George S. Stearns and Seth Cutter Foster met while working in Cincinnati, Ohio. The two shared a common interest in cotton goods – Stearns had been experimenting with cotton materials while Foster had been selling cotton goods. Together they developed a more durable cotton batting for their wives’ quilting, which was later found to be ideal for mattresses. With Stearns’s engineering skills and Foster’s sales experience, the partners opened their own small factory. The young company began by making cotton felt for mattresses and other products, eventually developing their own line of mattresses. And so, the Stearns & Foster tradition of beauty and fine craftsmanship began.