We make our natural bed cases with a 100% cotton, 9.5 oz. drill fabric to give them a durable yet breathable shell. That casing gets a strong and serviceable zipper on three sides which enables us to stuff the fill with more care and efficiency. This also makes it easy for us to rebuild your bed at a later date if necessary.

For the fill, we stack separate layers of materials on top of each other. This gives the bed internal plies which makes it much stronger than if all the material were in one solid mass. We also cross-bat the cotton for even more durability. Cotton layers have a grain, and we run that grain along the length for the top and bottom layers and turn it 90 degrees for the core layers, increasing the strength and longevity of the bed.

We vacuum and clean our manufacturing areas between every new bed we make. We vacuum extra carefully when we begin making an organic bed to avoid cross-contamination of non-organic fibers as much as possible. We store raw materials in thick plastic, so no errant dust from the manufacturing process can settle on them.

Without giving away too many secrets (as if we have any!), here's an overview of the basic process we follow when building a bed:

• consider its function
• lay out the case
• lay and stretch the layers
• stuff the corners and the sides
• zip it closed
• tuft everything together

First, we take a moment to consider the specific bed we're about to construct and the person who'll be using it. We know it sounds a little hippy-trippy, but we think intent is valuable when building anything by hand, and we feel that some of our energy and mental state is inevitably passed into the beds as we build them, so it's important to keep focused on why we're making a particular bed as well as how we're making it.

We start the physical build by laying out the case on the floor, unzipped and opened flat, sort of like a book. We use cases with a zipper on three of the four sides so we can build the layered fill on one side and access every part of the bed during the build.

We then layer in, one by one, the individual components of the bed itself (wool batting, cotton batting, foamed latex, or a combination of the three), all the while stretching and smoothing each layer, making sure each is flat and centered so the final product will be consistent in depth and firmness. This takes a surprising amount of concentration and an eye for detail.

We then begin to pull the open, unfilled side of the case (the front cover of the book, if you've still got that metaphor in your mind) over the layered side (the pages of the book, to take it perhaps one step too far), making sure the corners are snug and full with no gaps or inconsistencies along the non-zippered edge as we bring it over.

Now, you've probably never tried stuffing a bed yourself, but trust us; this is one of the trickier steps and one of several that involves actively using the whole body. Our technique of using a leg to hold the material in place while working with both hands to adjust and smooth the batting certainly takes some time to master, but it's the best way to do it (did we mention our builders are all in great shape?).

Which leads us to all the zipping! And though it sounds simple, this part really takes some doing! We lie on the floor and slowly inch our way around the remaining three sides of the case, tucking and trimming the fill with one hand while zipping with the other until all the sides and corners are flush, full, and snug. This is definitely where the most artfulness and finesse comes into the building process.

We then secure the layers in place vertically using lengths of soft, strong, cotton string threaded through long (and really sharp, believe us!) needles to pierce all the way through the bed in a process we call "tufting." This is yet another whole-body procedure involving strength, leverage, balance, and precision all at once, since it requires the builder to fold and brace the bed in a number of precarious positions while accurately wielding the tufting needle. It's quite the skill and it takes a while to master. It may take half a day for a new builder to complete tufting a bed, but it takes the master builders less than an hour.

And that's it! After the bed is completed, we fold it in thirds and secure it with straps for (relatively) easy transport to your home. Whew! We truly love and respect the ancient Japanese art of bed-building, and we're proud to be continuing such a time-honored, healthy, natural craft into the next century while adding a few of our own personal enhancements along the way.