Mattress myopia at High Point Market

Whirling, swirling quilted panel on Galaxy Bedding’s Ecouture collection.

I lost my prescription eyewear at High Point Market this week–they must’ve fallen off my head as I bent down to fumble for my camera in a showroom. My eyeglasses are for distance and, without them, I couldn’t see where I was going at the show–let alone take the long view on mattress industry trends for fall.

OK, I may be pulling your leg. But the truth is, this show–the fourth and final bedding market of 2014–was a quiet one, without any product introductions from the major mattress makers. Therefore, with no big trends to report on, it seems appropriate to offer you this close-up, myopic view of the handful of introductions in mattress showrooms at High Point Market.

The biggest news in High Point, in my limited view, was the arrival of Toronto-based, specialty-sleep manufacturer Galaxy Bedding. The company, which cuts its own foam, launched three new collections during its first High Point showing. The beds were fun to look at and I liked the nifty keyhole in the bed bolsters giving you a peek at the contoured foams underneath. The knit panel on Galaxy’s latex Ecouture group, at the front of the showroom, certainly merited very close inspection, with its complex quilt pattern that etched the swirling knit design.
I also peered closely at the contrasting taupe border adorning Shifman Mattress Co.’s stunningly redesigned Masters collection. (Shifman’s Bill Hammer demonstrated the bed’s comfort for us in the video to the left.) The tailored borders have a golden glint that picks up the yarns in the very lush jacquard panel. The panel was so soft and dimensional, that even with my eyes inches away, it was difficult to believe this was a woven ticking. The bed’s updated look is a real departure for Shifman.

Gold Bond makes beds the old-fashioned bed.

Gold Bond makes beds the old-fashioned way.

It was especially nice to have time to linger and discuss such mattress details at this show because the ISPA pubs’ newest employee was touring her first show. I’m excited to be working with new Associate Editor Beth English, a very skilled and seasoned editor and journalist. When we visited mattress-maker Gold Bond, it was a teaching moment as President Bob Naboichek explained “making beds the old-fashioned way”–with two sleep surfaces, edge-to-edge innersprings units and “real box-spring” foundations, and showed us a half dozen additions to the Gold Bond lineup.

Restonic licensee Alliance Sleep chose this painterly camouflage border for a new ComfortCare collection.

As (a nearsighted) fabric buff, I enjoyed getting my hands on Malouf’s very soft Portuguese flannel sheets, which are offered in earth tones. Over at Restonic licensee Alliance Sleep’s showroom, things got even earthier with a Jackson Pollock-inspired camouflage bed border. Therapedic showed new fabric headboards for its AgilityAir collection. The branded panels slip on and off their metal frames easily, allowing retailers to update their POP quickly and affordably.

Zedbed’s fondness for dramatic black and white ticking was evident in the graphic knit adorning the newest additions to its specialty Pure collection.

Speaking of fabrics, Boyd Specialty Sleep updated the patented Broyhill Cube bed by zipping a memory foam comfort layer into a handsome, blue-and-white geometric knit panel that echoes the “Cubism” at its core. Textiles aside, among other news, at Paramount Sleep there was a timely introduction of the Doc In A Box program. It’s a memory foam bed for cash-and-carry as well as Internet-based vendors. And considering all of the recent mattress-industry news about online bed sales, the introduction is a smart move. BTW, Dr. Maas, please save an autographed copy of Sleep to Win for me!