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Our beds are built in layers. Each mattress is a collection of layers specially designed to create the perfect night's sleep, such as a latex mattress, Deluxe Wool Topper and cotton mattress pad. This concept can be a bit abstract--it certainly isn't the bedding world's norm. Often times we are asked about this, something along the lines of "why the layer system?" (we have always prided ourselves on the directness of our patrons).
This is our answer...
Layers work.
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Alright, I don't have one this week. I know I said there would be more... and there will be more, but these pillow facts take a long time. There are countless hours of research and cups of coffee put into each of these posts. It's hard finding these facts, Folks. Pillows are not as popular a scientific subject as they once were. Just to find Very Important Pillow Fact 1 I had to learn ancient Greek, and Mark in production was gone for nearly two weeks searching for the last pages of Restocles' memoirs. I didn't get the whole story, but apparently everyone except Mark's face was melted clean away at the end of the expedition.
It isn't that I don't like doing this research, I do, honest, but I'm a busy guy. I got a lot of stuff going on, many irons in the fire, etc. and so on. So, here is my thought, why don't all of you, my many webizens, write in and ask me your numerous and confounding pillow questions? It's perfect.
This is the deal, you write us*, email us (soaringheart@soaringheart.com), post on our Facebook page your questions. Every few weeks or so we will pick our favorite from the bunch and answer it in the blog. Whoever the lucky pickee is, gets a free pillow compliments of Soaring Heart.
Example, Miss McGee in Schenectady could ask me why her pillow sings so sweetly and I could tell her it is because the North Eastern Feather Pillow is known to sing before it bursts into dust and rises anew as a pincushion from the ashes. Boom! free pillow. There, that's pillow fact number 2. So let's see those questions! If we keep getting doosies, we'll keep picking 'em and giving away pillows.
Feel free to comment and give your own answers too! Do my job? Heck, twist my arm...
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A few days ago I was perusing the Internet, looking up mattresses, checking in on the old competition as it were, when I discovered something. A connection, if you will. Buying guides, they were all lousy with them. What to look for, where to go, how to tell what's inside, yadda yadda yadda...
Personally I found them to be a bit dull, but not wanting to be left in the proverbial dust, I set out to make my own new mattress guide. Now they all talked about springs, and firmness and so on and so forth... and we have a guide like that too, Right Here, but none of them told me anything really revolutionary or what I would consider really important. So, I decided mine would be different, I would stand out from the herd, think outside the box, and make the most comprehensive and important checklist ever to be five bullets long. And I began with a clever pun (Ticking... mattress.. get it?).
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This week's blog post marks the first in a very exciting series. Over the next few months we are going to be discussing the Top Five Most Important Pillow Facts. Now, this time frame may sound a bit long for only five facts, but think about all the very long things that come in fives... like half decades, the Great Lakes, and certain people's fingers.
Fact Number 1: A pillow is not a rhinoceros.
This is vitally important, which is the reason we have it as our opening fact salvo. The fact that a pillow is not a rhinoceros was instrumental in the development and proliferation of the modern pillow. Rhinoceroses are highly endangered and had they been used as pillows, as was almost the case, the average pillow today would not only be incredibly expensive, but you would have to purchase them on the black market as they would be illegal.
We should consider ourselves lucky - only the fall of Greek civilization saved us from having to shoot our pillows with a tranquilizer gun. When the ancient Greek philosopher, Restocles, first conceived of the pillow, the rhinoceros was exactly what he had in mind and eventually attempted to emulate. Restocles mentions in his memoir, It's All Greek To Me, that he had fond memories of playing on the bellies of rhinos, which later gave him the idea of creating the pillow.
"I recall one evening, after a full day romping around the family rhino paddock, lying down upon the beast. His back and shoulders were quite rough and scratched my face, but after some tickling I managed to get the animal to roll over and found that his tummy was actually very soft and plush."
The rest, as they say, is history.
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It has come to our attention that society as a whole has a lack of interest in pillows. We here at Soaring Heart are having a hard time conceiving the notion that people wouldn't be excited, engaged, enthusiastic, and overall deeply in love with the entire idea and philosophy of pillowdom. Dave (the guy who makes most of our pillows) alone has a collection of pillows so extensive that his neighborhood committee is bringing him up on zoning charges and Jeff (logistics) can be routinely spotted walking his pillows in Gasworks Park. We do recommend regularly walking your pillows as exercise is important.
We have decided collectively that America's non-love affair with pillows must be psychological as the various physical benefits, such as glossier and more radiant hair, are self evident. We have devised a simple test that will help diagnose these problems.
Below is an Inkblot test. Click the answer that best describes what you see to get a free diagnosis and prescription. We're talking about your health, so let's try to keep things serious.
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When I first moved to Seattle I found a little storefront at the north end of Lake Union that was handcrafting futons. Something pulled me into checking out Soaring Heart (I did need a bed ASAP). I walked in and was greeted by Doug MacQuarrie (Soaring Heart's founder) and knew immediately this was a special place. And I was right! Little did I realize I would be working here 30 years later.
On the eve of my two years at Soaring Heart I was asked to write something for our blog. I could have written about our products, our materials, or how to find the perfect combination for a good night's sleep, but I felt that our most important assets were the stories, talents and personalities are what make's Soaring Heart special. I hope you have a chance to experience Soaring Heart Natural Bed Company for yourself.
- John Page: Sales Consultant
- Jeff Greenwood
I am imagining one of the farms that our wool comes from on the Oregon Coast. Seeing the cool mist rolling off the ocean to blanket the high cliffs that rise up like a wall at it’s edge. The mist then gently weeping on the grassy landscape. I’m imagining all this as Nathan leads us through a description of the farm. Nathan, our contact and supplier for wool, our arms and legs and voice so to speak in the field, connecting us with our farms and ranches, is with us at the store now chatting over how wool production has been this year, and what is emerging on the market for cotton, the two most important materials for our products.
His mind is a treasure trove of experience. How weather affects the strength and durability of wool from year to year. What will happen to cotton prices after the draughts in Texas. How to forecast and prepare for these changes in production. The names of each family that works their land to improve it for their next generation… My mind is on the Wahl family which has had their property for over 130 years. They protect sensitive areas and restore marshes with native plantings. They leave 30% of the land off limits to livestock, reserved only for birds and other wildlife.The other 70% they rotate, the flocks tilling and airing the soil with their small light hooves.
My mind keeps drifting back to the Wahl’s property. This is the kind of place I’ve often dreamed of having myself. Fashion shoot, I’m wearing wellies, a long plaid lined coat, shearing my flock... Ha! Not quite. But I definitely love to tend the land in a general sense… A tradition of improving and caring for something. That has always been essential to me. A place that is rich in history to be discovered and understood. The British have a long love affair with places like this, called the Country manor. They revive their imagination and feed their soul in the sense of place. You see it in their news paper kiosks, with publications like Country Life, Gardens Illustrated, and The Field.There is a serious sense of adventure and play in their gardens and in their love of the country.
I run my hands over the soft piles of wool products Nathan and I are discussing. We chat about some of the new products we want to create, made of our locally farmed and spun wool, colored with vegetable dies, and sewn on site at the store. I’m only half aware I am spinning a yarn in my head. To me Nathan is our own American version of the country gentleman, buying and selling in all things natural and organic, while carving out a living from the land that can challenge you with its many seasons. Tall and assured I can imagine him getting a little dirty in the service of doing a job well, but I would never know that on first glance as he cradles a mug of something warm in his hands. When we build a bed or sandwich layers of wool together into a topper I understand now why the fibers are so strong. Our lofty wool comes from a place of quality.
Wow! Oprah Magazine just recently published a fascinating article about buying mattresses that are both good for your body and for the environment. There is some really great information there and Soaring Heart highly recommends you all check it out and see what it has to say. It is a great article that not only gives a lot of information about natural and organic bedding, such as non-offgasing (All Soaring Heart Mattresses are certified 100% non-offgasing)and and use great materials, but it helps the consumer pick out a mattress that is good for them. Have fun reading and sleep well!
http://www.oprah.com/world/Tips-for-Buying-an-Eco-Friendly-Mattress
