I just want to thank you guys for your wonderful mattress product.  My wife and I purchased a Shifman mattress over 35 years ago. We regularly rotated it (length-wise and width-wise) once or twice a year. It has no lumps of padding, no sagging and the mattress is as firm as when we first purchased it.

Congratulations on a first rate product.

I finally took the plunge and purchased a Shifman Queen Rembrandt Masters Set. I was quite nervous about whether I was justified in spending such a large amount of money on “just a bed”. Well, the mattress and boxspring arrived yesterday and I slept on it last night, and quite frankly, I am reluctant to leave the bedroom since I want to be close to my new bed.

IT IS INCREDIBLE… I feel like I have been transported into the past when quality was the first consideration, not the last.

Over the years, my last few mattresses have failed my rigorous test of comfort and I have invested lots of money in high quality latex toppers, fine wool and bamboo covers for my “mainstream” mattress sets. I found that I probably wasted a lot of money since I don’t feel the need to put a topper on my new Shifman mattress which isn’t even a pillow-top!

I am so very impressed with the boxspring as well… truly a work of art! An added bonus is that your product SMELLS GREAT.

I want to thank all of your workers for their fine craftsmanship in making my mattress and boxspring. I am truly impressed and glad that there are still quality made products here in America.

Instead of nervous, I now feel privileged to have purchased one of your mattress sets.

You have my highest recommendation.

Dear Customer Service Representative,

When my husband and I got married 34 years ago, we needed to buy a bed. Since I was only 20 years old, I had not a clue as to how to proceed. My mother insisted that I buy the BEST mattress available and she took us to purchase a Shifman.

Through the years, we always found the bed comfortable. Since it was a king size bed, our two children had spent many a Sunday jumping on the bed. We never felt that the mattress was sagging or getting mushy.

As the years passed, we saw that many of our friends were buying their third or fourth sets of mattresses. We thought that maybe there was something wrong with us. We could not understand why our bed still felt comfortable.

Finally a year or two ago, I visited a local merchant to discuss our dilemma. He explained that the Shifman mattress is so well made that our bed was probably still in good condition.

This past winter, we made a decision to buy a new bed. We knew that since we spent 34 comfortable years with our old mattress, there was no choice but to get another Shifman. We went directly to Bloomingdale’s and tested all the Shifman mattresses. We purchased a Shifman Lyons. We love our new bed. It is extremely comfortable and quite luxurious.

We thought you might be interested in hearing our story. It seems to be the perfect advertisement for a company that makes a wonderful product.

Dear Sirs,

We recently purchased a Shifman mattress and we were so impressed with its quality and comfort that I was compelled to let you know that you make a product unmatched by other makers. We were lucky enough to test one of your mattresses and the initial feeling of comfort was enough to take it home. We have already enjoyed sleeping on it and look forward to many years of restful sleep! PLEASE keep up the good work and pass along our heartfelt thanks to your craftsmen. Thanks again!

By Christopher Schriever
October 2011

For the original version with images, click here.

First introduced in April, Shifman’s improved and expanded handcrafted, two-sided Masters Collection continues to impress retailers who are eager to offer the line. Retailers can preview the new mattress line at High Point Market this October.

The Masters Collection includes significantly improved comfort options, new multidimensional woven damask fabrics, solid brass corner guards, and elegant trim treatments for enhanced appeal. Additionally the collection features Shifman’s signature eight-way hand-tied boxsprings, hand-tufting, and the finest natural materials, including layer upon layer of apparel-grade cotton, the company’s primary upholstery material.

Designed to appeal to the most discerning customers, the line is available in nine styles
with prices ranging from $3,299 to $7,399 for a queen set. At the top of the collection is the Cézanne, designed with 95 percent natural materials including the highest quality pashmina cashmere and an exorbitant amount of cotton and natural latex.

Mike Culp, bedding manager and buyer of Sedlak Interiors in Ohio took early delivery of the collection and says, “Since changing over to the newly redesigned Masters Collection, customer acceptance has been amazing. We are very pleased with the Shifman line.”

“We are thrilled with the success our dealers are experiencing. The fact that sales associates and customers alike are responding positively to the new Masters Collection means our dealers will benefit from increased premium sales. It is this kind of success that has contributed to the 23% increase that we have experienced year-to-date,” reports Mike Hammer, company CEO.

To support retailer success Shifman is offering a new, comprehensive Marketing Partnership Program. The program includes new materials to improve point-of-sale effectiveness while allowing retail dealers to enhance their bedding departments providing the ultimate shopping experience for their customers.

Hammer adds, “We are committed to providing our dealers the best tools available to maximize their bedding business. Integrity, value, and a philosophy of true partnerships guide every decision we make.”

By David Perry, Executive Editor
October 24, 2011

For the original version with images, click here.

At the Market – Shifman Mattresses says its new high-end bedding line is off to a “masterful” start with retailers. Response to the company’s improved and expanded Masters Collection has been so strong that the company has moved the rollout date up to this fall, officials said.

The Newark, NJ-based bedding producer previewed the line with a select number of dealers at the April High Point Market. Those retailers were so anxious to floor the models that Shifman has decided to introduce the line now rather than waiting for the official release date of Jan. 1.

The collection is designed to appeal to the most discerning consumers, those who shop at some of the finest furniture stores in the country, according to Shifman officials.

The Masters Collection offers nine styles at prices ranging from $3,299 to $7,399 for a queen set, providing a range of firmnesses and luxurious surface comforts.

In addition to significantly improved comfort options, the updated collection features new, multi-dimensional woven damask fabrics, solid brass corner guards, and elegant trim treatments, officials said. And it features the company’s signature eight-way hand-tied box springs, hand-tufting and superior natural materials, including layers of apparel-grade cotton, Shifman’s primary upholstery material.

The Cézanne, Shifman’s top model, is designed with 95% natural materials including the highest quality pashmina cashmere and “an exorbitant amount” of cotton and natural latex, officials said. It retails at $7,399 for a queen set. The Matisse, Shifman’s former top-of-the-line mattress, was enhanced with new aesthetic treatments for improved appeal. The Chagall, another new addition to the collection, is a firm version of the plush Matisse model.

“We are thrilled to hear about the success our dealers are experiencing with the new Masters Collection,” said Bill Hammer, president of Shifman Mattresses. “The fact that sales associates and customers alike are responding positively to the collection means that our dealers will benefit from increased premium sales. It is this kind of success that has contributed to the 23% increase that we have experienced year-to-date.”

Added Mike Hammer, CEO: “From the finest handmade mattresses in the world to the most effective sales support materials, we are committed to providing our dealers the best tools available to maximize their bedding business. Integrity, value and a philosophy of true partnerships guide every decision we make.”

Shifman is also using High Point Market to offer a new, comprehensive Marketing Partnership Program to its dealers. In addition to improvements to the company’s existing materials, the program includes a number of new items. The program will be packaged to benefit dealers and improve point-of-sale effectiveness while allowing them to enhance their bedding departments to provide the ultimate shopping experience for their customers, officials said.

By David Perry, Executive Editor
July 13, 2011

For the original version, click here.

“You just stepped from 1918 to 2008,” Bill Hammer said as he led me on a factory tour at Shifman Mattresses in Newark, N.J. We had crossed the hardwood floors of a building constructed in 1918 and stepped onto the concrete floor of the 2008 addition.

That is an appropriate image for the changes at Shifman, where the best of past manufacturing processes join modern technologies to usher in a new day for the 118-year-old company, one that provides opportunities for growth as the producer steps up its marketing efforts to tell the very good news of its heritage of craftsmanship and quality production.

That heritage will live on in the company’s commitment to some old-fashioned ways of manufacturing mattresses. Time-tested techniques like garneting its own cotton and hand-tufting its mattresses and still using eight-way, hand-tied box springs remain, but they are supplemented with modern manufacturing and sewing equipment. The result is a unique mix of the past and present that is found in only a handful of bedding plants in the country.

Shifman has been based in a four-story brick building in Newark since 1918. The building dates back to 1887, when it housed a patent leather manufacturer, and it was expanded in 1918 when Shifman moved in.

Three years ago, Shifman completed a 24,000-square foot addition, with a 19,000-square-foot warehouse and a streamlined production layout that dramatically ups capacity, allowing Shiftman to expand business, according to Bill Hammer and his father, Mike, CEO of the company.

Shifman does almost everything differently from other bedding producers, putting more quality into its beds at a time when some others are looking to cut costs. That means putting more nails into its wood box spring frames and more staples into the dust ruffles that enclose the bottoms of the box springs and still using the highest quality twine for the eight-way hand-tied box springs, a product seldom seen in bedding lines these days. It means devoting two hours to sewing operations, and adding layer after layer of cotton, a key comfort ingredient in the company’s beds.

All of that effort goes into a line of high-quality two-sided mattresses, which the Hammer says maintain their comfort levels much longer than the one-sided sleep sets that proliferate these days.

“We are focusing our energy on making better products,” said Bill Hammer. “We are spending more money making better products.”

In these days of intense cost-cutting in the bedding arena, it’s nice to come across a company that spends more money to make beds of superior quality. Kudos to the Hammers for keeping the Shifman story a vibrant one today.

By David Perry, Executive Editor
July 4, 2011

For the original version with images, click here.

Newark, N.J. — Not too many bedding companies would dare put their top offerings in the category of works of art.  But Shifman Mattresses isn’t your typical bedding company.

The high-end producer, based here, first introduced its Masters Collection in 1997 when the Monet, the Picasso, the Van Gogh, the Rembrandt and the Renoir—named after famous artists, of course—made their debut.

Shifman has added to the collection over the years, and recently took the line to a new top price point of $7,399 with the introduction of the Cézanne.  The bed, which features 95% natural materials including pashmina cashmere and what the company calls “an exorbitant amount of cotton and natural latex”, is hand-tufted to lock the various comfort layers in place and uses eight-way, hand-tied box springs.

Company officials say the Masters Collection, which starts a $3,199, is deserving of the high standards suggested by its name.

“These are works of mattress art,” said Bill Hammer, Shifman’s president.  “The amount of craftsmanship that goes into them is extraordinary.  Every single factory worker takes as much pride in making these products as we do in talking about them.  Everyone knows this company is all about making the finest mattresses possible.”

“That’s what our retailers want us to do,” added Mike Hammer, CEO.  They are looking to add quality, not cut costs, he said.

The Masters Collection, like all Shifman products, features a two-sided construction.  The Hammers say that type of design maintains its comfort level much longer than single-sided beds, thus providing more value to the consumer.

Bill Hammer said the Cézanne, which was successfully introduced at the latest High Point Market, is “the most comfortable mattress ever made.”

Shifman’s bedding lines start at $699, which has been the company’s starting price for years.  Due to recent increases in the price of raw materials, the company will raise its starting price to $749 on Aug. 1.
 
The Hammers say they are proud of every bed in their line, including the starting model.  The starter “will hold up and last longer than any $999 product, but it may not have the look of competitors’ products at $999,” Bill Hammer said.  “That is intentional.”

Shifman’s starting collection is the Quilted Collection, which features up to 47 pounds of natural cotton upholstery in a king-size model. The cushioning layers feature about 50% cotton, about 40% polyurethane foam and about 10% polyester.

The Premium Collection, retailing from $2,200 to about $3,000, features better materials, more cotton upholstery (up to 83 pounds in a king bed), hand-tufting, and eight-way hand-tied box springs.  About 80% of the filling materials in that line are natural.

The Masters Collection is the top line, featuring up to 95% all-natural materials in the comfort layers.  The line uses elegant, luxurious materials.  No polyurethane foam is used in that line, the company says.

Shifman piles on the layers of cotton as it moves up in price point.  The company still garnets its own cotton, breaking the bales of raw cotton down and turning them into thin layers.  That process dates back to the 19th century and only a handful of bedding producers still use it today.

Why the emphasis on cotton?  “It’s natural, it breathes and it keeps you warmer in winter and cooler in summer,” Bill Hammer said.  “It holds up better than any other material.  It also stays true to its firmness over time.”

                  -  Updated Masters Collection Features New Top-of-the-line Mattress
                       with 95 Percent Natural Materials Including Pashmina Cashmere  -

NEWARK, NJ – April 2, 2011 – Shifman, a leading manufacturer of luxury, handcrafted, two-sided mattresses, announces the relaunch of the Masters Collection, the company’s premier line set to debut during High Point Market on April 2nd.  World-class artisans meticulously handcraft Shifman’s Masters Collection with natural materials, hand-tufting, elegant finishings, and eight-way, hand-tied boxsprings.

The prestigious Masters Collection includes nine styles with a full range of firmnesses and surface comforts, providing a variety of options to meet the broadest range of customer preferences.

The Cézanne, Shifman’s masterpiece, is a completely new addition to the Masters Collection and represents the ultimate in luxury.  It is designed with 95 percent natural materials including the highest quality pashmina cashmere and an exorbitant amount of cotton and natural latex.

For more than 118 years, Shifman has been a family-owned business dedicated to crafting the finest handmade mattresses in the world. The company refuses to cut corners to save on costs and continues to craft two-sided mattresses while ensuring the highest level of quality and durability to endure the test of time. Although the line could be priced much higher due to the meticulous handmade construction and high quality materials, Shifman’s philosophy is to provide the consumer with the best possible value, even at the company’s highest price point.

“Just when you thought a Shifman couldn’t get any better, our designers found a way,” states Bill Hammer, president of Shifman Mattresses.  “The Masters Collection is our most luxurious collection, and the new Cézanne is the most comfortable mattress ever made.  Every detail, including luxurious layers of pashmina cashmere, combine to create this proud example of fine hand-craftsmanship. We anticipate a lot of interest in the product during High Point Market and know our dealers will have a lot of success selling this improved and expanded collection.” 

About Shifman Mattresses (www.shifmanmattresses.com) 
Shifman is a leading designer and manufacturer of luxury, handcrafted mattresses that are built with the same commitment to quality, integrity and true craftsmanship that the company was founded on 118 years ago. A family-owned company, Shifman operates under the management of the Hammer family. In 2008, Shifman increased its facility by 40 percent.  Today, the company operates out of an 84,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Newark, NJ.  Shifman has a proven track record of creating strategic partnerships with its dealers to generate sales and provide maximum customer satisfaction.