March 18, 2021
Fort Bragg, CA

When Covid-19 hit the world in early 2020, supply chains everywhere collapsed. Suddenly, toilet paper was scarce, hand sanitizer couldn’t be bottled fast enough, and even pantry staples such as flour were difficult to track down. But as the pandemic wore on, even the most unlikely businesses were impacted by unforeseen factory closures, sudden supply shortages, and shipment delays.

Flobeds, a ten-person latex mattress manufacturer based in northern California, found itself in such a pickle when they were suddenly without the main material needed to make their mattresses—100% Natural Talalay Latex. The mom and pop mattress company is an online retailer known for it’s unparalleled customer service. They make personalized, organic encased mattresses to their customers’ specifications and ship them out within 1 to 3 days. Or they did until this winter, when the supply chain collapsed and they found themselves making difficult calls to their customers. Instead of days, their product was now going to take months to be built and delivered.

But despite the pandemic’s growing sense of isolation, the folks at FloBeds were buoyed by a renewed sense of community. Their suppliers, many of whom FloBeds has relied on for over 20 years, worked hard to get them back into production. Some even sent out special truckloads, which traversed the redwood forest to make it out to the rural town where FloBeds is based. And, even more importantly, their customers did not abandon them. “I cannot thank my customers enough. Every single one was patient and understanding,” said operations manager, Dewey Turner. Anne Turner, the mom of this mom and pop operation, summed it up best: “In these times, I think everyone realizes that we are all in this together.” And now that everything is back on track and their customers are happy, this little sleep shop can finally rest easy.