Like many Austin sagas, our story begins with Shane Coker's promising career as a rock musician. Promising, but bills were bills, so he took a job as assistant manager in a local mattress shop.

Two years later, with a baby on the way and an idea hatching, Shane and Krissi launched their first store. The plan was simple but realistic: sell discontinued but fully warranteed mattress sets at great prices. Last year's models, discontinued fabrics, all fully warranted and in the bag!

Opened in 1999, "Beds, Beds, and More" became a real success, offering fine mattress sets at about half the normal retail cost. Using a similar formula, some furniture lines were added over time.

Folks took to the laid-back, purely Austin atmosphere, to staffers in sandals and to the unpretentious store itself. Encouraged, the Cokers began having more ideas, and more kids.

In 2005, a Georgetown store was launched, featuring a broader line of furnishings from upscale manufacturers like Stanley and Tradewinds. Also offered were rustic Mexican specialties, and original work by many local artists. Nice mattress lines like King Koil and Spring Air were introduced. Memory Foam mattresses and All-Natural Soy and Latex mattresses followed, as did adjustable beds.

With a rustic, rural feel, the new store includes saddle horses, full-size hair-on-hide, rustic iron accents, all types of wooden furniture and knick-knacks, and leather nail-head living room sets. Still that laid-back attitude, of course... Texans everywhere appreciate "friendly".

Store #3 opened in 2007, just a mile south of the original Beds, Beds, and More on Burnet. This time, the Cokers are offering a wide variety of futons, from single pieces to matching living room sets. The Futon Store of Austin offers over 50 frame designs, 25 styles and thickneses of futon mattresses, and over 600 beautiful fabric selections for futon covers and pillow combinations!

As always, the work of local artists will be part of the inventory, and the futons will reflect the needs and tastes of Austinites. So what's next?

After 3 kids and 3 stores, it's kind of up to Krissi...