John Lewis appoints ‘Little Panel’ to design ‘Children’s Rooms’ Home Range

by Laura Cummins | 4 August 2014

A ‘Little Panel’ of 6 and 7 year-olds will help to shape the department store’s ‘Children’s Rooms’ home ware range.

The retailer has enrolled the panel, from East London’s Maryland Primary School in Stratford, to name new product items as well as writing product descriptions which can be easily understood by children of the same age.

The initiative launched at John Lewis’ Stratford department store with the whole panel in attendance, gave a first glimpse of the collection. The duvet covers, designed by the panellists, will now go into production ahead of going on sale in September of this year.

The children have also named four products, including “Mr Sharky” the Shark Bean Bag and “Tommy” the toy Monkey.

Omar Kamran, aged 6, who named the Shark Bean Bag said: “I always go shopping with my mum and dad and now I am part of it as my opinions count.”

Kai Prasal, aged 7, who has designed a new duvet cover which will be included in the collection, said: “It’s good giving toys names, because that’s how they come alive. I like my rainbow design as it has got lots of bright colours and is nice to look at. It was very exciting and I feel very lucky to do it.”

John Lewis’ Children’s Rooms Buyer, Jo Unsworth, offers her tips on Autumn/Winter 2014 bedroom trends and how this can be interpreted for children’s styles/bedrooms:

Colour

Designers have moved away from conventional neutral shades and mixed it up for Autumn/Winter 2014, using more assorted colours with contrasting brights to create a really vibrant result.

Make Chores Fun

As parents, we want our children to learn to tidy up, so try making a boring chore more fun by using themed accessories. For example, John Lewis has a laundry basket in the style of a shark that makes picking up dirty clothes that little bit different! These ranges can grow with your child and can easily be updated with affordable accessories.

Choose a Theme

Themes’ are a key style for children’s rooms this upcoming season; for example, our Robotica range and Animal Fun range which uses print inspired by nature.

Lorna Jackson, Head Teacher at Maryland Primary School, said, “It has been a fantastic opportunity for the children, who have really enjoyed being involved. We see children develop their own personal taste at a young age, and we encourage them to express their personalities as much as possible.”

Jo Unsworth, John Lewis, continued: “Children very much like to be involved in the design process of their rooms, and are naturally very creative. With the help from our ‘Little Panel’, we will aim to make buying children’s homewares easier for parents and more fun for the kids themselves.”

Aleksandra Zivkovic-Buljcik, Teodora Buljcik’s mum, “It’s fantastic to see a retailer such as John Lewis involving children in product decisions. Over the last few years Teodora has developed her own taste and interests, I believe it’s important as a parent to listen to your child’s opinion.I encourage her choices as this is how she expresses her personality and what makes her special.”

The new duvet cover designed by the children can be found online from September 2014.

For more information visit: www.johnlewis.com

 

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by Laura Cummins for www.femalefirst.co.uk