Welcome game lovers and creatives of Upminster!
Save Room is a fun space for all ages in the heart of Upminster, offering a huge range of video games - both console and handheld, board games of all shapes and sizes, art supplies and reading material.
Save Room was founded by Upminster local and award-winning professional animator/filmmaker/writer, Sean Sears (the wally pictured here). After 20 years in the film and TV industry, Sean wanted to share his love for gaming, creativity, films and reading with the lovely people in his community. There’s something for everyone to enjoy in our fantastic space in St Marys Lane - or you can just pop in if you fancied a wee chat and coffee with an experienced animation professional.
The whole space can be booked for private hire, game events, game tournaments, birthday parties, animation lessons, art meet and greets and much more. Please just keep your eye on our upcoming events or reach out to book a private hire.
We cannot wait to see you here playing games, creating stuff and having a blast.
About Sean.
Sean’s an animator, writer, filmmaker and director. He has around 20 years of professional experience in animation, TV and film, working with a variety of different production houses worldwide. In recent years, he’s edged more towards writing and directing, but still loves to get his hands dirty and animate regularly.
His work varies from broadcast television (Including BBC 1+2, ITV, Channel 4, Cbeebies, STV, Sky Kids, Sky, Youtube, NowTV, Youtube Red + many more), documentary, film, viral, published, live, music and social media productions. His work can be found at prawnimation.com and on IMDB.
A word from Sean.
I've been concerned about the direction of my industry for a while. A positive change for myself and (of course) the community is something I’ve been strongly thinking about since the writer strikes in 2022 - and something I've been seriously planning since the ghastly rise of generative AI over the past 12-24 months. Film and TV feels turbulent at the moment, but I still want my professional life to orbit around it and I would love to share this love with my Upminster crew.
I love this community. I love gaming. I love films. I love creativity. I love reading. I love sport and competitions. I love people. I wanted to start something that brings all of these fantastic elements of life together and encourages communal activity / creativity in one awesome spot.
My idea for Save Room stemmed from having Fridays off with my son and (subsequently) my daughter, spanning over 7 years. I found myself noticing that Upminster and its surrounding towns had very little to do indoors in terms of recreation. We have some of the most fantastic cafes/restaurants/pubs, a lovely library, many amazing small businesses and as some of the most gorgeous parks, playgrounds and rural areas, but very little for age groups over age 3-4 to do indoors. Save Room can be a whole day out or somewhere for locals to dip in for an hour - which is exactly what I wished I’d had available when I had Fridays off!
My aim is to take a break/hiatus from animation/directing and focus on making Save Room a pillar of indoor recreation in this wonderful area. Everyone is welcome, including (well-behaved & calm) dogs!
What’s here?
Video games - We have a PS5, PS4, Switch, Gamecube, SNES mini, xbox 360, Meta Quest 2 and more.
Board games - Choose from (literally) hundreds of board games and tabletop games.
Quiet games - For quieter games such as chess or puzzles, we have a quiet/calm zone to enjoy.
Art - Come in and make stuff! We have tons of art supplies. You can doodle for fun, on our doodle mural wall, enter our art competitions and feature on our social media for lots of professionals to see!
Handheld, mini-arcade and retro consoles - Just ask if you fancy playing an original ‘90 Gameboy, ‘91 PAL megadrive, handheld Switch, mini-arcade machine or an original SNES, available to play on request.
Books - Head to the quiet zone and chill with the choice of hundreds of books and magazines.
Workspace - Creatives - come and use the space for work (music, art, animation, film, TV, design, GD etc) and have a coffee on us.
Animation professional - Come in and chat with Sean, a professional in the TV and Film industry with a love of all things nerd.
Coffee and Snacks - Don’t worry! We’re also coffee lovers and grazers of snacks. Come and enjoy a cold drink, top-quality coffee and a snack.