Those grey bean bags on the lawn at Howard Smith Wharves, the ones with the HSW logo printed on the back? We make them. We've been supplying them since 2019, and on any given day there are around 200 of them out on the grass under the Story Bridge.
It's the job people ask me about most, usually venue managers and event organisers who've sat in one and want to know who made it. So here's the whole story: how the precinct came to be, how we got involved, what we actually supply, what happens to a bean bag after a few years of Brisbane sun and Riverfire crowds, and where HSW is heading next.
From Depression-era wharves to Brisbane's favourite lawn
The wharves went up in the 1930s, built by the Queensland Government as relief work during the Depression, at the same time the Story Bridge was being built overhead. The coastal shipping company Howard Smith Co. leased them from the mid-1930s until the early 1960s, which is where the name comes from. Once the port moved downstream, the site was more or less left to rot for the best part of fifty years.
The revival started in 2017. Felons Brewing Co. was the first venue to open, in November 2018, and Mr Percival's overwater bar followed a week later. Over the next couple of years came Stanley, Greca, the Howard's Hall and Rivershed function spaces, a five-star hotel (now Crystalbrook Vincent) and, in October 2020, Felons Barrel Hall. Whoever designed it got the important bit right. There's a big open lawn right on the river, and that lawn needs somewhere to sit.
How we got involved
HSW came to us, not the other way round. They wanted seating for the lawn that people would actually use, that could be moved around for events, and that looked like it belonged to the venue rather than a hire company.
We put them in our Copacabana chair in grey, with the HSW logo screen printed on the back. The back is the bit everyone else on the lawn sees, so that's where the branding goes. Seven years later they're still reordering, which is the only review that really counts in this business.
What we supply
- The chair: the Copacabana, one of our outdoor bean bag chairs. Each one holds 500 litres of fill, so it's a proper lounger, not a cushion on the ground.
- The fabric: heavy-duty olefin. It's fade resistant, stain resistant and water resistant, which matters when the seat is on grass and the people in it are holding drinks.
- The branding: the HSW logo screen printed on the back of every chair.
- The fill: HSW's chairs arrive filled and ready to go. Most of our retail customers buy covers and fill them themselves, but on commercial orders we'll supply them filled, depending on the quantity and where they're going.
What seven years of heavy use actually looks like
I'm not going to pretend a bean bag lasts forever when it's out on a busy public lawn every day of the week. They wear. Seams get worked hard, the fabric gets scuffed, and some get retired. That's why HSW reorders. If anyone tells you their commercial bean bags never need replacing, ask them how many they've got on a public lawn.
Two things catch venues out more than wear, though.
Storage. 200 chairs at 500 litres each is 100,000 litres of bean bag. That's about 100 cubic metres, and when the lawn is booked for a function or the weather turns, it all has to go somewhere. If you're planning bean bags for a venue, sort out the storage before you pick the colour.
Topping up. Bean fill compresses over time, especially under constant use. Every few months HSW's chairs need topping up to keep their shape. It's a quick job, but it needs to be on someone's calendar. Our bean bag filling calculator is a good starting point for working out how much you'll need.
Riverfire nights
Riverfire opens Brisbane Festival every September. This year it was Saturday 5 September, and Howard Smith Wharves is one of the best spots in the city to watch it, sitting right under the Story Bridge. The venues all run Riverfire packages, and the lawn and riverfront fill up from the afternoon.
That's the toughest night of the year for our bean bags. A packed lawn, people settling in for hours before the fireworks, then everyone getting up at once when it's over. It's also when they earn their keep. Nobody wants to watch twenty minutes of fireworks from a folding chair.
What's next: HSW 2.0
In late May 2026, Brisbane City Council approved a $500 million expansion of the precinct, which the owners are calling HSW 2.0. It's due to be finished before the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The approved plans include:
- a 106-room boutique hotel built above a revamped Felons Barrel Hall, with a permanent stage
- Brisbane's first over-river swimming pool
- around 30 per cent more outdoor public space, about 8,500 square metres
- new cliffside lifts, cascading stairs down to the river and flood-resilient pontoons
- a refreshed Rivershed and new two-storey venues
More lawn, more events, another hotel and the whole world watching in 2032. From where I sit, that's a lot more people looking for somewhere comfortable to sit by the river.
Thinking about branded bean bags for your venue?
The same setup works for hotels, beer gardens, rooftop bars, festivals, sporting clubs and corporate events. Anywhere you need portable outdoor seating that can be packed away and that carries your brand. Have a look at our custom and branded bean bags, our resort and hotel bean bags, or the full outdoor bean bag range.
HSW isn't our only Brisbane job. Up the river at Queen's Wharf, we supplied the red cinema seating at The Star Brisbane. And for the 2019 launch of Betty's Burgers here at the Wharves, we made bean bags that went on top of the Story Bridge. Further afield, Fed Square in Melbourne has used our branded bean bags since 2020.
If you're after commercial bean bags in Brisbane, we're on the Gold Coast, about an hour down the M1, and we've been doing jobs like this for a long time. Call me on 1800 888 911 and tell me what you're planning.
Debra DeBoer
Bean Bags R Us
