Project: Gallery

I have a lot of things on the go at any one time and my little gallery is one of them. I haven't been paying it a lot of attention for the last six months, what with everything else, but have been happy to let it toddle along at it's own pace - open when it's open, not really concerned with making a profit, just waiting until I have the time to concentrate on it.

That time has arrived!

It's a sweet little space, heritage listed, art deco and looks like a little French cafe stuck in the middle of Glenelg. So many times we've been asked if we make coffee and we've always had to say no - as a coffee shop we would have made a fortune in the last couple of years.

Over the last six months of inattention there has still been lots of discussion around the shop and lots of ideas around what we'd like to do, and we've ended up with a fairly clear vision of what we want and some key objectives around it.

Our ultimate goal is to be able to produce sustainable income doing the things we love, without having to work for anybody else. I have a few things I love to do and so does Steve.

I love to paint, I love to rearrange furniture and create really cool, functional spaces using furniture and equipment that I have or find. It's part of my creative process when I paint. I love to do commission work and tailor my work to a client's specific needs. I also love to ride (just not up hills).

*A few artist friends of mine feel that commission work is almost like selling out - you have to subdue your own vision to fit with someone else's, but I actually like it. One of the things I've found is that I work really well with a few specifications to work from. I find it a lot easier to have a starting point as opposed to 'What am I going to paint, today?'.*

Steve loves to paint miniatures, he's a techwizzy genius and loves to code, he loves to research (part of his creative process) and he also loves to ride.

We both love coffee, not just the drinking of it, but the process of making it, experimenting with different coffee making processes, blends and all that jazz. We are currently using a Belgian Siphon Machine - a process dating back to the 1800's (I think). It looks like a science project and makes amazing coffee.

We're both really into the Steampunk genre. I don't get around in a leather waist coat and a top hat - I tend throw on whatever's closest on the floor in the morning, but I do love the quirkiness of steampunk, the sumptuousness and quality of the past lending it's romance to soften the edges of today's brash throwaway society. Technology is now essential - cheap and nasty is not. If I have to sit at a computer all day, I would far rather be sitting at one of these.



I digress, however - this is the subject for another post.
*Note to self: you do not have to fit everything into one article.

SO! Back to the shop. The vision is to showcase our various services, to serve really good coffee that you can't get anywhere else in the Bay, catering specifically to the sadly neglected cyclist market, to offer essential cycling supplies, unusual local artwork and a genuine Circa 1800's cafe' experience, all in 24sqm of space and all on the smallest budget possible.

So let the games begin!