Working with a Business Mentor

Ever wondered what it’s like to work with a business mentor? We ask Jane Vandemeer, CWC treasurer and board member for her advice.

Jane Vandermeer is a creative & entrepreneurial thinker who doesn’t thrive under red tape or lots of rules. Having worked within the Fashion industry for 30 years, you can definitely say that fashion and small business is in her blood! Her strengths are to problem solve, particularly with a small budget, and to look into a small business to see what areas need help and guidance. Read Jane’s advice on working with a business mentor, and what you can get out of it.  

Part of my story

Not sure about you but I often found it challenging to cost up my garments. There was also the difficult task of promoting myself. Whether I was producing a range, making one-off pieces or providing a service (they were harder actually!), there was always the conundrum:

How do you price something when you are not sure how long it might take?

Perspective customers need a price or price range. So many times, I wanted the sale so I guessed the price, hoping that I was close to right. But it can be hard to remain competitive, cover your time, costs & make a profit!

Having a professional mentor can help

A professional mentor will look at your business from a different perspective. It is so hard to do that yourself when you are in the thick of small business.

Life gets in the way. It can be hard to keep yourself accountable. It is easy to push things to ‘next week’, particularly the things you don’t love doing.

One of the benefits is that having regular meetings with a mentor creates accountability and deadlines. It is one big way that can help propel your business forward, and significantly quicker.

Who is mentoring suited to?

• You are at the start up stage and not sure where to start. This includes important things like where to focus or spend money first.

• You have been in business for a while, feeling like you are working around the clock but can’t seem to get ahead and not sure why.

• You are looking at an exit plan but not sure how to do that

• You are passionate about so many things

• Those who are willing to take advise & learn

• Those who are brave to grow

• Many creatives’ are multi-dimensional but this can be overwhelming. Then comes paralysis…so you do nothing! A mentor can keep you going.

Tips when selecting your mentor

I often describe selecting a mentor as like selecting a councillor. Working one-on-one with a mentor is such a personal experience. If you are going to invest in a mentor, you need to connect and align with the right person.

A good place to start is to spend time at an initial meeting to ‘get a feel’ about a perspective mentor before diving in. If after the first meeting you don’t think you’re the right fit, that’s totally ok. Be upfront - they might also be able to recommend someone who is. 

Do you want your perspective mentor to be someone you admire?

Are they someone who has achieved or brings experience within the areas you need help & support?

Considerations for offerings/packages

In the initial meeting together, whether that is online, on the phone or in person, ask lots of questions. Make sure you are both clear on things like fees and what the mentoring service involves. 

Mentors might have different fee structures depending on the type of service you require. Here are some examples:

• An hourly rate. This is good for casual mentoring where something is project/problem based. 

• A program with a set number of modules. This type of structure gives perspective clients an idea of prices up front, so there are no surprises.

Some areas to consider:

• Appointment/meeting duration

• Frequency of meetings

• Does it include support such as emails, resources, phone calls outside of meetings?

• Are there certain days you can communicate?

• How is the payment system structured?

• Many do offer payment plans. This is often great for cash flow for small businesses.

Don’t be afraid to ask for clarity if you are not sure and get everything in writing. 

Expectations

It is good to set some expectations between yourself and your mentor too. Do you want someone to ‘teach you’ how to do various tasks/aspects of your business? Or do you want someone to ‘do it for you’?

Different mentors will have different approaches. For me, I have always come from the space of teaching & sharing knowledge, so that you are empowered to know, understand & grow. Everyone works in their particular way and there will be a mentor which will suit your style. 

Here is an example of what a mentor does…. 

A beautiful client of mine had been in business for over 5 years (so not a start up). She was working very hard yet not making enough at the end of each month.

After spending the time to understand her costs and sales. I discovered that she was only making 2% profit margin on many of her services!

We worked on a solution which gave her four options/strategies to increase profit within those existing services. The important thing was that they were all practical & easy to implement.

Her services were back up to 75-90% profit margin and best of all, it didn’t require that business owner to work any harder. 

A final note…

Different ideas can provide a different perspective to a business. Professional assistance can help set up ways to attract prospective clients who happily and joyfully pay for your beautiful and considered work!

Jane is the owner of Finesse Business and Style which provides services in business mentoring and styling. She is also the founder of Intuitive Whispers which provides intuitive products for the heart and soul.

Meet Jenny Brown of Melbournalia

Wander down the northern end of Bourke St and you will find a colourful store filled with all things Melbourne. We chat to owner Jenny Brown, owner and founder about work, life and that wonderful pocket of the city known affectionately as Bourke Hill.

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I grew up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Growing up in the 70s in the big, flat, treeless north, before cafes, avocados or even colour TV, let alone the wonders of computer technology, mobile phones or Netflix was like watching repeats of a long Moomba Parade on a black and white TV with the sound turned down; uneventful, predictable but sort of quaint. I was the last of a huge family of 8, my parents were from the pre-war generation, the house held a multitude of memories and physical objects from a 30 year period. It was like living in a mysterious museum where a party had happened, but just before you arrived.

School was 12 years of looking sweet and pressed in my hand-me-down catholic schoolgirl uniforms. Straight after school, I discovered hair product, ripped stockings, coffee, pubs and boys. It was the 1980s. I studied art history and cinema studies.

Tell us about your career

My Career is in shopkeeping! My business is located at the top end of Bourke St, Melbourne, we like to call the area Bourke Hill.

How did you get into this industry?

Attrition! I wanted to be an academic, a curator or an arts manager, but I kept finding myself behind a counter. Eventually I gave in and embraced it.

On a typical workday, I have coffee (my partner kindly delivers) check emails, the news and plan the work day before getting up. I then exercise a little. On days when I’m not opening the shop I tackle some accounts and answer emails at home, head into the shop before lunch, assist my highly capable staff, who are better at running things than me with whatever needs doing. I serve a few customers, tidy a few shelves, have more coffee, maybe plan some new stock lines, or do some ordering… I talk talk, talk to customers and suppliers, lock up late, head home, have wine. Finally I shower and do some stretches, sometimes I read, but mostly I pour over Instagram & Pinterest for ideas... I sleep and get ready to do it all again tomorrow!

What have been some of the biggest challenges in your career?

Probably coming to the realisation that I’m a terrific shopkeeper and being completely OK with that.

Best creative memory?

Heading up the rickety warehouse stairs in one of the old Munro buildings behind the Queen Vic Markets to our first a Melbournalia pop-up opening in late 2011, which had been planned in mere months, put together on hope, many favours and a shoestring budget... seeing that the place was full of friends, family and well wishers!

What’s on the horizon for the future?

I’m happy. I’d like to see the neighbourhood of Bourke Hill develop further. There are some terrific new businesses around us, and the old Job Warehouse and Palace Theatre sites are being redeveloped, which will be great for the area. There are of course some fabulous established and iconic Melbourne businesses in our neighbourhood such as Pellegrini’s, The Paperback Bookshop, Hill of Content and Gallery Funaki. I’d like Melbournalia (still a newcomer at just 5 years old) to be counted among them one day.

If you had any creative business advice what would it be?

Probably...take advice from those you trust, but listen to yourself and follow your heart as well as your head. Also, learn to delegate. You can’t excel at everything, but you can excel at finding the right person for the job!

If you could be anyone else for a day, who would it be and why?

My mum in 1953 (10 years before I was born). She had a whole bunch of kids, no car, the most basic appliances, a handsome, hard working but troubled war veteran husband, few outfits in her wardrobe, a jar of Ponds Cream and a lipstick on the dresser. Yet her house and her family were her pride and joy, both were always spotless, nothing went to waste, there was always good food on the table and fresh smelling washing on the Hills Hoist. One day in her shoes and I would never be complacent again.

How to plan a photoshoot

As a small ( or not so small ) business owner / creative there will perhaps come a time to consider hiring a professional photographer for a photoshoot. Whether it’s for a headshot / portrait, product photography for your website or social media, a market stall application, event photography, pitch to a magazine… but where do you begin?

There are many things to consider - including choosing the actual photographer, but first up is usually the budget - what can you afford? Perhaps you have the $’s to fly to the Maldives with a team of stylists, models and make-up artists - but realistically, most of us don’t!

Costs

After you’ve established your rough budget, most photographers will work in hourly or half day / full day rates. Their rates are usually dependant on their skill and experience, plus post production and editing time on your chosen images.

Communication with your chosen photographer is key - from the outset, know what you want and whether it is achievable in the time frame that meets your budget. Shooting 50 products in 2 locations in 1 hour is unlikely!

Licensing of images

There are usually licensing or usage costs per image - this will vary from photographer to photographer and the client. For example, the terms of usage for a big brand’s large scale advertising campaign would generally cost more than a small business product shoot. There may be usage limitations on the images, and a smaller usage will often equate to a smaller fee. Some examples of usage are:

• Usage for social media content only.

• Photography for use in a packaging / element of a new product or that will be a product for resale.

• Photography of your business / product for your website and branding.

Some photographers may also set a time frame limitations in licensing. One example is that you might have usage of those images for 12 months, then they will be available for you to re-license for an additional time and fee. Or they will give you total rights to those images for 6-12 months and then after that the photographer may license the images to another company or magazine.

How to find a photographer

Unless you have a good friend or a family member that is a professional photographer, it can be difficult to know where to start. Word of mouth is usually the easiest way - ask around your network. There are also many creative networking groups online where you can post a job and then go through the photographers profile/ website. Another good way is to look on social media at other brands/ imagery that you like and see who they have used. Many will include a photographer’s credit on a shoot. 

Questions to ask/ things to think about prior to booking a shoot

Location: Where will the photo shoot take place? Is it in your own home/ office/ studio? Does the photographer work from their own studio? Will your shoot be on location, in a public space?

Some locations require permits for a photo shoot, with approval and payment prior to the shoot taking place. As an example, see Heide Museum which has requirements for using their site. With this in mind, is the location/ studio hire an additional cost to add into your budget ? Is the location out of town, and will it incur an additional photographer’s travel fee?

Props: Will you be sourcing the props / backdrops yourself or will you be employing a stylist ? A photographer will often have an existing supply of props or backdrops, however there may be a need for prop hire for flowers, food, additional products, plinths etc. Who will supply what ? Can you borrow items from friends ? Many retail shops will also hire furniture and props for a fee.

Create a brief: What exactly are you after ? Try to include any image examples/ sketches /mood board /colour /vibe etc. Pinterest is a great tool for this. Here’s an example of a food mood board I created recently.

Set a time frame: Do you require the images under a tight deadline? Most photographers will have a 1-2 week turnaround on post production of images, if not longer. If you need images ASAP, there may be an additional fee.

Know what you want, so that you can communicate your needs to your photographer, then they can provide a quote.

Here’s an example…

I was approached via email to shoot a product range of 5 new artwork prints, with the possibility of photographing the existing range if time permitted. I met in person with the business owner of Gussy - Simone (who agreed to me including this shoot here) to discuss further and to provide a quote. 

Considerations were her budget, the time required for the shoot - we agreed upon a half day / 4 hour shoot. The chosen location was her home interior, utilising 6 different rooms. Each artwork required individual styling, using props from her home, my collection or borrowed from friends. So additional costs were minimal. We set ourselves the target of photographing her entire range of 18 prints in 4 hours, prioritising the new edition prints. We discussed that the images were for her website and social media/ promotion.

We created a Pinterest board and Simone organised a shot list, including which artworks would hang where within her home and with what props to suit each artwork, so time was not wasted on the day. 

Here are some of the images from the shoot:

One thing to also consider with image usage is that we shoot in either and landscape or portrait mode, however posting to Instagram or your website design may be square - so images will need to be cropped. Remember to discuss this as an option in your usage/ editing or composition at the shoot. Also websites such as Shopify have their own file specifications / colour management. 

Find a Photographer you can work and communicate with, ask questions - it may seem daunting, but most of us are nice!!!

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Based in Melbourne, Australia, Natalie Jeffcott is a professional freelance photographer - specialising in editorial, interiors, small business lifestyle and product photography.

All images by Natalie Jeffcott.

http://www.nataliejeffcott.com/

Q&A with Rebecca Jamieson Dwyer

Rebecca Jamieson Dwyer is a journalist and editor of the delightful Peppermint Magazine. Find out more about her creative career, and the things which make her tick.

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I grew up between New Zealand and Scotland, so I have a slightly weird accent, but on the plus side, I have two passports (hurrah!) and feel equally at home on both sides of the world.

I have an honour’s degree in English and a masters in Journalism. After uni, I moved to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for six months to teach English. It was also where I got my first taste of being a journalist – I started freelancing for a local magazine, which sent me all across the city on the back of a motorbike to interview lots of weird and wonderful people.

What do you do?

I’m editor at Peppermint magazine – a quarterly Australian publication focused on style, sustainability and substance. We’re an independently owned publication telling the stories of people doing good in the world, covering topics such as ethical fashion, food, body positivity, mindfulness, zero-waste living and lots more – and each issue is certified carbon neutral. We also run a series of events called PepTalks, where we gather our community together for inspirational, uplifting talks from people from the pages of Peppermint and beyond.

Tell us about your career

Apart from a brief stint as (possibly the world’s worst) radio news reporter, I’ve always worked with the written word. I started by writing for free and building up a decent portfolio before getting my first job as editor of an Edinburgh-based website and then moving to Brisbane and eventually nabbing the role of deputy editor at Peppermint.

The biggest challenge in my career was finding a role where I could use my skills to do something that felt like I was contributing to the world in a meaningful way. That type of job is super rare, so I’m still – five years later – so grateful to have found it in Peppermint.

There are SO many things I love about my job, but getting to interview amazing people I admire is a definite highlight – as is working with such a close-knit team of cool, clever creative women. And the days we get sent free donuts are pretty great too.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

Depending on what stage of the production cycle we’re at, you might find me dreaming up content ideas, briefing freelance writers and photographers, interviewing people, going over budgets, liaising with advertisers, editing stories, looking through photoshoots, helping to plan/strategise online content, brainstorming coverlines, and, of course, answering a million emails. There’s a fair bit of swooning over beautiful ethical brands too, which never ends well for my bank balance.

Best creative memory?

Best creative memory? That feeling when you’re writing and you’re so deep in the zone that you don’t notice time passing or get the urge to check social media. Cal Newport has a book about this called Deep Work, which should probably be next on my to-read list.

What do you get up to when not working?

At the moment I’ve been doing lots of pickling, knitting, reading, op-shopping and listening to podcasts (Desert Island Discs, The High Low and Soul Music are my current faves). And I do enjoy a big ol’ stomp around the streets with my dog by my side.

What’s on the horizon for the future?       

You never quite know what’s in store for the future so I always try and remind myself to stop and be present (and grateful) in this moment – but fingers crossed it involves continuing to do work that feels meaningful to me.

If you had any creative business advice what would it be?

I’m not entrepreneurial at all and am in complete awe of anyone who manages to run their own business. I saw a quote from Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day a little while ago that said something along the lines of: “If you run a creative business and you’re making it work financially then you’re basically a genius”. So high five to all you geniuses out there.

If you could be anyone else for a day, who would it be and why?

Can it be a fictional person? Lyra from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy for her fearlessness, bravery and sense of adventure – and also because she has an animal demon who’s always with her, which is basically my dream come true.

How to prioritise when you're a solo business owner

When you’re a solo business owner you’re a one-man-band playing the drums, guitar, keyboard and singing all at once. It’s hard to keep the juggling act in the air and know where to start on your long list of competing tasks.

I always find knowing what to prioritise is the hardest thing about working for myself. But I’ve picked up some tips over the years that help sort out the ‘ticked that off my to-do list’ feeling, as opposed to ‘I went down the rabbit hole on admin’ or ‘got completely bamboozled and decided to look at Instagram instead’. Yep, it happens to all of us.

So instead of feeling the guilts, try out these 5 tips and you’ll get to tick things off, as well as do those fun, yet highly distracting, sneak peeks at Instagram. 

1. Write a list

I’m a massive nerd when it comes to lists (or maybe that’s all the time!) I love getting it all down on paper and out of my head. In fact, I’ve been writing myself a daily to-do list each day of my work week for a very long time. There’s nothing more satisfying that crossing out what I’ve achieved that day. I don’t even stress myself out if something just moves from one day to the next, as I’ll know that wasn’t a real priority to get done that day and it will be a key priority for the next day. 

So if you write your to-do list, you’ll then instantly be able to see what the priorities really are and what doesn’t need to be done right now. Take advantage and push out the stuff that’s not as important until later in the week. This will hopefully save you from the overwhelm feels and keep you focused on achieving stuff each day.

2. Break up your time.

Something that Madeleine Dore from Side Project Sessions has introduced into my routine that I find really works, is the breakup of focussed work for 45-minutes with a 15-minute break. Breaks are important, so that you can get up and move around and have a cuppa and a snack and then get back into more focused time. I find this keeps my brain fresh and focused for longer and really helps me kick goals on my to-do list.

You might like to use a segmented time approach and give yourself blocks of time with short breaks – whether 25-minutes working with a 5-minute break or 60-minutes working and 10-minute break – find your groove and stick to it. Giving your brain (and body) a rest and a stretch. Getting away from the computer is a must-do with your breaks.

3. Top 3 tasks

Only having 3 top tasks that you need to complete each day, takes a big load off your mind. This is a great thing about migoals notebooks as they have this integrated into each page and they give you lots of tips on how to get more done. Awesome.

I find that if I nominate only one task for each of my 45-minute concentrated work sessions, I get a whole lot done in half a day, rather than moving from one small, unimportant task to the next. That way if you get your top 3 things done in the morning and out of the way, you can spend your afternoon doing that thing you really want to do. Laptop window shopping, anyone?

Or you can get even more nerdy and split your day into 3 x blocks of two hours where you focus on 3 long tasks to fill your day.

4. Breakdown larger projects

Sometimes I have large projects that can take months to work through. This is when I need to breakdown larger projects into tasks I need to do right now. So there’s nothing like a plan and a timeline to help you focus on what’s next and not stress about that thing that’s happening further down the track. 

I write on my to-do list the first few things, and only the next steps, that I need to do that day or week, so I don’t get overwhelmed by the enormity of a project. All big things are made up of a lot of little, tiny tasks that can become not so big if you work through it in this way.

5. Remove yourself from distractions 

As much as I love my house of furry creatures, they are not the best co-workers and don’t really let me get things done. I find getting out of the house and going to a cafe or co-working space is the best use of my time and allows me to really focus on my task. I find the buzz of people and background noise really motivating, but you might like the silence of a library.

If you work from home too, find some other spaces that work for you where you can remove yourself from distractions – a park on a sunny day, the library when it's pouring outside or a cosy cafe where people bring you pots of tea (yeah, that’s me!).

Depending on how you like to work, finding somewhere out of the home, where you can talk to some humans, other adults and just generally feel the vibe of other people does wonders for productivity. Well for me anyway!

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Sarah Lawrey is the owner of Collectus Studio, a Melbourne-based branding and graphic design studio. Creating beautiful brands for nice people with purpose, helping her clients achieve their branding goals, both visible and invisible. 

In conversation with Kip&Co

Kate Heppell is one of the Co-founders and Co-Creative Directors of Kip&Co. She grew up in Upwey in the Dandenong Ranges and Caulfield and went to St Margarets in Berwick.  Straight after school she went to Melbourne University for the next 6 years, where she did Commerce / Arts.  Kip&Co began 7 years ago and is been based in Collingwood / Abbotsford.

Tell us about how you got into this industry…

After Uni I worked as an accountant for 2 years. After that, Hayley (another Kip&Co Co-founder and my sister) opened an awesome little health food store, café and yoga studio called Sprout Health Store & Organic Grocer in Hawthorn which we ran for 5 years. I then worked as the Business Manager of the Melbourne fashion label, Obus.  A few years later I had my first son, Hayley and I were ready for another business, and alongside Alex, we loved homewares and felt the industry was prepared for a bit of colour disruption.  And so, Kip&Co was born.

What does a typical work day look like for you? 

I work 2 full days (with no kids – all are at school or with a nanny); 1 from our Melbourne office and 1 from Barwon Heads at Hayley’s home.  The day is Barwon Heads is devoted purely to design.  This is essential.  My day in Melbourne with the team is more about what’s going on that week, what’s coming up, strategizing over all types of business ideas we have brewing, meetings with collab partners, but primarily we spend a chunk of time with each senior staff member and go over exactly what’s happening in their area of the business. It’s an enjoyable day each week.  We love our team of ladies. 

What have been some of the biggest challenges in your career?   

Hands down the juggle between work and family.  The hard bit comes when I actually love my job (!!) but also love multiple days a week with my little kids and don’t like them going into too much care.  Sometimes work is bottlenecking but my days with the kids are just so precious to me, and so I have to work late at night after they crash out.  I know that I am only in the thick of it with 3 young kids, and it is getting a little bit easier every year.  Eventually, I hope to not work at night (too much). 

Best creative memory? 

We absolutely loved our collaboration with Desert Designs where we got to work with original artworks by Jimmy Pike.  And our multiple collaborations with May Gibbs as her mass of art is just heaven to look through and of course, play with and recreate.

What do you love best about your job? 

Doing collaborations like those just mentioned and working alongside my 2 best friends! 

What do you get up to when not working? 

All types of family activities and we love-love-love travelling with the kids.  Whether it be in Australia or overseas, it is these pockets of time with our little people that my husband and I just crave and enjoy so intensely.  

What’s on the horizon for the future? 

We have a couple of collabs in the pipe-works that have us all really inspired at the moment.  And as for travel, I am off to Borneo with my husband and kids for 2 weeks late June, so we are all counting down the sleeps until that moment. 

If you had any creative business advice, what would it be?   

Say YES – to everything.  Kip&Co was really founded on this mantra, and I really stand by it.  We don’t say Yes to absolutely everything anymore, but honestly, we do most of the time. 

If you could be anyone else for a day, who would it be and why? 

I have wracked my brain, but I really am just so happy in my own skin.  No one comes to mind.  I think it would be suitable for all people to walk in the shoes of someone from a real minority group for a day. I guess I’d do that.  Empathy is a hard thing to teach, but maybe this would help us all have it within in a more profound way.

Collaboration story: A fresh dining space on a tight budget

Yvonne Meng and Amber Laing of Circle Studio Architects in their completed interior fitout for Melbourne social enterprise Free to Feed.

Our most recent Melbourne Members' Morning Tea was held in the brand new Free to Feed dining space in Northcote. It was a unique event for our event host and Board member Yvonne Meng, as her architecture firm, Circle Studio - that she runs with fellow CWC Member Amber Laing - was the creative force behind the design of the interior fitout!

We spoke to Yvonne about the project, the challenges of working on a tight budget for a social enterprise, and what they learned through the process.

What’s your architecture specialty and why were you drawn to work with Free to Feed?
We aren't bound to a particular typology but we try to take a collaborative approach to design. Amber and I like to work closely with people to make sure their project reflects them well. I was drawn to Free to Feed because Loretta and Dan have such a passion for their work, and it's really infectious. What attracted me most were the initiatives do with refugees and new migrants. Being the child of migrants myself, I remember seeing how difficult it was for my parents in the 80's to make sense of a new country and navigate work. I love that an organisation like Free to Feed exists to empower, provide entrepreneurial support and help people have agency in what they do within a community. 

Before: What the space looked like when the lease was signed

Installation begins

What was the brief for the fitout and what mood/vibe were you aiming for?
The brief was to create a space which could be used in a variety of ways from sit down dinners, casual lunches, displaying and selling spices, presentations, workshops, cooking classes and more. It also had to be able to be packed away when needed, and there needed to be enough flexibility for the space to evolve as Free to Feed grows. For this, we designed modular trestle-style benches and fold-down tables which can be cleared out of the way or re-arranged as needed. Keeping the cooking classes in mind, we needed to bring power to the centre of the space. To do this neatly we adapted some light fittings to hold power points instead of globes so they were practical as well as decorative. When we sat down to discuss the mood and vibes we were hoping to achieve, we were drawn to this one particular image on our shared Pinterest board of a spice market with lovely earthy tones, pinks, and terracottas. This became the basis for the palette which ran through the interior and the aim was to create a workspace which was warm, bright and also a bit playful. 

The mural goes up!

What strategies did you employ to get the most out of a social enterprise budget?
Free to Feed were lucky to have received some very generous donations from people who believed in their work. Anchor Ceramics provided 10 terracotta pendant fittings, and Spencer Harrison painted the mural on the wall. Without these, the space as it is would not have been possible. We needed bang for buck for this project and paint is such a great cost-effective way to transform a space, so to help differentiate zones we used blocks of colour on the walls which picked up on the colours in the mural and light fittings. The benches are cut from full off-the-shelf sheets of ply and dimensioned so that there was minimal cutting required and no offcuts. Unless it was absolutely necessary, we tried not to move any plumbing, gas, and electrical and we repaired the wall linings instead of ripping them off. Luckily for us, underneath the laminated floor of the original shop was a fabulous terrazzo flooring which was still in good nick. 

Were there any special considerations/challenges?
Time was a challenge on this one. There was a very short period to get the design and drawings done, appoint builders and then get the thing actually built. The builders, Ampson Developments, programmed the works really well and kept things going at lightning speed to hit the completion date. From our side, we issued general drawings at the beginning - enough to get a quote on and get started - and then developed details simultaneously as construction occurred to save on time. Projects like these really make you appreciate the value of having a good collaborative team who are communicative and on the same page. The finished space did differ a little from the original concept as things had to fall away or change, but that's normal for any project! It reached completion just in the nick of time - the day after the builders moved out was the first dinner event. 

What did you learn through the process?
You don't need need to make drastic structural changes to make a statement when working with existing buildings. Work with the bones that you've got - do little, but do it well. You can achieve a lot with a small budget that way!

The final space!

'Before' photos by Yvonne. 'After' photos by fellow CWC Member, Jade Cantwell.