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Journal

Notes from the stack.

Essays, research and occasional news from the people who make STRATA.

The Journal is where we write at length about layers, necks, nights and the things in between. New pieces appear roughly once a month, when we have something to say. We try not to publish otherwise.

  • A single pale latex layer with a lifted corner on linen.
    • Layers
    • Materials

    In Defence of Layer 33

    It squeaks. It has always squeaked. We have been asked, many times, to fix it. This is why we haven’t.

    3 min read

  • A single pale memory-foam layer rests on a linen cloth, lit from one side.
    • Layers
    • News

    Layer 47, Alone

    For the first time, The Keystone is available on its own. We asked the people who make it what that means, and what it doesn’t.

    3 min read

  • An open walnut layer caddy with sorted layers beside a small cat curled on a short stack.
    • The Protocol
    • Sleeper Care

    What to Do With Removed Layers

    The average sleeper removes 48 layers. Here is what our sleepers have done with theirs, from the sensible to the very ambitious.

    3 min read

  • Stacks of paper questionnaires and clipboards on a long table.
    • Research
    • Science

    We Interviewed 3,000 Necks

    Before STRATA had a single layer, we spent fourteen months asking sleepers about their necks. What they told us shaped everything.

    3 min read

  • A row of historical pillows from a folded cloak to a carved wooden headrest to a tall layered stack.
    • History
    • Science

    A Brief History of Loft

    From folded cloaks to stuffed sacks to the Strata Number™, a short account of how people have tried to decide how tall a pillow should be.

    3 min read

  • The STRATA pillow on a made bed with one thin layer slid out of its side, beside a small brass card and an open notebook on the nightstand.
    • The Protocol
    • Sleeper Care

    Number Drift: When Your Number Changes

    Most Numbers last for years. Some move. Our Head of Number Integrity on why that is normal, what causes it, and what to do next.

    3 min read

  • A thin empty linen frame is held between two gloved hands under a skylight beside a stack of pale layers.
    • Materials
    • Science

    The Case for the Void Layer

    Eight of STRATA’s one hundred layers contain nothing at all. Dr. Lionel Achterberg explains why nothing is the hardest material we make.

    3 min read

  • Prototype pillow stacks of different heights stand in a row on a workbench, the tallest made of one hundred layers.
    • Origins
    • Engineering

    Why 100?

    We tried 64. We tried 128. We tried 99 for a very long weekend. Here is how we arrived at the only number that works.

    3 min read