At the start of the pandemic our CEO Richard Costin challenged our Design team to create a range of products to help us adapt to our new working environment, our homes. We speak to Designer George Peryer, who played a part in the creation on our new range, Belong.
Can you give a quick summary of what the Belong brief was?
We were told to create a new range or ideas for products, anything we can think of, whether it was something that Bisley would usually do, or something completely off the wall. I was involved from the very beginning, at the idea generation stage. We sent the proposal through to Richard Costin, then to Paul Ostrolenk and his design team. Now, I’m involved in rendering the product images for the new collection and have been working with the design and teams. The latest task is to add to the Bisley Shop, where we need renders for all of the products, in each of the colours.
Outline
What have you found enjoyable and challenging about this process?
It’s good fun! I’ve really enjoyed seeing the development of the products, how we’ve gone from the idea generation stage to then seeing everything come together the other end. I’ve never been involved in this at Bisley, so this project has been really nice for me. I found trying to get all of the designers and design team, together to start the project challenging at first. We utilised Zoom, which in itself was a challenge to begin with, but it worked out really well in the end. It’s even developed the way we now communicate via email, for the better.
Do you have a favourite piece from the collection?
We’ve got so much in the collection it’s hard to pick! That being said, Outline is really elegant – I do like that. It’s a bit like the Be Frame Toppers, but you have a storage feature that isn’t office style, it’s a lot more homely. It’s sleek and crisp!
How long have you worked at Bisley for?
Just over 2 years. I graduated from university in 2015 where I studied Product Design. I then went on to work for Sheppard Robson, an architectural designer in London. Then I worked a year or so for Soundsorba in High Wycombe. I then came to Bisley as a designer under the UK Sales team.
What do you enjoy about working at Bisley?
It’s definitely the best place I’ve worked at. Everyone is and has always been friendly and so easy to get on with. I like having loads of different things to do at a time. I sit under the UK Sales team, but it is nice to have bits of work from the Marketing team or Key Accounts. I’ve got my normal day-to-day work but then I also do lots of other design related projects. I also find it very interesting to see all the different products and ranges come together.
What does your normal working day look like? How has that changed in 2020?
Precovid, my normal working day would be at the showroom doing renders and anything else that would pop up. Since the lockdown, I haven’t been into the showroom at all. It’s weird not having that set routine. Whilst working from home I have enjoyed saving time not having to commute and I’m fortunate to have a spare room, which I now use as an office. I think the change from being in the office seeing people face to face to being at home has worked out quite well. I’ve got my work phone so people can talk to me. It is weird not having people pass my desk saying hello or making a tea for each other, the sort of normal office-showroom environment. But it has shown that we can use tools such as Zoom to make everything work. We even have a WhatsApp group set up for our Sales department. It’s quite interesting to see how we solved those little issues.
How do you think the pandemic has changed the way we think about the workplace?
I feel that even if people go back to the office, they will still be working from home partly. Where most people’s houses aren’t kitted out to have a whole room as a study, I think there is going to be an overlap of work and home. The Belong collection fits into this area. The Hideaway desk attaches to the wall, and so won’t take up any space on the floor, then Outline has a design mixture of home and office, so it’ll fit really well in our homes.
