Here is a little more info about the “Replica of The Joseph Pilates Original Home Mat” by Elena Bartley and how it relates to Pilates at the Pillow and Jacob’s Pillow.
I discovered this mat through a social media post Elena wrote and bought one right away, being the pilates nerd that I am. I instantly fell in love and right away wanted to figure out how we could incorporate her mat into Pilates at The Pillow™, since the topic of the conference is “The New Science and Lost Art of Joe’s Mats.”
The beauty of this mat is that it truly does embody the “lost art” of Joe’s work. From his details unique to this mat compared to any other, to the coolness factor that he photographed himself using the original mat in the Berkshires, it was just the perfect fit for the conference. The challenge was how to incorporate it into the weekend since we already had set the programming.
I thought that it would be so fun and exciting for anyone interested and attending Pilates at The Pillow™ to be able to practice on this mat at the location. So to incorporate all the elements of the weekend and the mat together, I proposed the idea of a 10% donation of each sale to the restoration of Joe’s studio, which is a project and labor of love that needs all the financial help possible and some creative fundraising ideas. Graciously, Elena not only loved the idea but also extended the donations to include anyone not only attending Pilates at The Pillow™, but also anyone at all who uses the promo code “P@P” at check out!
We were, and are, thrilled! After all this I realized I should run the idea by Sean lol since it is his property after all. Of course, he was excited as well and grateful for our help with the restoration.
So that’s the story about how this collaboration came to be! Additionally, here are some photos of the actual original fold-able mat that Joe made for his client! This is the mat Elena replicated for the pilates community to now enjoy. I LOVE the details underneath. And Elena has dutifully included the awesome little pocket for the handles under the mat. My favorite detail!! I hope everyone else enjoys this mat as much as I do!
You can learn more about the original pilates mat and Pilates at The Pillow™, here.