MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — In northeast Minneapolis, Johnson Street may be busy but just beyond the road, there's an oasis for rest and relaxation.
Ryan and Tina North say at Moss Envy: Natural & Organic Bedroom, customers can ditch counting sheep.
"We've really curated a small group of companies that we work with that we feel like believe in the same mission we do and are genuinely trying to make the best effort possible, using the best materials that will last a really long time," Tina said.
Ryan added, "Our average warranty on our mattresses is 20 years which is kind of unheard of out there in the mattress industry."
While the couple may be in retail, they first bonded over their love of theatre.
"We met 26 almost years ago now doing Tony n' Tina's Wedding in downtown Minneapolis," Tina said. Ryan chimed in, "I feel like if you're over 40, you probably saw it or you know somebody who saw it five times."
The pair opened their first store together in 2006 in the Nokomis neighborhood.
"I saw a bowl and I was trying to like repurpose it into something cool and I thought, 'Gosh, you know what, it would be really cool if there was a store that sold stuff like that where it was old but made new and upcycled," Tina said.
ReGifts sold items that were either recycled, reclaimed, natural, or organic. From there, they expanded to a store called Twin Cities Green in Uptown that offered furniture and other home items. Eventually, they rebranded to Moss Envy Eco Home & Life.
"We noticed that all of our customers wanted to spend their money in the bedroom area so we said, let's just become that store," Ryan said.
Moss Envy moved to northeast Minneapolis in 2019 and became known for its organic mattresses.
This summer, the locally-owned shop received two Gold Awards from The Minnesota Star Tribune's Minnesota's Best in two categories: Best Mattress Store and Best Eco-Friendly Living.
"Mattresses are federally regulated to be flame-resistant... and most mattress companies get that with a proprietary mix of chemicals of some sort that make the mattress flame-resistant," Ryan said. "Our mattresses also have to pass that test but they do it with wool from a sheep."
He added, "I think we're known a lot for what is not in our products. You know our mattresses don't have chemical flame retardants and they don't have off-gassing foams and feature natural and organic materials like organic cotton and botanical latex which a lot of people don't even know about."
Humans spend about one-third of their lives sleeping.
"Maybe that's a place I should look at, you know, how can I improve my health?" Ryan said.
Besides Moss Envy, the couple also owns North Garden Theater in St. Paul — an event and performance space.
Between the two businesses and their home life, they spend a lot of time together.
"The good news is we actually like each other and we are best friends, too, so it's not like, 'Oh gosh, we have to be together again,'" Tina said.
Ryan added, "That is how we've managed to stay in business together for so long."