The Pillow Bar: Inspiring Dreams and Bringing Comfort to Dallas Neighbors

The Pillow Bar’s motto is “Inspiring Your Dreams,” but they are inspiring much more than that with their commitment to uplifting Dallas neighbors through their thoughtful donations.

“As a local-based company, we are always looking for ways to give back to the community,” Connie Kleinert Babikian, President of The Pillow Bar, says. “Today, we are donating close to 100 pillows to the Genesis Women’s Shelter.”

The donated pillows were all made on-site at The Pillow Bar’s storefront in Dallas’s Design District. Connie and her team, composed of nine women, handcraft all of the custom luxury bedding and pillows from The Pillow Bar.

Connie explains that the brand-new pillows brought to Genesis are all of a discontinued style. When her team gathered to determine what to do with the inventory, they considered multiple options, including pursuing different sales channels. Ultimately, they all came to the same conclusion.

“We all came back to the idea of, ‘These are products we should give to people.’ A pillow is personal. A pillow gives a sense of security– a sense of comfort– and there are a lot of people that could use that right now,” Connie says.

This is not the first time The Pillow Bar has helped meet neighbors’ needs. Connie expresses that she has created a culture where her staff’s passions and interests are considered in decision-making.

“When we were looking at our inventory, we wanted to make sure that every individual employee here really felt like they were listened to, and this wasn’t just a unilateral decision by me,” Connie elaborates. “So we went around, divided the inventory up evenly, and everybody got to choose a place that means something to them.”

The choice to land on Genesis today was Connie’s because she says she loves what they do for our community, and in particular, for women and children. 

Aside from Genesis, The Pillow Bar has also given to local children’s hospitals and The Family Place, another local nonprofit that supports victims of family violence. They even do monthly drop-offs to the SPCA of Texas’s Dallas Animal Care Center because one of the Pillow Bar employees has a heart for rescued animals.

“We really just try to listen to our employees and cater to their specific passions,” Connie says.

While Connie and her team at The Pillow Bar do their best to give back where they can, Connie also recognizes that it can be challenging for small businesses to figure out how to impact their communities positively.

“We’re not a huge company; we don’t have this massive balance sheet, but we wanted to give back,” Connie says. “So I would encourage other business owners in this position to be creative, to look at what they have, and to listen to your employees because they have great ideas.”

Connie explains that this day was an example of her team looking at the inventory they had on hand and deciding to do something special with it.

“Whether that’s gifting in-kind donations or whether that’s volunteer days with your team, there are lots of ways to give back that could work for a small business,” Connie says. “You just have to think outside the box.”