Summary (July 2024): The BedMaker is ON PAUSE. I (Lisa) have gone back to work full time. However, I have a box of parts that should be made into sets to help a few last people. I'm not sure how many sets it'll make. But I've starting a waiting list for people interested in those. Please write to lisa@bed-maker.com. After that, I'd like to do another manufacturing round but I don't have a timeline. I'll have to see how the job is going and if I feel I can run this on the side.

UPDATE (August, 2024): The amount of response I've had since going on pause, or at least trying to go on pause, has been astounding. Despite putting up the "sold out" notice, people have been writing in, practically begging me not to shut down. And if I'm honest, I don't want to stop! My heart really is here in this product. It truly is "my baby".

But how will I balance this with my new full time job, which I also LOVE. Well, "Where there's a will..." as they say, "there's a way". Probably sometime in the new year (2025), after this last batch is made and sold, I'll start a new round of manufacturing. This takes TIME. We're talking months if not the better part of a year for new moulds to be made and for the new design to be tested and ready.

What is the difference between the current and new designs? Let me be 100% upfront:

The CURRENT DESIGN has a weak spot. Although it is strong and holds well for most beds, there is a small percentage of beds - the really monstrously heavy mattresses - that are occasionally able to snap a BedMaker. It's always the little foot stand that goes, right at the narrow point - the "neck", where it curves. I know how to fix this - read on for the new design...

The NEW DESIGN will have a straight foot stand with side channels that extend all the way to the top. This sounds simple, but it requires a new steel mould to be made, which has to be just the right size, and I also want the same channels to serve for the bottom plate, replacing the need for two different part orders. I also want a new spring hinge on the top, with a screw that is easier to install. And while I'm at it, a "bendier" sheet guard (the piece that catches the bedsheets).

SO, for those on my waiting list, what should you do? Should you go for the current design, which would arrive sooner, but isn't as strong as the new design? Or should you wait for the new design? Stronger but I don't even have a timeline at this point.

I would recommend waiting if your bed is really, REALLY heavy. As-in, those beds that you dread changing the sheets on and perhaps even call someone else to help you lift the mattress.

But if you have a "normal" mattress - mild to moderately heavy but you can still handle it alone, then I think you'll be fine with the current version.

Another way to think about it: Do you need 2 hands to lift the mattress 6" off the bed frame? Or can you do it with one hand? If you need 2 hands you might consider waiting for the stronger model.

I do have a replacement guarantee on all BedMakers sold in North America. So if ever one broke, I would replace it for free. That said, I'd rather people "triage" themselves according to the above criteria, so we can at least try and get it right from the start.

Remember also that I have limited parts for the current version, so when they're gone, they're gone.

Original post about going ON PAUSE (written in June, 2024): In February 2024, I made the agonizing decision to put the BedMaker on PAUSE. I've been making it for 10 years out of my home in Ottawa, Canada. It sold very well, but it was all-consuming, and I had to decide whether I wanted to go back to work and have some kind of a career before retirement age. The only way I could make this decision was to tell myself that "quitting" The BedMaker now doesn't have to mean forever. The BedMaker is my legacy. But I do want some kind of career too.

I will try to update this page but if you come here and the information is old, please write to me at lisa@bed-maker.com for the latest.

Here I am in my living room, aka "makeshift workshop", making BedMakers just before Xmas of 2023.