Woolly Sheep enjoying the fresh air

Sheared sheep enjoying the view

Berkeley Ergonomic covers use two types of wool, Plein-Air and Merino. Plein-air is French for “open air,” and Plein-air Wool comes from sheep who live outside year round. Since Plein-air sheep have adapted to the elements, the fibers in their wool are longer and naturally curly, the better for their warmth and ours.

Merino wool is believed to have the finest, softest wool of any sheep. Merino wool is tightly crimped and springy, creating a highly resilient, long-lasting wool. Our supplier’s raw merino wool comes from Argentina and has a very high natural crimp.

A sheep being sheared

After harvesting, the raw wool is washed thoroughly in  three soda baths of increasingly high temperatures (90° – 140°F), followed by a cold rinse in pure water.  The scrupulous washing process reduces the lanolin content of the wool to less than 1%, virtually eliminating the “sheep smell” and dramatically reducing the risk of moth infestations.  After washing, the wool is dried in drum dryers and cools on a rack for 24 to 48 hours before it’s pressed and packed. No chemicals are used at any time during the processing the wool.

Wool being processed

An organic cotton field

The organic cotton used in our Berkeley Ergonomic mattresses is long staple cotton, grown in Turkey and milled in Germany. “Staple” refers to the length of the cotton fibers; the longer the fibers, the finer the quality. Organic cotton is used to cover our Berkeley Ergonomic mattresses, Euro-Slat Foundations and Oxygen Pillows. Cotton was specifically chosen because it is a natural fiber and (naturally) more elastic than the synthetics so commonly used in mattress manufacturing. Its elasticity reduces surface tension, allowing the mattress to contour and support your body to its maximum ability. Not only is the cotton organic, it’s also washed. Although organic cotton is already pesticide-free, extra precautions are taken by washing the raw cotton to get rid of any potential allergens such as ultra-fine cotton dust consisting mainly of cotton linters.

The Mattes & Ammann Factory in the village of Tieringen, Germany in the Upper Rhine valley

The German mill which manufactures the raw cotton into the tailored covers is Mattes & Ammann, a 3rd generation family-run business founded 60 years ago to supply high-quality textiles used worldwide in mattresses, aircraft components, medical tools, footwear, and automobiles including Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Because of the extremely stringent standards of the German automotive industry, they are known for their high-tech, no faults approach. Mattes & Ammann are unique in that while many textile manufacturers source production in part or whole to Asia or Eastern Europe, they produce textiles only in Germany, believing that is the only way to reliably control the company’s environmental and social impact, maintain product quality and meet industry standards. A forward-looking company, Mattes & Ammann takes pride in their dedication to product quality, innovation, and social responsibility towards their employees, earning SA 8000 Social Accountability certification.

Mattes & Ammann applies the same high standards demanded by the automobile industry to the organic cotton casings used in Berkeley Ergonomic products. Their certified organic cotton has earned not one but two OEKO-Tex certifications, meeting both the 100 and 1000 standards. The OEKO-Tex 100 standard is a test for harmful substances int he materials while the OEKO-Tex 1000 standard indicates that their facilities are as environmentally friendly as their products. Some of the OEKO-Tex 1000 standards include

• prohibiting the use of environmentally-damaging auxiliaries and dyestuffs,
• energy consumption optimization
• defined safety measures at the workplace
• noise and dust pollution avoidance
• compliance with standard values for waste water and exhaust air treatment
• prohibition of child labor
• basic elements of an environmental management system

There are three main types of coils that can be found inside an innerspring mattress:

1. Bonnell
2. Continuous
3. Pocketed.

A Bonnell Spring

The Bonnell coil’s design is adapted from a 19th-century buggy seat spring. Shaped like an hour glass –a larger surface area at the top and bottom of the coil, narrower in the middle — they coils are placed in rows and joined to the adjacent coils by small wire spirals. The Bonnell coil is the most commonly used coil unit in mattresses because it is the least expensive type of coil to manufacture. The steel used in Bonnell springs is often of a low grade, thus tending to wear out and lose elasticity, causing a mattress to sag and fail to provide crucial support. Because of the much larger diameter at the top of the Bonnell coil, they only provide general support and do not provide targeted contoured support.

A Continuous Coil System

A continuous coil system is an interconnected network of coils formed from a single strand of wire. Thus the coils yielding under your hips are essentially the same the coils down by your feet and up by your head. This linked system is more durable that typical Bonnell coils and means less sagging, but provides an inaccurate body contour. Because the coils are interconnected, your weight created a general response from the entire system instead of getting an individualized response from each coil.

In a pocketed coil system, each spring is individually encased in fabric. These fabric capsules are then connected to one another to unify the spring unit. Because the coils are not connected to one another, each coil is free to act independently of its neighbors. The pocketed coil system provides the best body mapping because the coils respond individually to your body’s pressure, giving just the right support required at that location.

The Berkeley Ergonomic Pocketed Coil Unit

Our Berkeley Ergonomic mattresses features a German-made pocket coil system. Manufactured in modern facilities using state-of-the-art technology, the coil units are made of wire that meets strict technical standards and does not break down easily. The German-made pocket coil was chosen because it has higher flexibility than other coil units and an increased ability to accurately adjust to body weight distribution. All the materials are certified free of hazardous substances by the independent testing board OEKO-Tex and only water-based glue is used to connect the rows of pocketed coils, which is often not the case with other pocket coil unit. When used in combination with our dynamic Euro-Slat Foundation, where bowed beechwood slats also contour to your body, the level of support and body mapping is unsurpassed.

Solid, FSC-certified Nordic Pine

European Design

Grows with Your Kids

high-loft kit & desk raises the bed to make space for studying underneath

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]]> http://www.flybynightblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=122 0 http://www.flybynightblog.com/?p=9 http://www.flybynightblog.com/?p=9#comments Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:49:49 +0000 Richard http://www.flybynightblog.com/?p=9 [Continue Reading]]]> Why Bamboo

As awareness grows concerning environmental sustainability- furniture makers are looking for other  materials besides wood.   The most exciting alternative we’ve seen over the past few years is Bamboo.  While many manufacturers use bamboo for lamps and accessories we’ve found a couple great companies that make Bamboo into real furniture.

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on earth.  And although there are more than 1200 types, most furniture is made from Moso Bamboo (Phyllostancys pubescens).  This amazing plant is a type of grass that grows quickly to maturity, is harder than oak, and is very stable in both humid and dry environments.

How To Turn Bamboo into Furniture

1.  Mature bamboo canes (at least five years old) are harvested and cross cut to required length.

2.  The outside knots are ground off, the canes are split into sections, and the inside knots are ground smooth.

3.  The strips are boiled in lime, then put into a pressurized steam vessel to change their color into a rich amber that suffuses completely through the fibers.  This means the rich color will never fade or rub off.

4. The strips are kiln dried to 6% moisture content and then put through a planer to make them smooth.

5.  The finished strips are sorted to achieve the best color match and then glued together into planks using a super- low VOC adhesive.  This adhesive far exceeds OSHA standards and California emission standards.

6.  The planks are planed and sanded smooth- ready to be cut to shape and assembled into finished furniture.

But Does it Make Good Furniture

Good furniture has to be a lot more than just sustainable.  It needs to be handsome, well-designed, functional and have “good vibes” to be around.  The first generation of modern bamboo furniture was “ready-to-assemble” or KD.  This means that the furniture comes packed flat in a box and needs to be assembled on site.  Look at these pieces- they are mod, interesting to look at and extremely sturdy.  There is no hardware at all, pieces lock together like a three-dimensional puzzle.  I’ve been assembling KD furniture for decades  and this stuff is actually fun to put together.

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