Sleep Healthy

North, South, East, Westport

Guest Blogger: Michael Earnheart, Wickford, RI Showroom Manager

The Clean Bedroom has grown far beyond just a website, with a thriving showroom in Kittery, Maine, a new growing and well-welcomed showroom in North Kingstown (Wickford), Rhode Island and now, expanding into Westport, Connecticut. Our newest showroom is located in the Westport Design Center at the Old Sasco Mill serving all of Fairfield County, just a short commute from New York City and an easy trip from White Plains and most towns in Westchester County; It's easily accessed from most of the coastal cities in Connecticut including New Haven, Bridgeport, Fairfield, Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich and Danbury.

Our doors will be opening in early September and Chris and Ted had the opportunity to head over to the location and take some beautiful photos and enjoy the tranquil sound of the waterfall behind the store. We are very happy with the beauty of this location and it's easy access for our customers!

 

We have grown because of a variety of reasons, but prominently the dedication of every single staff member contributing all their energies into making our company successful and that is easily enabled by believing in the products we sell! The other big reason is YOU! How could we have done this without you? Yes, you! Who ordered the Savvy Rest in King with a firm side for you and a soft side for your wife. Yes, you! Who ordered the Baby's Breath air filter to quiet your baby's cough. Yes, you! Who ordered our Naturally Organic all-natural Kapok pillow and wrote us a thank you e-mail because it was so comfortable. You are all so important and so equally responsible for our growth, thank you so much and we eagerly awaiting seeing you all in Westport!

Goodbye, my friend.

Guest Blogger: Michael Earnheart, Wickford, Rhode Island Showroom Manager

"Consider this a 'Welcome to the neighborhood' present,” Arlene said to me. She walked up with her hands clasped lightly around a tissue-paper wrapped present. She handed it to me and smiled and said “I knew you were admiring it and you said you love whales and I had an extra one at home, I couldn't resist!”

That mug sits on my desk at work, I drink coffee out of it every day. I used to drink coffee with Arlene every day, and I can't imagine drinking it alone. Arlene has passed away, but I remember her saying “transition”, so I will use that phrase instead.

The news hit me like a freight train, Arlene was one of the most welcoming and positive people I've ever met. She had the wisdom of a sage, with the humbleness of a country farmer. She loved making people smile and effecting positive change in people's lives. At her store on Main Street in Wickford, RI, where we were neighbors, she would hold empowerment classes for women and go to different venues as a motivational speaker and to tend to battered women and to those who felt hopeless. She believed in good energy and making sure she gave it off to everyone she met.

Arlene's Place, Arlene's store was just as unique and wonderful as she was. From her affirmation artwork, to her oil paintings and scented candles and her knitting...it was just everything she loved and she made us love it too. She believed strongly in the healing power of her affirmations and I bought an affirmation for my girlfriend, Jennifer, who was feeling a little down and it said: “We may not have it all together, but together we have it all”. Suffice it to say, Jennifer loved the affirmation. Arlene told me that each affirmation is written for someone, but it takes time to find the right owner.

The last day I saw Arlene, she left early and said she wasn't feeling well. I wished her well and gave her a hug. She asked me to water her flowers. I nodded and told her I would. She turned to me said “Goodnight, Michael. I'll see you for our morning coffee on Tuesday?” I nodded and smiled.

Goodbye Arlene, you will not be soon forgotten. I will water the flowers and I will see you for coffee, every time I lift my mug to my lips.

Small House, Big Impact: Living Responsibly

Guest Blogger: Michael Earnheart, Wickford, RI Showroom Manager

At The Clean Bedroom we always enjoy coming across stories about green innovation and ways to change our lives to live more responsibly, with less of an harmful impact on our world. Coming across someone like Jay Shafer is truly extraordinary.

Jay lives in an 89-square foot house. That's right, 8' x 12'! Jay build his house himself and named it Tumbleweed. He was inspired to downsize his life after he essentially got tired of "working for cash" and wanted to spend more time enjoying his life, not worrying about his bills! His home is less than one-tenth the size of the average American home and uses only about $100.00 in utilities a year.

As a child, Jay grew up in a home of 4,000 sq. ft., he said it was "more stuff and more burden than he wanted", and decided to reinvent himself and live simply. Not long after the construction of his new tiny house, did the a business develop. People became interested in his home and he decided to start designing and building "small places."

Trathen Heckman, who has worked in sustainability education for over a decade says that Jay "teaches us a lot about small living because he does it himself and he does it an graceful, elegant and inspiring way and really shifts people's perceptions on the quality of life that can be associated with living with less." 

Jay never thought himself to be an entrepreneur of anything, but it his new found passion to design small houses and says, "There is a lot of excess going on, a lot of extra waste and I'm happy to propose the opposite."                                                                                           

Finally, Jay tells us he could never go back to living big, "Living small has changed my life dramatically and I couldn't ask for anything better!"

For information about the Tumbleweed homes and other tiny and small designs by Jay Schafer, check out Tumbleweed Houses. 

 

Organic? Naturally!

Guest Blogger: Michael Earnheart, RI Showroom MGR.

Several weeks ago, a new friend visited me in Wickford, Jonathan Laplante. Jonathan works for our manufacturer up in Canada that develops our fantastic line of Naturally Organic Mattresses. He came down because, like Chris and Ted, he was just as excited about The Clean Bedroom's newest showroom!

Naturally Organic is TCB's private premium label and Jonathan came down not only to visit the newest store, but to also give me some interesting information about the creation process on the mattress he makes for us and how they greened development and manufacturing processes.

The mattress that we offer is European tufted, the bolt stitching going through the other side of the mattress, holding everything in place better to prevent the "dreaded dip" that forms over time. The mattresses extra-strong border also aid in preventing shifts in the mattress and create continuous, medium-firm support for the body. 

The organic cotton is hand-picked in Peru and not treated with any chemicals. A layer of wool is placed within the mattress to act as a dust-mite repellent and to pull moisture away from the body, while you sleep. Also, wool is a natural flame retardant, so their is no need for any industrial chemicals!

One of the biggest improvements over your standard mattress is in the way our mattress is supported. We use a kiln-dried spruce wood slat foundation, rather than a box spring. This a sturdier support and complement to our mattress. This wood is harvested in Quebec, Canada and done so in a sustainable way. No glues or chemicals are applied to the foundation, to keep away odors and eliminate off-gassing, much like the mattress itself.

At the end of the conversation, Jonathan made me as proud to offer this Naturally Organic mattress here at The Clean Bedroom as he was to offer it to us. It is as he told me, "A luxurious, high-end mattress that is environmentally responsible, will keep you healthy and will last for many years." 

I tend to agree with him, merely by laying on it myself and watching people close their eyes and relax.

The only question left is...do you agree with him? You can only answer that by trying it out yourself! 

 

A Need to Relax

Let's face it. We all need to relax, too often are we driving around in our cars, drinking our premium coffees and accelerating through life at a hurried pace. A very amusing analysis of the concept of time was told me by Ted Duquette, co-founder of The Clean Bedroom, he said “A nanosecond is the space of time between the light turning green and the person behind you to blow their horn.” Sure, it makes you laugh, but it's very true.

We need to take time in our lives to close our laptops, switch off our Blackberries, unplug our iPods, and just completely relax. Easier said than done? Well, not really. In our showroom down in Wickford, RI  we have a beautiful piece of furniture, our hand-crafted . I mean, this thing is just stunning! We have a Naturally Organic: Organic Wool and Natural Rubber Futon set on ours in the showroom. When people come in, they immediately are gravitated to it, sitting down and looking out to the sea, with a smile growing across their face. They close their eyes, lean back onto our big, 26” x 26” Amenity pillows and I can actually see them relaxing. It's wonderful and I certainly feel proud to be able to offer people a chance to let tensions melt away, even if they don't buy anything! Being able to provide that is really a wonderful thing and it makes my day great! So, take a look for yourself and come relax down in Wickford!