As I sit here in a quiet and empty store, awaiting the arrival of products and customers in the next few weeks, it gives me plenty of time to reflect and write. Why am I doing this? Why Nest? Why now?

The why now question is simple: The company who will not be named that I parted ways with decided they did not need me any longer, after building their company to an extraordinary level of success. Sometimes, however, when a door closes another opens, as in the case here. Nest had lived in my head for several years, back to the time I was asked to judge an international contest on how to best utilize old mattress Discarded Dreams Contest. It really planted the seeds for growing a sustainable business, one that not only made customers comfortable in the now, but did not fill up landfills in the future, for our kids and their kids to deal with. Like the movie Wall-E by Pixar/Disney, where the planet was over-run with trash from past generations, rendering the planet unlivable.

Every time you shop at major brand mattress stores and buy a major brand mattress, you are buying something that is dependent on processed petroleum and most times some kind of chemical fire barrier. These chemicals have been linked to all kinds of issues such as SIDS and other health related issues. It's not rocket science: Taking in chemicals into your body will wreak havoc on your health, whether its in food, water or the air we breath. These chemicals in the foam, the fire barrier and the fabrics all off-gas into your air in your home and as you sleep at night. Not a pretty thought, is it?

So in a way, like the Discarded Dreams contest, my departure from Brand X births a new, more simple, and powerful brand and eventual national chain of stores touting the benefits of non-toxic sleep and highlighting U.S. made products that are durable, comfortable, affordable. After all, like our slogan says:

Bees do it.

Birds do it.

You can do it.

Nest Bedding.