Mattresses are something we do totally wrong. We could have much more ergonomic designs that were also affordable, washable, less bulky and recyclable.
Never new mattresses were such a huge market with so much passion and crazy prices!
I used to suffer from (mild) back pain; I have been sleeping in a hammock for over 2 years now and couldn't be happier. No more back pain; lots of space saved; minuscule cost (under $60 all things considered).
Did you explain your thoughts about the ideal mattress some time ago maybe? I'd say I already read those same arguments before and found them extremely interesting.
>>a bizarre fascination with mattresses. In my home-country (and I think many other countries) most people grew up sleeping on thin cotton-filled mattresses
Ya think that when 1/3rd of your time is spent (or roughly should be spent) on a mattress the quality should matter??? Not to mention back problems from not sleeping correctly or on the right position.
So, yeah USA is 200% correct in debating mattresses, just as HN crowd would be about debating about chairs, tables and keyboards.
Science moves on, so maybe "cotton-filled mattresses" aren't the best anymore. Personally I can attest that homemade sheep wool mattresses clump together, I can't see cotton do any better. $1000 is NOTHING to get a better nights sleep, Americans spend a lot of money for fancy coffees, just to start
I think this is great. A mattress is something we spend loads of time (some of it quite fun) on top of. So why not research and build your own. Excellent craftsmanship and a great write up.
I sleep on this $400 mattress I got at Costco, so if you're telling me that your mattress is comparable to that of the big boys, this seems like a nobrainer for me. I didn't think I needed a new one until this post :)
Feedback: I really like the idea of having a boutique mattress (whatever that means) at an affordable price, a product that I can tell had a lot of thought put into.
Your bed solved a very specific problem for me, and it may be a valuable market for you to target. My job requires me to travel to different locations for long periods of time, and I needed to find a bed that was very comfortable and portable. Cots and air mattresses are poor long term solutions. Your shikibutons came up during my research as one of the best values. I purchased your mattress and a futon from shop4futons.com. When broken down, the whole arrangement packs down to a very small size. Now I sleep comfortably every night knowing that no matter where my job/life takes me I can always find a good night's rest.
I almost wish I needed a mattress! I'm so tired of scammy furniture stores, and think this is definitely a potential growth market. I'd love if you could eventually make a recliner that doesn't suck, and even other furniture as well (I'd purchase a well-made anti-allergenic pillow today). The website is beautiful, and speaks to an elegant austerity that should be pretty popular these days. Even though the price point is shockingly low, I don't feel at all like it's not still a premium product. The little vignettes at the bottom show that you're part of the handcrafting "movement". The only thing I'd like to see (and maybe I'm missing it) is how it looks/dimensions when folded, and if it works in a murphy bed. Happy for your success thus far, and wish you the best!
> So I did some research. It turns out that the mattress industry is a racket. The markups are ludicrous; almost every mattress on the market costs, at most, a few hundred dollars to make.
Isn't this just a result of economies of scale?
Everything becomes cheap, so if you try to buy something expensive you don't necessarily get higher quality. Most likely you'll get ripped off, OR buy something artisanal which means lower consistency (maybe also quality).
That said: the psychology of it is probably that you sleep better in an expensive bed -- even if the only difference is the cost :)
Now that you mention it, you’re so right. I did some of my best work in recent memory on a hotel mattress this past weekend. I’ve had a foam mattress for the past 6 years or so and thinking back, it really makes a big difference.
> Things are at least a little better now, in that at least the DTC companies have a clear set of options that get sold at reasonably clear price points.
Although I agree with your statement, no one tried to solve the actual problem with purchasing a mattress: finding a mattress that fits you well. The process changed from trying many mattresses in a uselessly-short[1] in-store test (with almost no information about what you're buying), to buying a "One size fits most" item for a product where that doesn't actually exist[1] – and without even trying it.
[1]: From "Choosing the Best Mattress: An Experiment in Testing Whether Individuals Choose a Bed That Leads to Improved Sleep," https://www.rti.org/sites/default/files/resources/rr-0016-11... : "The mattress that individuals chose as optimal before the randomized, controlled phase of the study did not predict either the actigraphically determined best mattress or the best mattress as determined by reported sleep quality." Lots more in the paper.
> One thing that really stuck out for me was that _everyone_ had memory foam mattresses. The slums, the really slick holiday homes, everyone.
Interesting; I guess it could be explained in-universe by economies of scale, that is, (memory) foam mattresses being faster and cheaper to produce than other types of mattresses. I'm thinking of spring mattresses, which actually have parts and different materials, whereas foam can be just a single block I think? And when you think about logistics, memory foam can be compacted and vacuum sealed for transport.
Say more sir. I like the non-toxic spin, pricing seems good, and yet, by the bios on your "about us" page it seems like you are very marketing oriented. That's fine, but perhaps enlighten the mass here on how you struggle or over come some of the objections raised above? Personally, I despite mattress retailers, but I also want to lie down on the thing before I commit to spending 30% of my life on it.
> Mattresses were a notoriously opaque and user-hostile market. A decade ago I was working at a startup aimed at helping people make better purchasing decisions
Who is this startup, and can they help me identify what I love about my current mattress so that when it's done, I can buy one much like it?
Mattresses are something we do totally wrong. We could have much more ergonomic designs that were also affordable, washable, less bulky and recyclable.
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