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Emily Moore spoke to Sleep Jersey co-founder James Hibble about the new company and its plans for the future
AS we juggle multiple work deadlines with a variety of family commitments – and even try to squeeze in a little bit of time for ourselves – the fact that we spend a third of our lives in bed seems difficult to believe.
However, with the average person said to spend 26 years of their life in bed, and with the wide-ranging benefits of sleep having been well documented, the importance of having a comfortable mattress cannot be under-estimated.
But finding such a thing at a “reasonable price and available quickly” is not, says the co-founder of a new Island business, always easy.
Indeed, frustrated by the challenges of making such a routine purchase, James Hibble was inspired to turn an area of 24-7 Self-Store, a business he also runs, into a showroom for Sleep Jersey, a company he launched last month with his father, Jeremy, and his brother-in-law, Chris Kiaie.
“By bringing together our different backgrounds and areas of expertise, we realised that we were ideally placed to bring our vision of ‘sounder sleep’ to the market,” said James. “Through the storage business, I’ve built up a good knowledge of shipping and logistics, while Chris has previously worked with bed firms in the UK, learning how beds are made and developing contacts across the industry.”
And it is these contacts which the trio has exploited to identify three UK-based manufacturers, which produce a range of mattresses exclusively for Sleep Jersey.
“After touring a range of factories, we found some suppliers who met all our criteria and who were able to hand-make the range of mattresses that we wanted,” said James. “While the launch range is relatively small, with seven different mattresses on offer, we have been very picky in curating a collection which we would be happy to sleep on ourselves. In fact, that has been the approach guiding Sleep Jersey. We will not stock anything that we wouldn’t use in our own homes.”
In a nod to the Island, each Sleep Jersey mattress has been named after a local area, with the collection including Portelet, Plémont, Rozel, La Rocque and the top-of-the-range and aptly titled Bonne Nuit, which features up to 15,000 individual pocket springs and a filling consisting of pashmina, alpaca, lambs’ wool and cotton.
“All of our mattresses are of a good standard, made by hand in a traditional way,” said James. “We have chosen to stock pocket-sprung mattresses, as these are more sustainable and enable us to maintain our commitment to quality and value. The top-end mattress has a 15-year manufacturer’s guarantee, while the Portelet – the entry-level offer – has a seven-year guarantee.”
Also helping to lower the costs is the family’s decision to operate from their Trinity site, which James says enables them to “keep their cost base, and therefore their profit margins, relatively low”.
But while starting modestly, the three men already have their sights set on expansion.
“Not only are we looking into expanding the range of mattresses, but we are also planning to branch out into bed frames and furniture,” said James. “We just need to get our name out there and raise awareness of our offer first.”
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To view the full range of mattresses, Islanders can visit sleepjersey.com or telephone 632826 to arrange a time to visit the showroom in Rue de Pièce de Mauger.
