Buy British when choosing a new bed – that’s the message from the National Bed Federation (NBF), the only recognised trade association representing UK bed and mattress manufacturers.
Said Simon Williams, marketing manager at the NBF: “We have a long history of producing the best beds in the world, and British manufacturers are among the most innovative producers of beds. As well as being the inventors of pocket springs and latex foam, we are early embracers of new technology, such as memory foam, plus being the masters and protectors of craft traditions such as tufting and hand side stitching.”
According to the NBF, British bed making is a thriving industry with more than 100 manufacturers making beds across the length and breadth of Britain, many of them NBF Approved members.
Continued Simon: “British beds are also among the safest in the world, complying with stringent fire and other safety regulations and standards. But for extra reassurance that the bed you’re buying is clean and honest, as well as safe, make sure you look out for those that feature the NBF Approved members’ logo. It’s an assurance mark to further protect the consumer.”
Here’s some fun and interesting British bed and bed-related facts:
- The Great Bed of Ware – made in 1590 as a tourist attraction for pilgrims travelling between London and Walsingham, it is more than three metres wide and reputedly sleeps up to 12 people. It is currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum and is described as one of its “greatest treasures”.
- Tracey Emin, My Bed – this art installation was shortlisted for the Turner Prize and was first exhibited at the Tate Modern in 1999. Now back at the Tate, ‘My Bed’ depicts Emin’s own bed after a traumatic relationship breakdown.
- Shakespeare’s second best bed – playwright William Shakespeare famously bequeathed his “second best bed” to his wife, Anne. Historians vary in their interpretations, but it is generally thought that this would have been their marital bed and therefore not an insult.
- John Lennon’s Bed-In – former Beatle band member, John Lennon, and his second wife, Yoko Ono, spent two separate weeks in bed in Amsterdam and Montreal hotels to protest at the war in Vietnam.
- Winston Churchill’s bedroom bunker – from this modest boudoir it is said the Second World War was won. Churchill was also a famous advocate of long naps – he recommended one after lunch every day.
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks – in this film, children evacuated to London during the Second World War to live with a young witch enjoyed adventures on their magic, flying bed.
