SPA-DE (Space Design) 16 was released the last month and excitingly our copy arrived in the post recently. It’s a bi-annual, bilingual book published in Japan that Atsuko was commissioned to write for over the summer. Asked to review the Serpentine Pavilion by Peter Zumthor in both English and Japanese, she was also tasked to select a photographer to supply supporting images.
Hence, we both got our name in the book…
The Dr Marten’s factory closes at lunchtime on Friday but we were still lucky enough to be given a quick tour when we visited this afternoon. Around 500 pairs of boots leave the Wollaston factory every day and although their was no-one around, an abundance of skill and character was evident at each and every work-bench.
Only occasionally do we mention work here and this is a little late but last Sunday night I was in Selfridges with our workshop team to install a set of ‘pop-up’ cabinets displaying Dr Martens’ latest collections of shoes. ‘Pop-up’ simply means that it is a temporary installation and the idea of these was to present the manufacturing process of the boots and highlight some of the key components used in glass display cases.
Drop in and have a look on 1F men’s shoes if you are in town. We went there with Paul Winch-Furness, a brilliant professional photographer, on Thursday so we might have some more pictures soon. Have a look at Checkland Kindleysides’ other projects here.
Here’s a little preview from Checkland Kindleysides’ workshop of a pop-up store that we are installing in Selfridges on Sunday night…
…and I must be in a good mood today as I even noticed the sunshine this morning as it poured through onto the meeting table downstairs… ; )
Everything’s better when the sun is out.
Had a good day in Leicester today, in the workshop. Worked on some ‘art’ for one of our clients that I should be able to show you soon, albeit not complete.
Wanted to show you three reasons why I know our boys in the workshop live life to it’s fullest…. All these spaces were in use to day, the first a smoking area, with pink cushions. The second, the outside dining table, where I caught the lads eating sushi. Finally, and this was impressive, an MDF table-tennis table on Black & Decker trestles. They really are living the dream… : )
Happy weekend everyone, see you all at mum’s.
People have routines; patterns to set themselves up for the rest of the day. Mine is to get into the office very early, quietly plan my day over a coffee while listening to John Coltrane and waking up slowly. This morning I saw this guy stretching in the middle of the road, watching his clock, seemingly waiting for a particular precise moment to continue his run. Atsuko always tries to squeeze in a short gym session before she goes to her work no matter how busy her job gets.
I suppose people need to find their own personal ways to get the best out of themselves each day and more importantly, stay happy. Not sure why I am thinking about that this morning, I guess I am still waking up…
Just occasionally a project will come along with no notice whatsoever; Thursday we got a call late afternoon and Friday morning I was on-site at a huge job in Stratford, right next to the Olympic Park. Of course I cannot really say what we might be doing yet but it was an amazing visit and I was able to get pretty close to the new Aquatics Centre and the main Olympic stadium. It is all looking absolutely amazing down there and seeing it all coming to life really made me think about reserving tickets online for some of the events…
What this visit means is that next week will likely be an absolute nightmare as there are some pretty intense deadlines and no-one seems to be available to work on it with me. So, rather nervous about next week but sort of excited I suppose.
I spent the remaining 24 hours in Forte dei Marmi, in meetings with the client about the many various other projects I am working on for them and nipping back and forth to and from the job-site to check on progress. Progress there was not. The site was a disgrace really, full of people, tools and junk. People smoking and sitting around, no-one with any sense of urgency which was surprising considering that this should have been completed before I even arrived.
Anywhere else this lack of progress would have been stressful but not in the sunshine of Tuscany. I borrowed a bicycle for the final few hours early on Wednesday morning to check on-site one final time before heading back to Pisa airport. I am not even sure they are finish now, as I write this on Saturday! The shop will look lovely when it is eventually finished and I think it really will be something to be proud of. It is a beautiful location on the main street near the beach, right next to the entrance of an old open-air cinema.
After a quick look on site I went to meet with the client, their local architect and project manager. Location of the meeting was one of the many beach-front restaurants. With a view of the sea, my feet in the sand, a spread of delicious sea-food before me and a glass of chilled white wine in hand, I was quickly starting to enjoy the Italian way of business. We had a long and leisurely lunch meeting and concluded that pretty much everything was running behind schedule and that actually it was too early for me to be here. The shop wouldn’t be open until Friday and while I would love to stay until then, I had to leave the following morning. Although this trip was turning out to be a bit of a waste of time, I couldn’t think of a nicer way to spend it…!
