October 5: Mattress money

Ah, the elusive dream of a good night's sleep. Isn't that an oxymoron? I mean, if you are having a dream, aren't you having a good sleep? Let's stop this line of thought, before I get too ridiculous and move on to the topic at hand. There is a US mattress and pillow company called Comfort Revolution. Does it make money? Does a bear, you know......in the woods? Here is its owner, Michael Fux in his garage.........

I guess you would say that he has been moderately successful. Moving to the US from Cuba as a young boy, his business life reads like Midas, the king who turned everything he touched to gold. Not sure what old King Midas did with his coin, but Michael Fux is my kind of guy. He lavishes his business winnings on an extravagant and varied car collection. On top of everything, he seems like a nice guy.

What would you buy, if you were dreaming on one of the creations of Comfort Revolution? Maybe an old race car driven by a late, great famous driver........

Almost mundane based on what we can see in the group shot. What if you had his money and particular tastes? Would you ask Ferrari to do something special for you? Maybe a plain Jane white spyder, but with some very special accents matching that custom colour interior......

.....or maybe ask them to match a beautiful mint green that has caught your fancy, oh and also match the interior in custom dyed leather........

All it takes is money, folks, and a good relationship with the factory. A quick call, some discussion and off to the production line goes your request and probably ahead of the poor people waiting for a standard (whatever that means) car.

Michael Fux is no shrinking violet. And speaking of violet.........

Yes, it is one of his favorite colours, so while on the phone with whatever factory, tell them about a particular shade of that favorite colour (better send a sample) and ask them to match it. They'd be happy to, after all, the exotics pride themselves on making just about anything their clientele asks for. Hey, it's your money. One caveat, Rolls-Royce does have standards, so they won't do a colour combo that belittles their very prestigious ride. What that combo might be is up to interpretation, of course.

Like that mint green Ferrari, but need something a little bigger, like maybe in a medium size Rolls?

Look no further than Mr. Fux's beautifully turned out, Wraith. But, when you are sleeping on a mattress filled with money, one custom Rolls is hardly enough........

Exquisite, if you happen to like yellow everything. But hey, beauty is in the dreams of the cheque writer.

At this year's Pebble Beach concours, as a special treat for the crowd (many of whom might also have a Rolls or two at home), Micheal Fux's latest Roller was unveiled.........

Subdued on the outside, wild on the inside and in that very particular shade that Michael likes so much. Even the umbrella matched. Cost? Let's just say that you could buy a small property in many places in Canada for the cost of that interior alone. Ok, so he might have received a volume discount, but at that level, who's counting?

So, a few years down the road, you are purusing the used car lots looking for that certain special vehicle and you happen upon an unusually coloured exotic, check out the door sill.........

Now you know who it was built for and sleep easy knowing that some local guy with a paint gun and an imagination didn't have a hand in it.

The moral of this blog? Instead of staying awake at night figuring out a way to make lots of money, just figure out a way to get back to sleep. It worked for Michael Fux.

Until next time.......