Welcome to the world of LOFT 25, a design brand specialising in home and garden soft furnishing. It’s a brand where all products are individually crafted and made with care.
GAME OVER is the latest project: a bean bag collection designed just for gamers. The range includes a bean bag chair, a lounger, foot stools and colourful cushions to scatter around the room.
When designing the gaming bean bags, it wasn’t simply about the video games, films, or books that influences our culture, it’s the people who are making them. Women are just as passionate and influential in the world of design and virtual realms. And with that, it’s time to introduce the women who designed a new gaming bean bag collection, right here in the U.K. They share what sparks their imagination, their favourite games as a child and how they’ve used their skills to create an epic collection.
Yasreen – The Doc
Meet the Product Developer, Yasreen, the one who does all the stitching, measurements and produces each prototype. Her role in the design team is vital, as she juggles training the sewing team, liaising with tailors abroad and meeting technical objectives. She produces and makes the first sample of every item that is launched.
In a strategic move towards efficiency and scalability, Yasreen can forge a partnership with Fieldtex, a renowned provider of industrial case contract sewing services. This collaboration not only ensures the precise execution of her designs but also allows the design team to focus on innovation and creativity while leaving the intricate stitching and production intricacies to the experts like Fieldtex.
“I’ve produced 3 samples of the bean bags before finalising on the final one. We’ve even had to change the colour of the green piping as we felt that it wasn’t bright enough. All the fine details and decision-making throughout this whole process is why team work is very important.” Yasreen tells YCB.
For the gaming bean bag, the aim was to use a fabric that can deal with the stains and spills. Therefore a fabric that’s water-resistant and strong was the best option. The fact that it is so easy to wipe clean, means that it is particularly useful for kids and young adults who just want to play without any hassle!
Sam: The Visualizer
Meet Sam, the Creative Director at LOFT 25 and mother of two. With a clear vision and a creative mind, Sam was responsible for overlooking the design and styling of all items. From a very young age, she enjoyed playing with glitter and keeping an eye on fabric swatches at her grandmother’s fabric shop.
Surrounded by threads, sequins and glitter, Sam grew up in a family involved in the textiles business. So for the gaming bean bag project, it felt new, fresh and exciting.
“Looking back, I worked with everyone for this Game Over project. I was with Laura; overlooking the design of the website and logos – along with finalising colour options, sourcing props for the gaming room set up to styling the final shoot! I was everywhere!” She said.
The website design was also a major part in her role.
Sam continued: “I really appreciate aesthetics and this was the most enjoyable. Working with typefaces, themes and colours to ensure it all fits the bill!
I remember at one point there was a few beanbags lined up and we liked the back positioning of one and the arms of another, coming up with conclusions like this meeting after meeting has made sure that we have the best finalised product!”
“Favourite game? Super Mario, no doubt! My son wants it as a New Year’s present – and I secretly don’t mind. I’ll be reliving my childhood!”
Laura: The Animator
Whether it’s adding signature touches, sketching detailed prints or finalising colours and artistry, Laura is responsible for all the eye-catching works. She uses digital software along with her own knack of artistic skills to create wonderful prints for LOFT 25.
“We had a clear vision for this gaming project as to how we wanted the brand to come across, so it was my role to bring that together visually, in the logo and website design.”
Laura is a powerhouse in LOFT 25’s design world. She created a logo that mirrored the bold style of the gaming graphics, whilst reflecting the sleek minimalist look of the collection.
“It was after seeing the first bean bag sample that I had a real grasp on the overall look of the brand and together with the creative director Sam, we refined the look for Game Over.”
“Black is a key colour in gaming which is why it works so well in gaming rooms and bedroom set ups. The contrasting piping really stands out with black and once we saw the first sample for the beanbag, it was an unanimous decision from the team to go with black.”
“For me it was really rewarding to see it all come together and receive such positive feedback on the collection.”
Iza: The Shooter
Like the great quote: ‘Anyone can take a picture – a person with a passion sees the picture before it’s taken.’ The photography used for this gaming bean bag project had to be phenomenal! The vision was to make it look exciting, fun and full of creativity. Iza put in a lot of thinking on how to shoot the products along with the #GAMINGANYWHERE campaign.
“We all do different things for a living and anyone could be a gamer”, Iza said.
“A bus driver, a nurse, a musician, a doctor, anyone! I saw the water resistant fabric and thought: Why don’t we take it outside? Let’s have lots of random scenarios, random people playing their games in most random places. It’s all fun!”
The gaming bean bags have been manufactured and designed in Birmingham, UK. It is available to buy online, ranging in 7 colours to choose from.
As a company with an inspiring history, the most skilled tailors, artists and pattern-makers work together to produce hundreds of items each day.
For more information, check out their Game Over website here: https://gameoverstore.co.uk/.
