the many guises of our London workshop

25 October 2013

We moved into our bigger, double roomed workshop in London in 2010 with the idea to make a jewellery shop for customers to visit and order their wedding rings. It's a massive 1930s industrial building with all of the original fittings...light switches, huge radiators, glass panelled office walls, massive jewellers safe (which is like something out of a film I kid you not!) and metal framed windows.
The rent is reasonable and so we took a five year contract.
The jewellery industry in Hatton garden is a pretty grubby job, with (usually men) crammed into air conditioned workshops with lots of noise of polishing wheels, extractor fans and hammering, and lots of dust and fumes everywhere. Our workshop was formally a jewellery polishers and the rouge clay they used coated everything in crimson grease. Nice.

We had to strip out everything wearing masks and it took many coats of undercoat to get rid of the stains.

it looked like this in 2010...

then our business began to change (well I got tired of spending too much time with customers and not having enough time to get the rings made) we turned to an online business which is much more economic and can serve the whole world at the same time.
So we used our workshop as storage for about half a year (or maybe more), which was kind of a waste ugh?
So we decided to sell off all of our vintage display things and things from our home and totally gut the place. We moved our jewellery work bench (which is hiding behind the cabinets in the photo above) to the office part, leaving a big room to turn into a shop...


and now thats been and gone, we can use the space properly again, to be creative and get on and do some designing and all the dispatching of jewellery around the world. Now that we live in the countryside, we really wanted a place that we could come and relax and Pehr can have her naps whilst we work, write emails to customers and wrap and pack etc. Also, we made a small area to make lunch (and dinner if we are there late) and generally be clean of jewellery making dust.

its much more civilised now and much more conducive to being creative.


in the big drawers are all our packaging stuffs: boxes, tissue paper, tape etc... so I just only have to open the draw and don't have to get everything out and put it all back again which takes so much time.

Our sink is a bit cleaner now (although it will never be clean clean) but it has a certain 'charm' ; )

I made a curtain to transform our old manky shelves into a kitchen unit (after cleaning and painting) it hides a fridge and a microwave. Our work bench is in the other room behind the cabinet by the way.

we put up blinds to try and cut out some if the view outside, which is grubby aircon fans and pigeon poo splattered walls.


we got everything we need!




Our daughter has a little creche corner, with toys and books and highchair.

and felt bunting.

we found these Victorian (?) kitchen shelves in the market and painted them off white. I'm really happy how they came out.

office door knocker...






and of course we painted the floor, which was perhaps the biggest transformation.

So, we finished this about a month ago, but we were hoping to get a sink fitted in the other room so we don't mix chemicals with eating washing up, but it hasn't happened yet! Anyway, we love it in there and its nice to know we can spend the day with our toddler with us whilst we work and not worry about dangerous machinery and chemicals around the room.
For those who don't know, the Isle of Wight is about 2.5 hours from London Waterloo (including the ferry), our ferry arrives in a nature reserve and the train passes through the New Forest. Better than spending 1 hour stuck on a No.63 bus from Peckham to our Workshop! ( I know every single first floor window on Old Kent Road).

30 comments

  1. Beautiful, beautiful. A great space to work and spend time!

    ReplyDelete
  2. what a wonderful place to work - looks perfect x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I absolutely love it! It makes such a huge different to do creative work in a creative environment (rather than being stuck in a boring office, yuck). This place looks more like a home than a work place; gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love it - such an amazing space :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I used to know every first floor window - mine was the Walworth Road. I also have some experience of the commute though my bit of water is Portsmouth Harbour via the Gosport Ferry. With winter drawing on I hope you don't find it too arduous.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous26.10.13

    Wow, it looks so beautiful! Those huge wooden drawers for your packing materials are really stunning as well...

    ReplyDelete
  7. It really looks fantastic! You have such a good taste!! I've never been to Isle of Wight although I lived for 2 years in Bournemouth.. shame on me! Now that I'm back in London I can't wait to arrange week end over there!
    Have a lovely week end!
    Annalisa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Btw this is my correct link! :)
      www.myapplemarketplace.com
      Annalisa

      Delete
  8. I love your workshop. And as always, you are a true inspiration for me. I was thinking about closing my shop and focus on an online one to save money, but I can't make up my mind yet. I love my shop, but I also would like working from home in a more relaxed way...we'll see. I'm with you on living on the countryside. It's better to travel for those 2,5 hours but being able to come back in the country than wasting hours on a bus and live in a shoebox!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You two are such hard workers. I find you both very inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow You guys have been so busy! You always make your spaces so lovely and cosy. I'd love to see some of your new jewellery designs.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Coolest work space ive ever seen x

    ReplyDelete
  12. utterly charming!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anne B26.10.13

    As one would expect from you Artemis, it is lovely and fitted out to perfection for your needs. I so wish I had your creativity. Enjoy the time you spend there x

    ReplyDelete
  14. woowww!!!
    wonderful place!!

    www.amoresbohemios.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. what a lovely, interesting and inspiring space you've created there. really fab that you can have pehr around while you're working, you have made the transition into having a tiddler around look so easy. i made a little screen printing studio in our house after our first son was born as it became difficult to travel to the communal, open print studio i used to frequent. the (very tiny, and very heath robinson-ish) home studio works pretty well although i have to say, it is IMPOSSIBLE to do anything when the kiddos are around. i work while they are asleep or elsewhere (with my partner or a friend). do you actually WORK while pehr is there and awake? x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ah thank you! Yes, us three stick together pretty much all of the time so one of us can entertain her while the other does stuff. Basically I have to get things done even if Im on my own. It can be difficult but not much choice, but she has adapted to our lifestyle I think. Getting housework done is just as difficult with a little one around, so I really feel for all the stay at home mums, who have do it all themselves, they must be superwomen! x

      Delete
    2. btw, I just clicked on your link, and discovered that I bought your shipping forecast print for my brother last xmas! Its a small (Blog) world : )

      Delete
  16. Anonymous26.10.13

    Dont our children bring about some of the biggest and most rewarding transformations our lives take? What a beautiful space you have both created and what a privilege to take a wee peek.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They certainly do! She has got some bonkers parents, but she doesn't seem to mind (at the moment) x

      Delete
    2. Bonkers parents are the best, I certainly have fond memories of mine. My dad was a classical musician and single parent, so me and my sister's went everywhere with him, we has nap times in instrument cases, dinner behind stage, all sorts. Ps. Your studio is gorgeous!

      Delete
  17. I am so happy for you both and wish you good fortune in your new workshop. xxx Happy Belated Birthday Greetings Pehr
    Much Love,
    Gillian

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love what you've made of the place, it's so cosy! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  19. It's amazing! It looks so so welcoming - and surely the best of both worlds, with lovely home to go to at the end of a day at work in lovely studio! Work/life balance in action :-)
    P.s. completely separate issue, but where did you get Pehrs lovely navy star cot bed linen from? And is it a duvet & pillow type set up? My 11 month old is still in a sleeping bag thingy but thinking of would be good to get him real bedding soon...not really sure when I'm 'supposed' to do this seeing as he's our first baby so we're pretty much just making it up as we go along!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Did you take your sheds to your new home?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous28.10.13

    Talk about recreating a space.
    From industrial to nurturing.
    All it needs is a big rug with some floor pillows.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Every space you touch is so gorgeous! I could live here! You are an inspiration for our new rental flat which needs a little bit of love.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow! what a great transformation! Love the little things you put into this place. :)

    ReplyDelete

© Journal. Design by FCD.