About

Where do entrepreneurs get their inspiration? For Travis Dean, founder and creator of Chunky Walrus Pillows, it came from the wind. In fact, a strong, man-made wind. While on his boat – perhaps cruising a bit fast – on Long Island Sound, several very nice and very expensive pillows blew off his boat. For the next 20 minutes, rather than heading to their next destination, he and his friends collected most of his waterlogged pillows. Poseidon kept one. A true New England Yankee at heart, Travis wondered how to keep pillows on board, or at the beach, secure for future use when the wind blew hard. Undeterred, and after many months of trial and error in his home workshop in CT, Travis fiddled and finessed a custom pillow weight system. It wasn’t too heavy and was very comfortable. Besides weight, he tested various materials for the very important internal comfort factor. And he worked with the many designs offered by Sunbrella for their exterior beauty and durability too. With the patented weight system inside, the beautiful and comfortable Chunky Walrus Pillows were born. As far as cruising on Long Island Sound, Travis has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.