Fourteen Years of Better Sleep: The Queen Anne Pillow Story
Queen Anne Pillow did not begin as a brand exercise or a market opportunity. It began as a personal problem, and a stubborn refusal to accept that better sleep should be a guessing game. Long before the wave of modern direct-to-consumer bedding brands emerged, Queen Anne Pillow was already quietly taking shape, built on experience rather than trends.
The company was originally launched on April 18, 2012 under the name PremierPillow.com. That date matters. Queen Anne Pillow predates many of today’s most recognizable luxury bedding brands, including Boll & Branch and Parachute, both of which would not appear until later.
At the time, the goal was simple: to help people buy the right pillow for their body, their sleep style, and their health, rather than forcing them to play what founder Travis Luther would later call “pillow roulette.” Within months of launching, Travis discovered that a decorative pillow company already existed under the name Premier Pillow. Rather than pursue a trademark dispute, he chose to rename the company. He selected Queen Anne Pillow, a name inspired by the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, where he had lived before moving to Denver in 2004. The name reflected both place and sensibility. It carried a sense of tradition, permanence, and craftsmanship that aligned with the kind of bedding company he wanted to build.
The deeper origins of Queen Anne Pillow go back several years earlier. In 2007, Travis suffered a sudden and severe back injury that led to years of chronic pain, weight gain, and physical limitation. Like many people navigating recovery, he was told repeatedly that sleep mattered. But when he began shopping for pillows that claimed to help with pain and recovery, he found a marketplace full of promises and almost no explanation. Pillows ranged from five dollars to several hundred dollars, yet few manufacturers explained why one pillow differed from another, who it was actually designed for, or how sleep posture, fill, and construction worked together.
During his recovery, Travis began experimenting. He connected with a commercial pillow manufacturer that primarily served hospitals and care facilities and was willing to let him test different fills, constructions, and lofts. Over months of trial and adjustment, he built pillows specifically for his own body and needs. As his sleep improved, something else changed. He lost weight, regained energy, and found the momentum to reengage with his health and daily life. From his perspective, the connection was undeniable. Better health, for him, truly did start with better sleep.
That belief became the core thesis of the company and remains so today. Queen Anne Pillow has always been grounded in personal experience and conviction rather than medical claims or gimmicks. The brand does not promise miracles. It promises thoughtfulness, education, and an honest attempt to help people sleep better by understanding what they actually need.
When Queen Anne Pillow officially took shape in the early 2010s, it was built around that philosophy. Travis brought to the business a background in storytelling, digital marketing, and systems thinking. He also brought an unusual approach for the bedding industry at the time: education first. Rather than leading with thread counts or buzzwords, the company focused on explaining pillow differences, sleep positions, and how construction choices affected comfort and support. Customers were encouraged to understand their own sleep, not simply buy whatever was trending.
Queen Anne Pillow grew steadily, and a major inflection point came when the brand expanded onto Amazon. What began as an experiment quickly became a powerful distribution channel. By shifting the conversation away from price and features and toward health, energy, and performance, Queen Anne Pillow connected with customers who felt overlooked by the traditional bedding market. The company crossed the million-dollar revenue mark far faster than most consumer brands, while maintaining its commitment to quality and customer care.
An important chapter in the company’s history involves partnership and family. Travis’s father-in-law became his original business partner, bringing both life experience and industry familiarity to the table. Together, they grew Queen Anne Pillow into a respected American bedding brand. When his father-in-law reached retirement age, they made a decision together to sell the company. It was not viewed as an exit from the brand’s values, but as a shared conclusion to a chapter they had built side by side.
Several years later, Queen Anne Pillow returned to Travis in an unexpected way. The new owner approached him with the opportunity to buy the company back. Rather than seeing the brand as something in his past, Travis saw it as unfinished work. He chose to reacquire Queen Anne Pillow with renewed energy and clarity, this time as a sole owner.
The second era of Queen Anne Pillow is defined less by rapid growth and more by stewardship. Today, Travis’s focus is on sustaining Queen Anne as a generational luxury brand. The company is now fourteen years old, a longevity he never imagined when he first launched PremierPillow.com in 2012. That perspective has changed how he thinks about the business. The goal is no longer just to build and sell, but to build and preserve. Queen Anne Pillow is intended to be a brand that can be passed down, refined over time, and trusted across generations.
That philosophy is reflected in how the products are made. Queen Anne Pillow products are made in America, with select imported components such as European down, chosen for quality rather than convenience. The company embraces American bedding heritage, emphasizing durability, craftsmanship, and timeless design alongside modern performance. Luxury, in this context, is not about excess. It is about care, materials, and the quiet confidence that comes from doing things well.
At its core, Queen Anne Pillow remains guided by the same belief that sparked its creation. Sleep matters. Not just for comfort, but for energy, clarity, and the ability to show up fully in life. The company’s history is inseparable from its founder’s experience, yet its future is intentionally larger than any one person. Queen Anne Pillow exists today as a testament to resilience, thoughtful design, and the long view. A brand built not just to last, but to be worth passing on.
