All articles are from various newspapers/newsletters, written by independent papers/organizations.

"Buckwheat pillow eases neck pain, allergies" - Kanata Kourier-Standard - February 27, 1998 by Ian Howard, Staff Writer.

Morning aches may be pains of the past
A Kanata mother-daughter entrepreneur team looked to Japan to ease the back and neck pains of Canadians.
Irene Foley, along with her daughter Judy, started The Perfect Pillow Company last October after months of research. As both partners suffer from back and neck pain, the two were interested in adapting a Japanese pillow to the Canadian market.
"I had a sore neck every morning. My friend brought a pillow home from Japan and within four nights my sore neck disappeared and never returned," says Irene.
The 'perfect pillow' is made from buckwheat hulls. The hulls are the protective shell of the buckwheat kernel. The hulls are chemical free and when used in pillows, conform to the contours of the head and neck.
"I've been searching for the perfect pillow for 20 years and this is it," says Irene.
'Perfect Pillows' are manufactured entirely in Canada. Ontario produced buckwheat hulls are shipped to Kanata and stuffed into cotton casings at the Foley residence.
Most of the buckwheat pillows made in Japan have been treated with chemicals which can be health hazards to allergy sufferers, according to Judy. "The reason we wanted to make the pillows ourselves is (that) we don't add any chemicals", she explains.
Buckwheat pillows have appeared on television infomercials, but the Foleys caution that the American pillows may not be chemical free.
"On T.V. they are advertised as a gimmick. Who is going to put an egg under a pillow?" says Irene. "Our pillows are so good they don't need any gimmicks."
Kanata resident Candace Aucoin, a severe allergy sufferer, tested out the 'perfect pillow'.
"It's perfect for comfort," says Aucoin. "I've tried other pillows and found them all uncomfortable." She recommends the pillow for its neck and back support but as she was suffering from a sinus infection, she was unable to properly test the pillow's hypo-allergenic claims.
The Perfect Pillow Company is a home-based retailer with most of their business done by phone. The Foleys set up a booth in the Bayshore mall one week every month to showcase their product.

"Success beyond dreams" -
The Ottawa Citizen - Careers Section - May 30, 1998 by Jeff Buckstein

"Buckwheat pillow given as gift inspires a unique family enterprise"
"Success: Sales 'right on target and budget'
When Irene Foley received a buckwheat pillow from Japan as a gift last spring, she was told that sleeping on it might help ease a sore neck she'd been experiencing. But the pillow turned out to be more than good medicine. It became the catalyst for a new entrepreneurial venture, as Mrs. Foley began to think the "if the pillow can help me, it may very well be able to help other people."
The Kanata resident, who is in her early 50s, soon found herself making plan to produce buckwheat pillows, realizing that her background and experience were well suited to such an endeavour. She'd always enjoyed working with her hands, making and displaying crafts ever since her three children, now ranging in ages from 17 to 29, were young. She also enjoyed selling and marketing, and had extensive contacts as the result of having sold real estate in the Ottawa Valley and served on the board of the Queensway-Carleton Hospital Foundation.
Joining her in this enterprise was Mrs. Foley's only daughter, Judy, 29, who had previous entrepreneurial experience, having run a sole proprietorship called Style Select, (dealing with computer imaging system Styles on Video), for two years while still in her early 20s. She credits growing up on a farm (Judy's father and Irene's husband, Richard, runs a farm off March Road in North Kanata) for having imbued her with entrepreneurial ambitions from an early age.
Judy Foley had also worked for about eight years as an employee of Theratronics International Limited of Kanata, primarily in the financial area of the business, although she also had experience in sales and marketing.
Throughout the summer of 1997, Irene and Judy Foley researched and tested materials for use in their product before formally founding The Perfect Pillow Company last October with each owning a 50-per-cent share of the new company. They were able to self-finance the $10,000-$15,000 in start-up costs, required for such things as raw materials, including storage containers, boxes and packaging.
The Foleys decided to apportion their responsibilities in the fledgling company based on their diverse backgrounds, with Irene focusing largely on the selling and marketing end of the business and Judy handling financial and administrative duties and computer graphics, including the design of print materials for box labels.
Both partners are involved with manufacturing the pillows and proud of the fact they use only Canadian raw materials. The pillows are filled with buckwheat hulls, the shell of which has been milled clean, to eliminate any flour, seed, or other type of growth. (Buckwheat is not a grain, as many people intuitively believe, but a fruit, related to the rhubarb family).
The pillows are manufactured at Richard and Irene Foley's farmhouse at 927 March Road, with the entrepreneurs using the back porch, kitchen and dining room to make and store their products. Normally, Irene and Judy Foley do all the work themselves, but on occasion, they hire a contract sewer to assist when demand is heavy.
To advertise their new product when they started the business last autumn, the Foleys provided a buckwheat pillow on a trial basis to 15 acquaintances, many of whom had experienced sore necks or headaches in the past. The feedback was positive.
Jennifer and David Lockyer of Stittsville bought four pillows, using one each for sleeping and relaxing. One of the reasons Ms. Lockyer has found the pillow particularly comforting is because it's helped ease the lingering neck pain she experiences from severe whiplash suffered in a car accident many years ago.
Irene Foley says one error made during the initial stages of their business was to make only one size of pillow, measuring about 16 inches by 20 inches, the most common size in Japan, before realizing that North Americans generally prefer a larger, queen size pillow, measuring about 19 inches by 27 inches.
Today, the Foleys have expanded their line to include a traveling pillow, measuring nine inches by 14 inches, (which they decided to make in response to the comments of a relative who travels extensively, but finds airline pillows uncomfortable), and a specially contoured neck pillow. The four pillows range in price from $19.99 to $39.99 each.
The Foleys are also developing a number of new designs. Irene Foley says the customer response to their pillow has yielded some interesting and unexpected discoveries.
"It never ceases to amaze me when people call back and tell us the good things the pillow has done for them," she says, adding that she's particularly surprised at the number of men who've purchased buckwheat pillows for their own use.
The pillows are designed to provide strong support for the shape of the neck and head. Unlike some conventional pillows, which tend to push back up when pressure is placed on them, Irene Foley says the buckwheat pillow's strength is in the passive support it provides, thereby relieving pressure on the user's head and neck, as well as the fact it remains "cool to the touch and there are no chemical additives."
Dr. Frazer Smith, a chiropractor who practices in both Nepean and Smith Falls, uses the buckwheat pillow designed by the Foleys. He says there are medical reasons why the pillow helps relieve neck stress.
"In terms of the mechanics of how your body is designed, most conventional pillows elevate your neck and head above the actual plane of your body. A buckwheat pillow tends to support your neck, as opposed to your head... The skull is a pretty solid area, but the cervical spine is a very mobile, sensitive region and you can imagine (how) almost every single nerve that travels down the body has to go through that region," he says.
The Foleys have rented a booth in the Bayshore Shopping Centre for about a week every month since last December, something that has netted them wide exposure.
Last month, they also exhibited their pillow at The Home Show in Landsdowne Park. They plan to expand their presence throughout the spring and summer by exhibiting at other craft shows and flea markets throughout the Ottawa Valley.
The Foleys says their exhibits have yielded the occasional humorous incident. Recently, for example, a woman in her 60s who was already using the pillow, stood in front of their booth at Bayshore, feverishly attempting to convince a 20ish couple to buy one and try it out. "It was just hilarious... and it worked, because she helped sell two pillows," says Judy Foley.
So far, the Foleys have sold pillows primarily to clients in the Ottawa-Carleton region, but say the additional exposure gained during the showings has increased their popularity with customers at other locations in the Ottawa Valley, including Carleton Place, Perth and Renfrew. Through their mail order business, they've also sent pillows to places outside the Ottawa Valley.
In addition to the exhibits, the Foleys occasionally advertise their business in a Kanata newspaper and have also produced a brochure and eight minute video about the buckwheat pillow. When sales provide the finances to support a larger advertising network, they plan to distribute the video across southern Ontario, as well as set up a page on the Internet.
Judy Foley says The Perfect Pillow Company's sales are "right on target and budget" after six months of operations. She adds that the company has been profitable since the business started and that both she and her mother are especially proud of the fact that the company has no debt.
The entrepreneurs figure they average well over 40 hours a week working on the business, but say that can fluctuate dramatically from week to week. Exhibition at Bayshore, for instance, exacts a huge time commitment - 12-hour days, seven days a week. The ensuing weeks are also sometimes very demanding, if a number of orders need to be filled as a result of the showing.
The Foleys both say they enjoy the personal challenges associated with being masters of their own fate and feel that they take more pride in their work as a result of designing their own product. They also like the opportunity to work flexible hours on occasion.
Judy Foley says the main stress associated with having an entrepreneurial enterprise is the lack of a steady pay-cheque, but believes "that's the risk you take." The stresses are the same as any other business, she says, particularly when they are exhibiting and have to deal with the pressures of manning a booth and other daily administrative work.
But they add the stress is tempered by doing something they enjoy. "I've found something I really like...it's a joy to get up every morning because I love making things and meeting people," says Irene Foley.
The Foleys say their personal relationship has always been close and that open dialogue in their personal lives has been instrumental in helping them formulate a vision about where to take their business. "I think it's an advantage for us, that Judy and I are best friends as well as mother/daughter," says Irene Foley.
Mrs. Foley also credits the support of other family members - husband Richard and sons Russell and Ryan. She says they've always been very supportive of the enterprise, in particular helping she and Judy set up their booth for displays.

The Perfect Pillow Co.
927 March Road, Kanata, ON, Canada, K2K 1X7
Phone: (613)271-1527 Fax: (613)591-2571 Email: info@perfectpillow.com

Copyright 1998-2003. The Perfect Pillow Co. All rights reserved.
Information subject to change without notice.
This information is not to be considered as medical advice. Please consult your health professional.