Beanbags The Small Beans That Make the Bags in Our Courtyard

When Julia Roberts said, "Reading a book in a beanbag chair in front of my fireplace is a great luxury - to sit down with a whole day free and barrel through a book," she gave importance her favorite piece of relaxing furniture - the beanbag. With the fast growing economic world and our chronically rushed cultures, our bodies need more rest than ever and beanbags are often the best answer.

An official dictionary definition of beanbag chairs: "a chair like a large beanbag covered with vinyl, fabric, etc., and filled with foam pellets, as of polystyrene, that shift about to fit one's body."

In the 1960's, during the pop revolution spreading throughout world, there was a small invention in the furniture industry and they named it "Sacco." With a leather cover and pear-shaped with expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) beads the bags rolled into the world market.

Its a popular belief the discovery was accidental when polystyrene (Styrofoam) off-cuts were thrown into a bag at the end of the Styrofoam production line and used by a foreman for relaxing in while on his break. But it was in 1969, that the first beanbag chair was created by Italian designers Gatti, Paolini and Teodora, for the furniture firm Zanotta.

Rajesh Bidappa, MD of ADS a new age software company, and a huge fan of beanbag chairs says, "It's the best invention of our time - it could be your couch, bed, pillow and many other things and its affordable compared to other relaxing furniture. " The beanbag culture has never faded. Ashok, of Ozone, India, says, "They are so good that they accommodate you by taking your shape and also are not as delicate as other furniture." Mattel, the world's largest toy maker, has a 2000 square foot think tank for employees that include desks with wheels, chalkboard walls, and beanbag chairs to encourage spontaneous collaboration.

Beanbag chairs have many uses from Feng Shui to therapeutic uses. Other popular uses of beanbags have been as pet ramps and beds, child comfort zones, for extra back support, high fashion home decorating, occasional seating, bed rests and loungers (putting two or more beanbag chairs together to create a cozy space to recline).

But, Arundathi, a final year student of Physiotherapy from Bangalore Medical College has suggested, "Using the bag for more than four hours can cause postural abnormalities hampering the neck and back areas. This bag is not advised for patients with spondylosis and disc collapse." Adding to her comments, Ramaa Rao, a Technical Writer for Novell Software says, "Those are the worst possible inventions which will turn any users active evening into a lazy, messy and soggy disaster. They do not just pamper you but also indirectly take you away from the activities which you used to engage in otherwise. We can recall some years back when after few deaths of small children suffocating themselves inside zippered beanbags, there was a movement to call back the same by the manufacturers in USA."

There has been a steady increase of beanbag users in Bangalore, and Sumanth and Ratna, a couple working in the software industry, said, "We are planning our house soon and there will be a room with the theme of beanbags where in all furniture starting from couch to beds will be bean bags; this is one element of luxury which we will not be without in our new house." Adding to this, Ramya, sales manager of a lifestyle store, who sells an average of two bags a day, says, "Its mostly purchased by our foreign customers and it really relaxes anybody who uses it, including me!"

Latha Girish of Forti Fori Classic Pvt. Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of beanbags says, "it's easy to manufacture with vinyl leather and thermacoal beads - we send out 20 - 25 bags a month. Our filling is famous for its good quality and cheap cost. But, who ever invented it, hats off to him and all of us in our house freak out on these beanbags."

Anitha Chris Evert, another beanbag fan, who has named her company Beanbag Studio, had an emotional quote: "Amazing how so many little beans can add up to form a unit that's so comfortable! Such a simple idea, yet so innovative and so special. Always shifting, moving, changing within its space and doing all the hard work while you sit back comfortable and relaxed."

It sounds like there should be a beanbag chair in everyones future.