The East Chop Sleep Shop celebrated 25 years in business and owners Pat and Mike Chmura hosted an open house for customers on March 28. Named for the lighthouse, the store has always been on State Road in Vineyard Haven.

The husband and wife team opened shop in 1984 with a formula for combining living together and working together. “We divvy up responsibilities based on our strengths,” Mr. Chmura said. He handles marketing, advertising, and transportation while Ms. Chmura is responsible for the design decisions. “Plus she has an MBA in finance so I was smart enough to marry my accountant,” he said.

They live in Rhode Island but are here several days a week; they try not to take shop talk home with them.

The store opened in 1984 just selling mattresses, box springs, and frames. When the Chmuras moved it to larger quarters within the same building and within eyesight of their original store in 1997, the additional space allowed them to expand their lines.

Now they offer decorative iron and wood bed frames, bunk beds, cribs, day beds, and armoires. Along with bed basics like mattress pads, blankets, and sheets, they also carry designer lines of quilts and shams from April Cornell and patterns adapted from Colonial Williamsburg historic fabrics.

— Gary Cook

Ms. Chmura has seen some buying patterns change over the life of their business. “People used to think they should buy hard mattresses because that’s what was good for their backs,” she said. But she’s noticed that as buyers age, they realize that softer beds are much more comfortable, especially ones with the added cushioning of a pillow top.

Ms. Chmura has a piece of advice she likes to give to people who rent their homes. “Put the very best bed in the room where the person paying the rent will sleep.”

— Susan Catling