Bed down for your winter sleep on Irish-made mattresses and beds that are “like sleeping on a cloud.” Made in Ballylanders, Co. Limerick, Natural Sleep Co. ensures we all enjoy deep, sound slumbers.
With research demonstrating the benefit of sound sleep, Irish husband and wife James Hayes and Mary Rose Fitzperald have been ahead of the curve. They literally work, eat, and sleep the subject and have done so for decades.
Their business, Natural Sleep Co, which happened sort of by accident, now supplies between 10 and 15 per cent of the Irish market and recently opened a sleep-inducing showroom on Dublin 12’s Long Mile Road.
Having been primarily a business-to-business company, this latest move is designed to specifically target the Leinster consumer.
The smart space is gently fragranced and has lights that can be dimmed by each bed set-up, to allow you to relax and be better able to give each model you try the due consideration needed to make such a decision.
There are no glaring lights overhead.
But the business headquarters is in Ballylanders, Co. Limerick, where James grew up in an entrepreneurial household.
His father had a pub, auctioneering and funeral business and opened a cattle mart in 1965. That space is now their sleep HQ.
James left school early and had been working in his brother’s shop, DJ Hayes Furniture, and was about to go to Australia when his father asked if he might “have a go” at making mattresses.
He worked with a man named Noel Twomey who taught him how to make mattresses by hand, save for a tiny industrial machine to finish, one that he still uses.
He never got to Oz, and never wrote a business plan, but demand soared. He opened JH Bedding, which was housed in the former cattle mart, where the business now occupies some 60,000 to 70,000 square feet of space.
He met Mary Rose when they were 19-year-old teenagers. Their fathers had rival electrical shops. They both learned about business at the kitchen table. “It’s a different work ethic. There was no education, but we came from a business background,” she explains.
It was the 1980s, and there was no work. They either had to make their own or join their friends emigrating in droves to England.
James is an asthmatic, a condition he has suffered with since he was a child. It prompted their pivot into using natural materials in their mattresses.
A mattress made for couples who like to sleep differently
“We make everything in Ballylanders. In the organic range, the only materials we use are natural latex from the rubber tree, lambswool and cotton. It gives a cooler sleep," he explains.
It also comes in two pieces, which can be very couple-friendly, especially if you like a softer mattress and your partner prefers something firmer. You can turn your side to the soft side while they can flip their side over. A king-size model costs from about €2,200.
But there are also much more affordable ranges. A cotton mattress with natural latex and pocket springs costs € 1,400, while prices for its comfort range start from about €1,000.
Natural material
Latex is soft and luxurious but bounces back, James explains. “It supports your full body weight but feels like sleeping on a cloud.”
The company would love to use Irish wool but for now cannot, despite Ireland producing some 7,000 tonnes or seven million kilogrammes per annum from 4 million sheep across about 35,000 flocks.
They’re hoping to be able to use the native in the future, but without a finishing plant in the country to prepare the wool, they have to import theirs from the Austrian uplands and have it finished in Slovenia, Mary Rose explains.
Everything is manufactured, then compressed, rolled and boxed with a growing business overseas. Having achieved Crib 5 certification, a high-level fire resistance and flammability standard for commercial and non-domestic upholstered furniture, they’re also targeting the hotel sector and its sustainability needs.
How often should you change your mattress?
Every eight to ten years, James says, adding that if you keep it clean, the latex models can last 12 to 20 years.
How can you protect the mattress?
By keeping it clean, James says. By this he means using a good mattress protector and washing it every two to three weeks. They make a lambswool model that can be tumble-dried at a low temperature. It costs €110 for the king size.
They also fabricate a lambswool mattress topper, €285 for the same size model, and a dual duvet that works for summer and winter, €270.
Pillow menu
They’re currently working on a pillow menu and are very excited about their natural latex options.
Customisable beds
The company makes a range of adjustable beds for those who want to read or watch TV in bed, or who want to elevate the head or legs to combat medical conditions including sleep apnoea, blood circulation and fluid retention in the legs.
It also fabricates a collection of bed bases and headboards, customisable to the length and width you require, for the Amazons amongst us.
This includes floating, divan and ottoman options, ideal for those living in smaller spaces.
The beds can be upholstered in a range of fabrics they hold in stock in-house or a suitable fabric supplied by the customer, with the ability to have it Scotchguarded before delivery.
Visit Natural Sleep Co.’s showroom, Longmile Road, Walkinstown, Dublin 12, or visit naturalsleep.ie.
