This article is sponsored by Pillowpacker Pillows
Fifteen years ago this May, Garry Logue and Beth Shepherd launched Pillowpacker Pillows, offering comfortable yet compact home-style inflatable travel pillows to discerning travellers all over the world. As travellers themselves, Beth and Garry knew that Canada had its own cachet and wanted their pillows to be Canadian-made. According to Garry, “We were making them in Canada from the beginning, long before the current reawakening of Canadian pride.”
The idea for an inflatable down travel pillow came from personal experience. Garry and Beth used to bring their bedroom pillows with them wherever they travelled. But preparing for a 2008 kayaking expedition in Canada’s High Arctic with its strict luggage allowances forced them to choose between their down pillows and their parkas. They chose their parkas. While their days were spent paddling the pristine waters, their nights were spent tossing and turning in berths of a refurbished research vessel with pillows “barely as thick as a double-folded napkin,” as Garry describes them. Over drinks in the ship’s lounge, fellow expeditioners encouraged Beth’s idea to develop an inflatable down travel pillow that would replicate the comfort of their home pillows.
Design and development began as soon as they returned home. Suffering from neck issues, Beth wanted an adjustable, inflatable inner pillow contoured to the neck and head. She also wanted washable home-style pillowcases in an assortment of colours. Everything had to be light-weight, compressible, and fit in a travel sack. Luckily, they were able to find a bedding manufacturer in Ottawa that could manufacture to their strict specifications. “We want people to get a really high-quality product that we can stand behind, and if they’re made here, we have total control of the quality and design.”
Several prototypes and many test sleeps later, Pillowpackers launched two pillow models – one in Canadian duck down and the other microfibre. Picked up by travel editors, the Pillowpacker Pillow was an instant success. Orders came in from across Canada, the United States, England, France, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa and many are repeat customers.
Over the years, Pillowpackers has shifted to an online marketplace, weathered a decline in sales during COVID, and now faces uncertainties of U.S. tariffs. Through it all, the company remains committed to its local, Made in Canada roots and to delivering travel comfort to discerning travellers everywhere. As their tagline says “Wherever you roam, with a Pillowpacker Pillow, it’s like sleeping at home!”
Today Pillowpacker Inflatable Travel Pillows come in a choice of the original Canadian duck down and two premium grades of Hutterite duck and goose downs, as well as an eco-friendly microfibre filling. In addition to the luxurious outer pillow, each pillow set includes an inflatable inner pillow, a selection of pillowcases in a variety of fashion colours, and its custom stuff sack. An optional home-style pillow protector and extra pillowcases are available for purchase.
Garry runs the day-to-day operations and provides the personal touch on every order. “We’ve sold almost 1,800 pillows in the last fifteen years and I’ve packed every single one.” He describes the great satisfaction he gets from the work, saying “It’s been fun and rewarding because I know that people are using them and loving them. Last week, a woman gave us a five-star rating saying she bought her Pillowpacker Pillow for travel but now it’s her bedroom pillow and she sleeps on it every night. And that’s my reward, you know.”
To celebrate the anniversary of the launch of Pillowpacker Pillows at the Britannia Yacht Club in May 2010, they have added a special “Anchors Away” fabric to the selection of pillowcases. They are also offering a 15% discount on all purchases of $125 or more during the month of May (use discount code PPP15 at time of checkout).
Buying local has its own benefits. Pillowpacker charges no tax, offers curbside pickup saving shipping costs, accepts credit cards, and best of all, you can visit “Pillowpacker Pillows World Headquarters” in Britannia Village and leave with your pillows under your arm.