LinDees provides a unique space that caters to both parents and children.
If you’re a mum or a dad with little children, you’ll be thrilled to learn about LinDees, an integrated indoor playland at Sri Hartamas, in Kuala Lumpur. Officially opened last September by the Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, the playland was designed with both parents and children in mind, and aims to offer families a space where learning and bonding can take place.
If you browse the LinDees website (https:// lindees.com.my/), you might stumble upon the “about us” section which will give you a clue about the duo who came up with this idea and what makes them tick. It quite quaintly reads: Once upon a time, two great friends had a wonderful vision of creating a safe sanctuary for all kids. A place where learning, bonding, growing and more are always at play, but done the Malaysian way! As parents, they also made sure that all Mommies and Daddies can enjoy the place too, that way everyone will be able to spend more time together and play happily ever after.
Indeed, being 30 something mums themselves, co-founders, Nurlin Salleh and Mien Dee Yong (yes! LinDees is a combination of their names) wanted to fill the void for safe, creative, fun venues which both children and parents would find useful.
And while they both already had day jobs – Nurlin is a partner with the Boston Consulting Group, and Yong runs Kidxy, an online platform that helps connect parents with great activities for their kids – they were determined to make things happen. “Our background is in management consultancy, after all, so we’re always looking to improve things, we’re problem solvers!” shared Nurlin.
And that’s exactly how LinDees eventually came about. “We started LinDees because we felt there was a gap in the market to provide young, modern parents with the opportunity to work while they spend quality time with their kids, and a place that offers educational, theme-based activities that are fun,” explained Nurlin.
Mien added that both Nurlin and her empathise with other working parents, and especially mums: “Our goal was to create an environment that encourages a healthy work-life balance, something which is very important to people our age. We also want to empower mothers to come back to work after giving birth.”
LinDees, according to the founders, aims to be that place, where both work and play intersects. Head to the playland neatly tucked away on the second floor of Hartamas Shopping Centre, and you’ll see why it could be the dream space you’ve been looking for.
“We spent about a year putting everything together from scratch. From conception, to identifying the space, then finalisation of our current location and construction of the facility,” said Nurlin.
“We were quite conscious about where we wanted our first space to be, because we felt that the Damansara/Hartamas area was under served when it came to a kids playland. There are many growing families in this area, I live here myself,” added Nurlin. “And parents are always looking for a place where they can take the kids. We knew about this mall but we didn’t realise so much space existed inside. We also have a great view and we get lots of sunlight, which is amazing.”
LinDees is made up of three parts: Playland, where children can explore different play areas equipped with sensory-rich features. Of course it comes with amenities and services such as stroller parking, baby milk storage, gated play areas, breast feeding rooms and showers, so you don’t have to worry about any of that.
Then there’s the Kerjasama Deck, which allows parents to work close by to their kids. In fact so close they can actually watch over them from the co-working space which overlooks the Playland. Here, one can choose to work from a private pod, hot desk or meeting room, depending on what you have planned for your work day. The co-working space comes with high speed WiFi and office equipment including photocopying services.
And last but not least is Nom Nom Land, a restaurant, which serves both local and Western fare. If anyone gets hungry, they need not go far to get a bite. It all makes common sense.
Soon Tan, the architect, who built everything up using sustainable and natural materials, says that the challenge came not with creativity and ideas to keep the kids entertained, but in building something that was sturdy enough to withstand the little ones!
“I didn’t quite realise how rough little children can be! So the structures in place have to be able to stand firm despite repeated usage, and you have to be able to imagine what a child might do with a piece of equipment and build with that in mind!” said Tan.
One of the most interesting things here is that at LinDees, there’s even a playground area dedicated for very little children, below two years of age. The “Manja Nest” is a baby sensorial area, which is not acommon feature at other playlands.
Mien said: “We also really wanted it to have a Malaysian feel. So we brought in some Malaysian aspects of play, there’s traditional play houses, and musical equipment, there are local fabrics, and very little or no technology at all, so the children get to focus on their motor skills, sensory play and imaginative play. Probably the only real technological element is the projector in the Harmony Hall, where we sometimes screen movies.”
There’s always something or other going on from craft or social-environmental workshops (Children’s Day, Tiger conservation, Disabililty awareness programme), and you can keep up to date with activities by check LinDees social media (www.instagram. com/mylindees/).
LinDees also has plans for expansion. “It was always our intention to grow. We didn’t plan to stop at one outlet. The essence of LinDees would remain, however, we might evolve the concept depending on the geographical area, and what the community in those areas need. But yes, we do hope to take LinDees to a wider market,” concluded Nurlin.
