One day, as her Mama delivered to them their ritual snack of carrots and cheese, Ellie and Miss Millie invited her in for some tea.  There they sat-Ellie, Millie, and Mama listening to all the "what ifs" that stirred around in a four-year-old little girl's head.

While most of them her Mama had heard before, there was one she hadn't: "What if this little house was my bed and I got to sleep in it for all of the nights?"

She went on to explain in great detail what the bed would look like. Before she knew it, her Mama had a crayon in hand and was drawing a picture of an adorable "house bed" for her little girl.

The picture was then submitted to her Daddy for construction.  With a lot of time and patience, the "house bed" was built and finally brought into Ellie's bedroom.

The family loved it so much they decided to design an entire line of great things.... 
                   and so it was that a company named Sleepy Willow began!