Beds and bedroom

from Interiors Monthly July 2021

Victoria expects no let-up in demand

New look

Laguna by Eclipse International

Product categories are being entered after a rebranding

Millbrook Beds has rebranded to allow the introduction of new product categories and brands. The group has become Millbrook Bed Company, with a tagline of ‘The Experts in Sleep’, with Millbrook Beds, Chittenden & Eastman, Eclipse International, Nemo and Nemoflex as brands.

‘A new group-level structure enables us to venture into new markets such as memory foam and to use new technologies without diluting the existing Millbrook Beds brand. It provides clarity for our trade customers and our end consumer along with clear brand definition and positioning for each of our ranges. The Experts in Sleep tagline gives us an umbrella for some serious mattress innovation and creative thinking, which is designed to offer something for everyone and in turn increase our market share,’ says Ross Thurston, Millbrook Beds Company operations director.

Chittenden & Eastman was introduced earlier this year with the Hampton range, featuring American styling designed to appeal to a younger consumer. It has now been joined by the first Eclipse International bed, Laguna, as the group enters the memory foam sector.

Laguna features Five Zone Air Flow memory foam, which is designed to allow airflow around the body, avoiding the overheating often associated with memory foam. Three models are available: Laguna 20, Laguna 40 and Laguna 50, featuring 20mm, 40mm and 50mm memory foam respectively and a choice of 1,000, 2,000 or 3,000 pocket springs.

Zonal quilting of a knitted Tencel cover gives a tighter quilt pattern at shoulder and hip to provide the sleeperwith extra support in the important areas where the body rests on the mattress.

‘The launch of the Eclipse International brand into the UK market represents a significant step for Millbrook Bed Company and moves us into the everpopular memory foam market with a competitive starting price point of £999. We have not previously ventured into this market, and our partnership with Bedding Industries of America has enabled us to introduce our first range of luxurious memory foam mattresses, providing the levels of comfort and support our traditional handmade mattresses are known for, while appealing to a completely different consumer with a fresh new USA-inspired style,’ says Thurston. Visit: www.millbrook-beds.co.uk

The average person sweats up to a pint of fluid a night

Shall not pass

Protectors can keep mattresses and sweat apart

The mattress protectors are machine washable

‘The average person sweats up to a pint of fluid a night. With mattress fillings being highly absorbent, your mattress if unprotected will absorb hundreds of pints of sweat in its first year of use alone. All of our mattress protectors use a Miracle Membrane, which is waterproof yet breathable and allows body heat to easily pass through. It will also prevent any sweat entering the mattress. The protectors are machine washable, meaning you can keep your sleep zone healthy and hygienic,’ says Paul Lake, Protect-A-Bed national sales manager.

‘Every Protect-A-Bed protector also includes a 10-15-year product guarantee sleep zone while the store benefits from increased sales revenue. Every customer who walks through the door, if buying a mattress, needs to buy a mattress protector. It’s in their interest to do so for many reasons.

‘We actively look for what consumers desire and our Therapeutics range aligns directly for those looking to enrich a healthy sleep experience, with copper, graphene and charcoal embedded within the protectors to increase and enhance the sleeper’s wellbeing. Protect-A-Bed’s innovative technology will now combine materials that have been known to help many with joint relief and relaxation, mineral absorption, a healthier immune system and heart health. This is a musthave range for all of our existing retail partners and bed retailers who want to offer their customers the best possible sleep experience.’

Earlier this year Protect-A-Bed merged with Hollander Sleep, one of North America’s leading manufacturers of high quality synthetic and natural-filled bedding products. ‘The merger is an extremely exciting time for Protect-ABed, and we can already see excellent new product developments. Hollander has an impressive market dominance in North America, due to the success of both licensed and non-licensed bedding products. The first new development is a superb range of bed sheets, using the same graphene, copper and charcoal featured in our Therapeutics range.’ Visit: www.protectabed.co.uk

and when bought with a mattress, a 10-15-year anti-stain guarantee. What’s more, Protect-A-Bed will have the mattress professionally cleaned to the customer’s satisfaction or buy the customer a new one if it was bought with a protector that subsequently fails. This promise is significantly powerful and is at the core of our philosophy.

‘It’s in both the store’s and the customer’s interest to purchase ProtectA-Bed mattress protectors. Our speciality is driving in-store performance, so linked mattress and mattress protector sales are extremely high. The customer benefits from a healthy and hygienic

The mattress protectors are guaranteed

Back in the saddle

The company has seen growth in the past year

New collections have been successful and Mlily is returning to events

‘Like many businesses, the furniture industry has had its fair share of ups and downs over the last 18 months. With the cancellation of worldwide trade shows, businesses have had to result to plan B to survive the global crisis. Changes to logistics, consumer behaviour and operations costs have challenged us all in these unique and unprecedented times,’ says Chris Thomas, Mlily vice-president global marketing and PR.

‘Despite these struggles, Mlily has continued to go from strength to strength through the challenges of the global epidemic. The launch of the new Premier collection just before the pandemic took hold proved a success. Even though many of our key customers have been closed for months on end, we achieved significant growth last year, and we are confident of doing the same again this year. We’ve also backed up the Premier collection with the launch of an Internet collection that has a different story to our core Premier products but still has the same Mlily quality that enables consumers to make simple selections, and retailers to make margin on a quality, trouble-free product.

‘We’ve tackled the issues by continuing to do everything we can to support our customers, including ramping up stockholding in order to ensure we maximise sales during the periods we have been able to trade. Mlily has thrived in the furniture industry by bringing new technology and innovation to provide a healthier night’s sleep and lifestyle to customers around the world, and we look forward to carrying that ethos with us into the future alongside our retailers.

‘Our partnership with Manchester United is stronger than ever, working in cooperation with the players and sleep scientists to provide health and wellbeing tips across social media to help enhance lifestyles in lockdown. As the country opens back up once more, we look forward to pursing the benefits of research and innovation via Manchester United to deliver new, recovery-enhancing products that ensure both the players and the general public get the deep sleep they need to perform at their best.

‘We are looking forward to the Manchester Furniture Show and the opportunity to bring England and Manchester United legend Bryan Robson to our stand, as well as the Ireland and Manchester United hero Denis Irwin. After months of restrictions and anticipation, we look forward to showcasing our new ranges and to once more be at the forefront of innovation within the industry.’ Visit: www.mlily.uk

Design made easy

Zero allows users to create their own configurations

The system requires no tools

Emuca’s new Zero modular space management system offers endless possibilities in terms of structures and elements and does not require any tools or screws for assembly.

Designed by Alegre Design, Zero incorporates a new technical solution developed by Emuca which supports modules, shelves and hanging bars.

‘This system has been devised to make people’s lives easier by giving them all the elements they need and a simple assembly process so that they can install and mount the system themselves according to their space and requirements, without any screws or tools or the need for specialised technicians. The design allows everyone to create their own custom-made solution,’ says Marcelo Alegre, Alegre Design founder.

‘Our work built on a new technology for attaching hardware to a vertical profile made by Emuca. We have integrated this technical solution into the design to create Zero, together with the mechanism that allows this technology to be incorporated into the system’s profiles. We have also designed the supports, the profile and all the accessories to create three-dimensional structures.

‘With a simple gesture, the support mechanism can be introduced into the opening, moved along the profile and automatically locked. What’s more, it locks into place even more securely as the weight placed on it increases.’ Visit: www.emuca.co.uk

Natural flair

Byron: sculptural

Straw has joined Porro’s range of materials

A bed with an intimate and compact shape, Porro’s Byron consists of three elements: the padded bed frame slightly raised from the floor, the soft headboard cushions where you can linger reading before falling asleep, and the strawweave screen that seems to embrace and protect the space.

The lines are soft, the edges rounded, and the screen adds sophisticated detail, with a black-stained solid ash frame that encloses a straw weave featuring a graphic black-and-white houndstooth pattern. It is a balance between the contemporary and the past, concrete and abstract.

Porro’s new Curry sofa with reduced depth – a transformation of the Curry daybed presented in 2018 – is the perfect size for a bedroom. With a sculptural silhouette and strong graphic impact, the design draws inspiration from the East. The structure in solid black-stained ash becomes the frame for the arms and backrest in black dyed woven straw. Visit: www.porro.com

Byron Curry

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