Good things take time.

Finding the style of building that would be the new home for Elements i Love would never be easy. We were after a building where we could get creative, use our salvage and create a mood, that would ultimately become a workshop/ showroom and a photo shoot studio.  Luckily, we had time on our side and a location we had visited many times (an old glass blowing factory) become available in the heart of the Byron Arts & Industry Estate. To the untrained eye, it may have looked like a wreck, but after years of working with salvage and old buildings, we knew it had potential and we could do something wonderful with it.

The gift we gave ourselves was no deadline. The theory and art of slow renovation is to enjoy the process ... so in 2018, we began.  🙂 Months were spent replacing the roof, stripping back the space to the bare bones and filling skip after skip with rubbish.
We worked physically hard, but were high on life and this embryonic stage of the creative process; the early stages of most projects is when the magic happens.   

Moving the business proved to be a bigger challenge than we ever imagined ~ but having the sun, sand, + sea at our door was heavenly after long days on the tools... Finally, the day came when we could specify our own pieces... Key architectural elements  would transform this rundown old saw-tooth factory into a light-filled space with atmosphere and character. 

Poor installation can ruin beautiful doors. We've consulted on many projects to advise best practice so that the integrity of the architectural materials is retained. When building and buying salvage, here are a few things to consider. *Condition & size:  are the foundations to using second-hand pieces:  don't buy something that needs altering or cutting down.  Pieces are often cheap due to weird sizes and poor condition. 
*Installation: framing and timber choice are paramount in making these pieces look like they belong to the building. 
*Finishing: when merging old pieces with timbers, expert skills in sanding, painting and finishing skills are essential. For the best results, get in touch with a professional restorer or decorator used to painting and blending.    
Seeing the front door & arch window installed was a real woo-hoo moment! 

Building around original salvage does take extra time and thought, but this practice is good for the planet and the build will feel and look like no other. There is a real sense of satisfaction in re-purposing beautiful architectural elements. 
We knew from the outset that the arched window was going to be the light source for our photographic studio; so the placement had to be just right. 

 "Seeing this window we sourced in France,
built into our space delights us every single day..."

I'm not a fan of Besser block walls, who is? We covered them with sheet ply and in other places with plaster. Who Plastering worked their magic, layering trowel after trowel ... I then went to work with the serious job of painting. 
When our vision finally seemed to be coming together, we took a breather.  High ceilings, glorious space and the light streaming through the windows. Even the quirky Hebel breakouts & the run-down sheds at the back started to look a l ittle charming (through squinted eyes).

For months we traversed scaffolding: sanding, wire brushing and painting every ceiling rafter and what a difference 20 odd litres of white paint made.  Tim grinded back the concrete floors:  refinished and restored many of the original industrial elements including the metal fans, keeping the simple fabric of the building in tact.

Twelve months later we finally finished the workshop space ... the street art door we repurposed with the words:  Take the dive, Regret nothing pretty much wraps up the mood around.  (🙏 Nitsua)

The interior spaces feel lived in but fresh,  a seamless blend of the old and the new, in the building and the mostly second-hand or salvaged materials.  Our intention was to go slow, and believe that all good things, take time....
*Read about our hand-made mosaic floor  

Our vision was to create a space that retained the eclectic fabric and feeling of the old-glass blowing factory whilst adding on another layer. We think we have achieved this and more, today it's a multi-disciplinary space, part showroom, part photographic studio and part gallery.