I’m
standing in front of a table with Dave our builder. We’ve pulled a
large sheet of cotton from the storage and laid it on a Shikibuton
cover. Like an open sandwich, three sides have a zipper and we are going
to fill it with the sheets of soft heavy cotton. Zip it up, and sew it
together with long cotton thread tufts.
I am making my own bed. Woot!
I’m
sleeping on it too... I come home from a day at work to be welcomed by
my cat who is waiting for me like a dog might at the top of the stairs.
She doesn’t tilt her head. This isn’t a dream… She stares at me with
dignity, with out apology or trepidation. This Sphynx knows almost
better then anyone that the best place to be is curled up in bed, right
before sleep, exchanging sleepy bats of the eye lids like little I love
yous written in puffy clouds on a cloudless blue sky…
There are twelve of us here at Soaring Heart.
A
band of artists and musicians making places to dream. We play music
full throttle in the back work rooms, up to the elbows in natural
materials, cotton in the air like fine feathers escaped from a flock
flying south, talking to clients who need a rebuild of an old futon over
the phone. In the front room there is tea and water for everyone. We
try out the bedding, we chat with clients about the business, about
sourcing materials locally, about making everything by hand, and about
sleeping on the beds we’ve made ourselves.There
is nothing like good sleep especially when you find it in your
thirties, like I did. It has a way of changing everything… We’d love to
hear your stories about how being around hand built products has
improved your life.
Send us a note and we'll be happy to post your story too!
Andrew Himes
Author