Skagit River Journal

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Noel V. Bourasaw, editor 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284 Home of the Tarheel Stomp Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug
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Plumeria Bay bedding from Birdsview

By Noel V. Bourasaw, Skagit River Journal

Feather bedding

When Steve Clay invited me to his log cabin on a former von Pressentin homestead in Birdsview, I got an immediate feel for how he designed his premium-class bedding company, Plumeria Bay — he is president and founder.
"We founded the company in 2002 with these principles in mind," he explained, "Provide an excellent product at a fair price and, most importantly, care about what we do and how we do it. We do care deeply and we hope it shows in the quality and value of our products and in the service that we provide after the sale."
Plumeria offers its customers the highest quality goose down bedding, hand selected duvet covers, bed linens and blankets. He explained in detail how he backs up the company's promise. For instance, he noted that down is the soft under-plumage (a layer of insulation underneath feathers) that geese, ducks and other waterfowl have to keep them warm and dry. Feathers have hard quills, down does not. A down "cluster" is soft and fluffy and will have many filaments growing in all directions. A down cluster looks like this:

Fluffy comforters

Fill power or "loft" is how the quality and size of various goose down clusters are defined. The larger the down cluster, the higher the fill power rating. Fill power is the number of cubic inches one ounce of down will fill under specific laboratory testing conditions. Fill power can range from 300 cubic inches per ounce, to 800 and above for the finest quality large cluster goose down. He use only the finest Hungarian white goose down for our down comforters and pillows, available in a 650-fill power and hand selected 750, 800 and 900-fill powers.
Goose down and duck down are basically very similar. However, because geese are larger than ducks, the goose down clusters will be larger than duck down, resulting in better insulation for down comforters and fluffier filling for down pillows. Larger waterfowl equals larger down clusters.

Aesthetically speaking, white goose down is generally more preferable to gray goose down," he added, "since a gray down can show through a fine white down proof ticking, making the comforter appear 'dingy.'" Goose down is also extremely breathable compared to other materials. It allows water vapor to pass through, wicking it away through the filaments while retaining the warmth in the air pockets.
"Our customers frequently tell us that we are the best source of information on the web for down comforters and pillows, and it's likely pretty accurate," he notes. "We have tons of information about goose down, downproof fabrics, law labels, and more that we are proud to share with customers." for the finest down comforters, pillows, featherbeds and duvet covers and bed linens. Order directly from their website and learn more about this intriguing local business.

Plumeria Flower

Finally, your editor has obtained a Plumeria Bay pillow and it truly lives up to the billing. Due to a recent illness, he suffered insomnia and had difficulty falling asleep with traditional pillows. We urge you to visit their website and read complete information about each down product and then order your favorites for your own bedroom. The combination that Steve showed us in his master bedroom immediately made us think of floating on a cloud, while watching and listening for the salmon to jump in the nearby Skagit River.

Links, background reading and sources

About the company
In depth details about the company and the manufacturing process
About goose down

Story posted Aug. 18, 2011
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Our newest sponsor, Plumeria Bay, is based in Birdsview, just a short walk away from the Royal family's famous Stumpranch, and is your source for the finest down comforters, pillows, featherbeds andduvet covers and bed linens. Order directly from their website and learn more about this intriguing local business.

Oliver-Hammer Clothes Shop at 817 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley, 90 years continually in business.

Peace and quiet at the Alpine RV Park, just north of Marblemount on Hwy 20, day, week or month, perfect for hunting or fishing. Park your RV or pitch a tent — for as little as $5 per night — by the Skagit River, just a short drive from Winthrop or Sedro-Woolley. Alpine is doubling in capacity for RVs and camping in 2011.

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