Gallery & Bar, Melbourne - Work in progress

OK, as promised! Some work in progress photos of the Polynesian - Tiki style Gallery & Bar opening soon in Melbourne.

Firstly, I created some planter boxes on casters for my living bamboo, to use as "cafe barriers" outside.

Me at work (proof of my efforts!) and a bamboo panel in the background which will be explained later...

Finished planter boxes (not a great pic) and the bamboo panel getting a stain...

The bamboo panel finished and will be the new front door! There will an addition to this door to surround the number plaque, to be revealed later...

The custom bar being put together...

The finished bar from the bartender's view...

The custom made coffee tables just after their final clear coat...

And some creative shots of the place "so far"!

Feature wall:

Hand made candle holders:

The gallery & bar from different angles:

More to be done and I will post pictures as I go...

Thanks for looking!

Very nice and very creative!

AH, So THIS is how you do it down under!! Very Impressive. Very clean and sharp looking. I Really love the coloring on the Bamboo. Hurry and finish it so we can see More.

On 2006-01-24 16:51, Benzart wrote:
AH, So THIS is how you do it down under!! Very Impressive. Very clean and sharp looking. I Really love the coloring on the Bamboo. Hurry and finish it so we can see More.

:lol:

I should explain that the white coffee table and black couch you see in the pics were originally in the room from when I was only operating my design studio from there. It was the 'client meeting' space! I still work my design business here, just behind those green curtains. Hence the "clean and sharp" look. :D

Really nice job! If I could only get to Melborne for a cocktail that would be great.

Awesome looking tiki space! Its nice to see a light and airy tiki place. Lots of people go for dark tiki bars as it is easy to give it ambiance with strategically placed lamps. Its a bit harder to make a light and airy tiki bar look as cool. You nailed it pretty damn good.

The walls look a bit bare though, maybe you could try some cool war clubs or something... :)

LOVE those tables

PS - love the Bert stencil in the first picture! Ive done a little stencil work myself as well. Very cool medium.

Very nice and chic.

Welcome HMC. Nice to see a tiki place in australia - and you have done a great job of it, modern but with the polynesian feel. I travel to Melbourne and Sydney at least once a year so it will be great to drop in on you. If I can help with anything dont hesitate to contact me.

Wow.....awesome design !
You did a great job till now. Can't wait to see more photos of your bar.

hi hmc,
very smart looking space - well done!
look forward to having a cocktail there in person soon..
keep us up-to-date.

ps go bert!

Thanks all for your feedback! I see this everyday and sometimes lose sight of how it's coming along. It's great to hear your feedback as it makes me feel like I'm doing OK!

OnaTiki - it would be great to have international guests at the bar... come on down!

hewey - Thanks, thanks, thanks! I agree about the light & airy... while still achieving ambiance (and mystery). Oh the walls... You don't need to tell me how bare they look :D The artwork is the last thing going up once the bar is complete... Pretty proud of those tables too, original hmc designed :D

tfisherart - thanks for the "cool & chic" compliment!

tiki beat by marcus thorn - would love to see you here in Melbourne on one of your visits. We'll definitely arrange something to get your work here, I'll respond to your pm again soon.

Wolli - thanks! I'll be posting pictures of my latest purchases and construction soon... a Bamboo sheet and roof thatch strips...

harro - Hi Harro, nice to see another Aussie in here.

hewey & harro - Go Bert!!!! Funny you mentioned him :D I have Rove on the other side of that box too. I have stenciled both Bert & Rove in the city, there are 3 Bert heads down Hosier Lane and a Bert & Rove down Croft Alley. You can see pics of my efforts here: http://artist.stateofflux.com/hmc

Those coffee tables are awesome!!!! The whole place looks great.

Sure looking good. I have to book a trip DownUnder A.S.A.P

On 2006-01-28 13:07, hmc wrote:
hewey & harro - Go Bert!!!!

Who's Bert? I thought that was Pablus...

On 2006-02-02 08:13, freddiefreelance wrote:

Who's Bert? I thought that was Pablus...

Maybe in your country :D

Bert (Newton) is a bit of an Australian icon on tele.

Starting to cover the fridge with the bamboo sheet...

I reckon even the inside of the fridge looks better with that bit of bamboo :lol:

AAAH! A dreaded fleuro light above the fridge! I like the light and airy feel, but have you thought about 'softening' the fleuro light a little? Even a 'yellow' glow from a normal globe could be better than a white sterile fleuro. Just my 2 cents.

Looking good. Bamboo fridge - an interesting meeting of technology and aesthetics :)

And now the thatch is up!

On 2006-02-04 04:44, hewey wrote:
AAAH! A dreaded fleuro light above the fridge! I like the light and airy feel, but have you thought about 'softening' the fleuro light a little? Even a 'yellow' glow from a normal globe could be better than a white sterile fleuro. Just my 2 cents.

You mean like this photo that's on page one? :D

None of the fluro lights will be on during the gallery / bar opening hours. We just need to see what we're doin' when we're working on the bar!

Have finished the menu design!

Hand made cover (I LOVE this fabric!), bamboo look button and leather strap to tie it all together, textured choc brown inner paper, textured cream menu with tiki watermark and bamboo border on the inside.

There were photo / illustrations on the inside (as per traditional Tiki menus) however with this layout it was way too crowded. This menu will be updated constantly (depending on clientele tastes) and I may add the pics again if the menu "grows".

The menu looks real good. Nice work on that one. Saw similar concept donw with bannana leaves in Vanuatu - but customs dont like em so much so I didnt buy em. Just watch you dont make em so nice people souvenir them.

Made a sign to go out on the front of the place:

Not sure what it's like outside of Australia, but as we are licensed to sell alcohol, it is our legal right to refuse entry. And this sign says it all I reckon!

On 2006-02-19 05:41, hewey wrote:
Just watch you dont make em so nice people souvenir them.

Yes, I'm afraid of that happening. I was considering making more and selling them... not sure what else to do there....

Geez, nice looking place you have going there. Good looking job on the menu. Will you be supplying your own tiki mugs for your bar? That'd be a nice touch. Don't worry about the menus leaving—watch the mugs. By the way, where's the bar going to go? That gallery will be great looking (not that it isn't already) when you get a bunch of art hung in it. Nice work.

On 2006-02-21 18:35, foamy wrote:
Geez, nice looking place you have going there. Good looking job on the menu. Will you be supplying your own tiki mugs for your bar? That'd be a nice touch. Don't worry about the menus leaving—watch the mugs. By the way, where's the bar going to go? That gallery will be great looking (not that it isn't already) when you get a bunch of art hung in it. Nice work.

Thanks! Yes, I'm working on my own Tiki mugs as we speak (where have you been????) :lol: Check out this thread:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=18329&forum=7&65

The actual bar can be seen in this pic (fridge now covered though):

Agree totally with the artwork comment :D

Yeah, I had been following the mug thread, I didn't put 2 and 2 together until I read this last post. I didn't know or, more accurately, suspect, that you were going into a mass production run. How many do you plan on producing?

On 2006-02-21 18:49, foamy wrote:
Yeah, I had been following the mug thread, I didn't put 2 and 2 together until I read this last post. I didn't know or, more accurately, suspect, that you were going into a mass production run. How many do you plan on producing?

Aha! Mystery solved!

I plan on making between 20-30 mugs for the first run. Then the same amount each time I plan to get the hands dirty. 10 litres of ceramic slip will get me approx that amount of mugs...

Way cool! Great start!

Here's the finished bamboo door (I mentioned there was going to be something else added):

Seating & tables outside:

And the artwork up on the walls:

I love the Brunette! Very seductive, the eyes are spot on :)

The front door looks cool. Hell, the whole place looks cool :)

Have you considered some coffee table books for people to peruse (and buy?). I'm thinking stuff like the Book of Tiki, books on SHAG, books like Hot Rod or Hot Rod Pinups by David Perry (are you familiar with David's books?)

Thanks hewey!

There's a bigger pic of that one here: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=17960&forum=12&start=28

I have considered leaving my own coffee table books out, but I've been told not to do it as they may get damaged! Perhaps I put ones for sale on the bookshelf near the bar (with prices), so people don't walk off with them.

I'm not familiar with David Perry but I'm looking it now*, thanks for the info!

*Have just had a quick look at his website and he happens to be one of the photographers of the lovely lady I have based my artwork on. How about that hey!

I remember seeing the beginnings of the bar and thought how clever and sheik. Now I put your name from the how to mug posts with these bar posts and it all makes sense. The super clean look which is how I thought a tiki bar could look when I first thought about a bar years ago.

I just don't think I would have the sign about refusing at the door. I would want nothing but welcoming at the door. Refusing behind the bar if need be.

The place looks really good. Nice job. Every home bar I've come across on these pages are all so cool and so indicative of the people who build them. Just wonderful!

H,
Let me chime in and say your gallery/bar is looking fantastic. Wow, you've done a lot of work...nicely thought out and executed too. It's sure to be a place to visit for any tiki folks in your area, heck, any folks period! It just looks so casual and comfortable.... I sure would want to hang out, have a few drinks, check out the art and trade some stories.

teaKEY: Thanks for the compliments! The sign is quirky, and it stays. :D Besides, it has a Tiki on it! Realistically though, it makes me feel more comfortable with it up. I don't want arguments from people that are under 18 wanting to come in - I'd rather signs up than the confrontation.

Matt Reese: Thank you!

JimTandem: And thank you too Jim. That's exactly what I want people to come here and do.

We've been open for 2 weeks now, I'll post some launch photos soon. Also, my brunette pin-up seems to be the most talked about here. Interestingly enough - not much of the Tiki gets a mention :(

Hmc, Those paintings are freaking amazing. WOW!!!! The whole place looks really great.

On 2006-03-13 22:02, hmc wrote:
We've been open for 2 weeks now, I'll post some launch photos soon. Also, my brunette pin-up seems to be the most talked about here. Interestingly enough - not much of the Tiki gets a mention :(

That sucks about the tiki :(

I think the appeal of the brunette is the eyes, and the off centre focus creates a sense of drama. Sweet