A few months ago we came across the chance to take on a studio space in a fantastic arts warehouse in Brunswick East. An opportunity too good to miss ...
After some judicious editing of the claustrophobic dingy corner that we'd taken on, it stopped living up to the 'Gypsy Cave' tag left scrawled on its old door in red texta. A multitude of hours later – many of them in the evenings after escaping other commitments – our 2-level home-base began to take shape.
Using all salvaged materials (with the exception of some white paint) the process became typically fiddly. Old windows and doors – previously collected and assembled to create a north-facing verandah wintergarden – were gradually repurposed as a cosy little workspace on top of the remaining half of the mezzanine floor. The timber and glass cube that gradually emerged out of the chaos now provides a heatable and relatively dust-free pianoBoat control-tower. In these long winter evenings its like a glowing lantern up in the corner of the cavernous old light-industial complex.
In spite of the slowness and frequent frustrations of piecing the curious variety of building materials together, it was often lots of fun – and actually felt quite like building an adult-sized cubby!
Setting the boat up in the early days next to the unlovely but solidly-built structure we'd inherited.
Glass wall and ceiling, featuring a classic old decorative shower-screen, and windows saved from demolition sites.
The lantern effect – yet to be fully exploited for its glorious creative potential with shadows and silhouettes. New Brompton folding bike waiting in the foreground at the end of another long night.