Creating new meaning in the interior decoration space of Bahrain is Mrs Mayssa Al Ghawas, the co founder of renowned Mine Co. located in Sanad, which is already a household name when it comes to specialized designs for kids’ room. A self taught Bahraini decorator and furniture designer who is in deep love with her everyday task as designer-decorator, is escalating to her new brand PlayWorks Décor. Taking few hours out from her busy schedule, Mayssa chatted with Bahrain This Week, sharing with us her experience as an interior decorator and her decision for brand expansion.
Why did you choose to be a personal space decorator when you were already an established cartoonist, art teacher and a comic book illustrator?
Frankly speaking, I never thought of becoming an interior decorator but wanted to specialize in graphical designing. While I was pregnant with my first born I found that Bahrain seriously lacked designers who specialised in designing furniture and decor for kids. This gave me the idea to find the right space where I could put to use my creativity and love for fantasy. And Mine Co. was born where we specialise in delivering customised furniture and interiors for tots & teens.
From Mine Co. to PlayWorks – why the transition in brand?
During my 6 years with Mine Co., I noticed a growing demand from the parents of my little clients and young adults for decors and customised experience that matches their personalities. They required personal spaces that would inspire them and make them comfortable and relaxed after a day’s hectic schedule. So I founded my next brand PlayWorks Décor that specialises in creating personal spaces for work and play.
Are Mine Co. and PlayWorks Décor different or the same? If So how?
They work the same when it comes to customisation and creativity, but different in terms of broadness with which it reaches out to the public. Mine Co. had been targeting only kids and teens but PlayWorks is for everyone. It stands for finding personal space solutions for the work place, home, shops, restaurants and more. Here we concentrate more about creating a person’s surroundings which can positively impact someone about who you are and how you feel. So I left Mine Co. to my partners and started on my own with PlayWorks Décor.
Is designing a room for kids equally or more than challenging than designing a room for grownups?
Well… let me think about that! (Smiles) Ok! It is equally challenging. Because whether it is for the kids or the adults, in the end I have to impress both. When it comes to kids I always have the leg room for creating fantasy. But when it comes to adults I have to really put myself in their shoes. It is about being with them in their situation and to feel the changes I should be making to convert their places to produce the positive impact on to their lives. So for me designing for both the kids and the grownups are equally exigent.
When designing for kids, what major points do you consider important?
Safety is the most important thing to be considered when designing space for kids. I also give equal importance to the ideas the little minds have about the world they want to see and feel in their rooms. Sure enough, along with the thoughts the kid might share with me it’s the parents’ decision that needs to be given equal importance on how the end picture should look like.
What do you enjoy the most with the career/entrepreneurship you have chosen?
I always enjoy meeting new clients, but what I love the most is about how they open up to me and consider my expertise to find solutions for the problems with their home decors. And finally I love to see their faces lighting up with satisfaction and joy when I deliver those solutions that goes beyond their expectations.
Which of your jobs so far has been the most challenging one and why?
The most challenging job I have done so far was to design and deliver a room without actually meeting my client.
The request came to me from the mother of a two and a half year old boy who was in an induced coma for a long time. The mother didn’t even know if her child would ever wake up and look at her. Still, she wanted to make the little one’s bedroom special, leaving no stones unturned. I never met this client of mine and all our discussions where done over the phone. It was really challenging but I had made up my mind to give it my best and wanted to exceed the mother’s expectations. I felt blessed to watch the overjoyed mother as she entered the completed room with her son and thanked me repeatedly for creating something above her imagination, Alhamdulillah!