The new Heal’s Sleep Studio is, well, dreamy. As well it might be for the store whose founder, John Harris Heal introduced feather beds to British homes back in 1810. Prior to that, most mattresses were stuffed with straw – no wonder these new, soft and fluffy mattresses became such a huge hit.
Their success continued when, fifty years later, John Harris Heal Jr designed a foldable sprung-mattress that became so popular it remained in production for more than a century.
Their mattress-making history got a little bit lost, I think, as Heal’s became known for so many other quality products for the home, notably furniture and textiles. But the new Heal’s Sleep Studio, of which I attended the launch a couple of weeks ago, brings this heritage and experience back to the fore, and bang up to date.
It also makes shopping for a mattress – and in fact everything for the bedroom – simple and very enjoyable. We bought a new mattress last year, and it was quite a tortuous affair. We spent hours surrounded by a sea of mattresses, many of which seemed to have little to differentiate them.
Heal’s have simplified the whole process, with a small but comprehensive collection of mattresses to suit all needs and budgets. Best of all, a hitherto rather muddled section of their flagship Tottenham Road Store has been redesigned and reimagined into the bright and airy Sleep Studio full of complete bedroom sets.
So it’s not just mattresses, it’s bedframes, bedroom furniture and bedlinens too, so you can see everything together as it would be at home, which is very inspirational.
That said, the mattresses are the star of the new space, and they’ve had the excellent idea of creating a large, physical “infographic” board that explains the benefits and features of each of the 5 categories – Pocket, Latex Pocket, Organic Pocket, Reflex Layered (ideal for allergy sufferers) and Natural Sleep – “the best of the best”.
You can see the board in the background of the photo above taken at the launch. I found it really helpful, as a visual person, to have it to keep referring back to, although there’s also information right next to each bed setting too.
All of their mattresses are hand-made in the UK, and there was a “mini mattress” on display to show its construction. It was fascinating to see the various layers of different materials that make up the finished article, and also the size of the huge needle used to hand stich the sides of the mattress.
If you can’t visit Heal’s Sleep Studio in person then do check out their mattress range online where you’ll also find the same informative graphic devices they’ve employed in-store to make choosing the right mattress easier.
And if you’re in the market for a bedstead too there’s the added incentive of 25% off the price of a mattress if you buy a Heal’s bedframe at the same time. Sweet dreams are made of this!
Images: Heal’s
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