After purchasing a small buckwheat pillow and falling in love with it, I set out to make my own standard sized (20×26″) buckwheat pillow. This pillow ultimately became the first Hullo buckwheat pillow prototype. I quickly found high-quality fabrics and tons of different tough-looking zippers, but locating bulk buckwheat hulls proved to be very time consuming.Buckwheat hulls are available in many different varieties and qualities. My goal was simple: find the best ones for use in a pillow.Firstly, I narrowed the search considerably by considering only USA produced buckwheat hulls. Our company, Hulltex, is American. It’s very important to us that we support locally owned farms and companies, particularly during these challenging economic times.China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and and several other eastern european countries are big exporters of buckwheat. There are certainly good prices to be found, but they are typically not produced using the same high standards exercised in the USA.
Manufacturers of buckwheat pillows that utilize imported buckwheat hulls will frequently advertise their hulls as having been “roasted.” This term refers to a process required by the US government to remove any potential contaminants the product might contain prior to being distributed to American markets; it prevents the spread of plant pests and diseases. The hulls are subjected to high heat, which eliminates some of their moisture content, making them a bit more brittle, dusty and prone to flattening out.I ordered our first sample buckwheat hulls thinking that they’d be perfect. They were certified organic and very cheap! When they arrived in the mail my high hopes were dashed. The hulls were all crushed flat and broken into many small pieces. So what’s wrong with that? A few things:Some marketers of buckwheat pillows try to use this characteristic to their advantage claiming that they’ve been “pre-flattened” or “polished.” It’s our belief that intact hulls are far superior, but there are two distinct, albeit small, advantages to crushed buckwheat hulls:My second sample of buckwheat hulls wasn’t much more successful than the first.
Another certified organic variety with a very high price tag arrived at my door step. I tore into the package and was immediately disappointed to see the tiny little hulls contained. While completely intact, they were shriveled-appearing compared to some of the larger varieties typically used in buckwheat pillows. Being so small, these were much more dense; they were heavier and restricted air flow much like the crushed buckwheat hulls in my first sample.I got a several other samples with similar issues-they were less than ideal for one reason or another. Finally a sample came that was perfect… well almost. The buckwheat hulls were:The one catch was that they weren’t certified organic. After pouring through available data, I determined that it was of little importance that the buckwheat hulls be certified. Buckwheat grows well without requiring noxious fertilizers or pesticides so it is most often very close to the definition of organic without actually being certified organic.In the end, it wasn’t a difficult decision.
I decided that it was better to use buckwheat hulls with superior physical characteristics rather than rely on the insignificant label applied to potentially inferior pillow fill.In summary, without seeing the buckwheat hulls up close in person, it’s very difficult to know what you’re getting. We’ve done that for you. If you’re in the market for buckwheat hulls for use in a pillow, look no farther. We’ve selected the best we could find and use them in every Hullo™ we ship. We guarantee you’ll agree. If you’re unhappy for whatever reason, just ship them back to us and we’ll refund you the purchase price.We all know that the omnipotent tech giant, Google, creates some pretty special work spaces for its staff. With catered meals prepared by talented chefs, ridiculously comfy lounges, cool recreational play rooms and that infamous red slide, Google offices are the top-tier of collaborative and fun work environments. But they are often shrouded in mystery, with only the Google insiders getting access.
So what does the newly designed Google Canada space at the Breithaupt Block in downtown Kitchener look like? You and I get to find out this Saturday. Doors Open Waterloo Region, an annual tour of architectural spaces and heritage sites, is this Saturday, September 17, and it is the key to getting to peek behind the Google curtain. Be welcomed into the local office, where you can check out the climbing wall, the library, the so-called ‘secret room’, or if you are so inclined, the space where Prime Minster Justin Trudeau hung out during Google’s official opening earlier this year. There is also a lecture at 11am, entitled The Impact of Design and Architecture on Culture. Jane Synder and Karl Kessler (previously profiled on this blog) are the local masterminds behind this event, coordinating it for the last dozen years. This year there are 48 sites we get to visit, 19 of which have a strong science and tech bent, aligning with the this year’s theme, Into Science and Tech.
Thanks to Doors Open, you get to wander into the beautiful Seagrams distillery in Uptown Waterloo to check out Shopify; be toured through the ever-popular Perimeter Institute; and visit several businesses housed at 305 King St. in downtown Kitchener, including Dragon’s Den winner MappedIn, plus , Sweet Tooth and Square. We also get to peek into beautiful churches, city halls, manufacturing facilities, historic inns, an architecture school, a local farm and and other interesting sites around the region, some which offer guided or self-guided tours so be sure to check the schedule. And if you are the shutterbug type, Doors Open would love to see you post your photos of the sites on their Flickr page. Follow up Doors Open on Twitter and Facebook for all the details, and then check the schedule and and plan your Saturday. Hope we cross architectural paths.Latest From Avenue Lighting: Our friends at Branch Design specialize in interior design, renovation planning, staging and gardening.