The House That We Built

Its Friday the 7th of April 2017, its 10 am, and we have just been given the keys to 110 Kenwyn Street.

The mammoth task we have taken on and the sheer amount of work that lay ahead of us pales into insignificance when compared to the sheer excitement we feel. This day has been a long time coming and for a few minutes we just stand there taking in our new surroundings.

Then it dawns on us. There is a lot of work to do. We have set ourselves the 8th May 2017 as our opening day, although a tight schedule we are more than confident we will meet the deadline.

We started straight away, ripping out the fixtures and fittings from the previous tenant, and once we had taken it back to a shell we began to think about what we needed to do to create the look we had spent so many late nights creating on paper.

The mixture of clean crisp branding set against an industrial background has been a key component of Clique Customs, and this is something we wanted to bring into the shop. Using a mixture of OSB boarding and scaffold display, keeping the paintwork consistent to our brand colours of Black and White, after the first week the shop began to really take shape. Finding the right balance of separating the barbershop section from the retail section was a challenge, as we wanted to use the divide for retail display without completely shutting off the two elements. We needed to ensure that it felt like one shop, with all the elements of what Clique would be placed under one roof, yet with a clear division. The detail we're going into about that division is bordering on the ridiculous, yet its that attention to detail we thrive on and as I look around, I can tell each person in this room has their heart and soul invested in what we are creating with Clique and it is one of the best feelings in the world and makes all this seem achievable.

We move on, and the shape of the shop and the barbershop is apparent, the bulk of the work is behind us, and we can now begin working on the displays and have more ridiculously long conversations on rail heights and motorcycle platform dimensions.

With the electrics, the two platforms, the ceilings, and all display units complete, it is now full steam ahead concentrating on final paint coats, and luckily the weather has allowed us to get outside and work on the exterior. The vision for this was always clear. We wanted to have a presence from the roadside, clearly defining what we do, maintaining the clean lines of our branding, set against the exposed brick of our 300 year old home.

As we near the end of the build, all the brand reps begin to arrive, this is the part of this business we aren't used to. We have run our clothing line online for the past 2 years and with that we know where we are, what we're doing and we have a fantastic relationship with all our suppliers and manufacturers. Talking to brands we have all ridden in, worn, used and admired for so long, is nothing more than exhilarating. Bringing this market and these brands to an area that has little to no representation is a brave decision, the research tells us the market is there, we know its there, because we ride with so many of the brands target audience, but its a big commitment and looking at it now, the build was the easy part. All the brands are excited to be involved in Clique, which is a great feeling to have, and we are lucky enough to have Sailor Jerrys support our opening party. Tomorrow is the 8th of May and we are tired, anxious and if anyone can tell us how to get the card machine to work it would be a real bonus.

Clique Customs