In celebration of our 10-year anniversary, we’d like to thank all of our customers by offering 10% off from December 20th to Jan 28th. Here’s a quick note from company owner and founder, Steve Shore:
Wow, that was a fast 10 years! It really doesn’t seem so long ago that my son Will and I decided to become mattress entrepreneurs. We’d heard that some businesses had started in garages, but ours was too full, so we assembled our prototypes in our living room.
We had spent almost 15 years as mattress salesmen and thought we knew what was missing from the world of conventional mattresses. Our secret sauce would be made with organic ingredients. Why not? If we used healthier and longer lasting materials we would be successful.
Wouldn’t we?
But as always, there was more to the story. Back in 2007 the real estate market began its decline. The economy seemed like it was tanking and there was an aroma of fear all around us.
Friends said I was crazy to attempt it at that time. I disagreed because I believed, like in The Field of Dreams, that if you build it they will come.
We found a location in San Rafael that was occupied by a Dollar Store that was going out of business. It was filled with ugly metal racks, but when we got rid of the trash, we found old growth redwood framing the windows. It had turned grey over the years, but a coat of tung oil brought it back to life and The Natural Mattress Store soon was ready to open its doors.
However, even before that happened, while Will was up on a ladder oiling the redwood, a customer came in and bought a mattress. We had suspected that there was a pent up demand for our organic mattresses and we were right. They did come. And during the first year customers began to tell us that they lived an hour or two away.
We realized that despite the economic downturn our factory direct/huge selection business model was poised for expansion. Next we opened a store in Palo Alto and then Walnut Creek, San Francisco, Los Gatos and Rohnert Park.
Now, as we enter our 10th year of business, we want to thank our customers for believing in us. Our dream has become a reality because of you.
We hope you are happy.
Best wishes,
Steve and Will Shore