Are you also a fan of Bean Bag Lap Trays ?
I've always said that once you've owned a cushion tray, you'll never be without one again. They really are the cleverest simple invention, with so many practical uses bringing more ease and comfort to our modern lives and lifestyles. I'm obviously a huge fan myself.
Uses: Laptop Desk or Eating Tray for Lap ?
My laptop has almost become an extension of my brain and hands. And my large lap desk has become an extension of my laptop. I don't currently have a home office, so I mostly work from home in my big chair in the living room. My beanbag cushion tray has just the right amount of filling and so moulds comfortably to my thighs. While the hard, flat surface allows air to circulate underneath my laptop naturally, helping to keep itself cool without the fan needing to come on. (a cushion on it's own would contribute to overheating) And as they're such portable trays, without the hassle of legs getting in the way, I can easily move to the sofa or bed when I need a change of view.
The ingenious lap tray fulfils all kinds of other essential purposes too. On lazy days, you can use it as a breakfast in bed tray with cushion for eating, or a food tray for dinners on the sofa, catching up on your favourite TV series. I have a neighbour who reads and does his daily crossword on his padded lap tray. And my young niece is kept entertained with colouring in on her kids laptop desk on long car journeys. They really are perfect for all ages, including the elderly and disabled. I offer over 80 tastefully plain or gorgeously decorative lap tray designs to complement your contemporary home in my Trove Lap Tray Shop.
But what Clever Person first came up with the Ingenious Padded Tray Idea ?
Her name is Margot Steel. A lovely Scottish lady, who made cushion trays for our late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh as well as for Downing Street. Margot Steel Lap Trays with cushions won Best Gift Awards at the Paris and other European Trade Fairs.
She was a dress designer and seamstress and as she liked to sit in a chair at night and sew, she came up with the simple idea of permanently attaching a cushion to a tray. And voila, the cushioned lap tray was born !
When friends saw her lap tray they wanted one too. And then their friends and families started ordering them and so it snowballed. When she lost her husband unexpectedly in the early 90’s, Margot threw herself into her work and grew her hobby into a thriving specialist lap tray business.
She knew about fabrics and where to source them. Tartans were particularly popular in those days. Obviously real raw beans were impractically heavy and an attraction to mice and mould etc, so were discarded as an idea. One client wanted a cushion filled with lavender, but it was not a success. So lightweight polystyrene balls were discovered to be the best pillow tray cushion filler and are still used as standard today.
I salute you Margot Steel for providing this clever idea template for me to create my contemporary Trove cushioned lap tray designs from. For your resilience in riding the ups and downs of running a small business as a single woman. And for being a thoroughly lovely human being.