creative and innovative products are made with luxurious minky fabrics, including wraps that button around the shoulders, a travel blanket that comes with a minky pouch that doubles as a pillow, and blankets in all sizes. He also has a line of fidget blankets, perfect for neurodivergent or autistic children and adults.
“A friend of mine works with neurodivergent kids and said she could use a fidget toy because the kids have so much energy, it’s like running an engine at full speed in a car that’s on blocks,” Severson said. “But fidget toys are often loud and distracting to other kids. So I worked it out and I made this fidget blanket that was quiet. You can put it on your lap or on your desk.”
The minky fidget blankets come in two sizes, a hand-held mini-fidget and a lap-sized meditation maze. Both blankets are lined in satin and have free-floating marbles sewn into the layers.
“The big one has a maze and you push the marbles through the maze,” he said. “Then it has the embroidery, the satin, a furry side and a flat fur on the other side. There’s just so many different tactile things going on there that if you’re fidgety, you’re going to be good.”
Severson said he has a blanket for every budget, desire and theme, from holiday blankets to fan art. With every product handmade with care, he thinks his grandmothers would be proud.
“Everything goes through my hands,” he said. “I’m not a mass-producing blanket store. I think about every blanket that I’m making, then I wrap it up in a ribbon. When you buy one of my blankets, it’s made locally and you support local.”
To learn more about his products, visit BlanketsByBrian.com.