When you’re in the caffeine business, you need a cool, calm place to call ‘work’.
It only took “A hundred coats of migraine white” for the new Auckland Coffee Supreme headquarters to get to this glossy and reflective. Finding a colour palette to please an entire team is no small feat, you see. And unless you’re able to handle a Wes Anderson-esque bit-of-everything scheme, a minimalist approach tends to work best – whether that means wearing your sunglasses inside or not.
Coffee Supreme Auckland moved offices in late 2013 after work in the back quarter of their Ponsonby Cafe Good One started to become difficult due to the chatter of punters. “We decided to give the Ponsonby space over to Good One as it was growing in popularity,” says Creative Director Al Keating. “We focused on finding a space that was right for the team – something that was exciting, aesthetically pleasing, and functional.”
Having sourced an old two-storey warehouse in Newton, Al and his general manager Shaun Anderson put their creative interior design skills to the test. “We came in and just ripped everything out,” says Shaun (aka Head of Renovations). “The place had been suffocated by miles of cabling and cheap makeshift walls were blocking all the natural light and incredible views.”
With only a small budget, the team pulled together in knocking out walls, painting floorboards, and engaging in the mass rolling of white paint on white paint. “Justin from the Wellington office calls it ‘a hundred coats of migraine white’,” says Shaun. “But I’m really sold on it. It’s relaxing and good for work flow.”
Although white is the dominant feature within the renovated warehouse, Shaun and Al’s sense of humour and aesthetically charming sensibilities are evident in the brightly painted doors and quirky, curated objects smattered throughout the interior. Then there are the hand-painted signs by Auckland signwriter Sureshotsam in bright childish red, admonishing you one minute to “Clean your dishes because your mother does not live here”, and welcoming you into the offices with “Ring the bell” the next – all combining to give the accurate impression that life in the Supreme team is a bit of a laugh. And not a migraine in sight.
coffeesupreme.com
Words Sammy-Rose Scapens
Photography Heather Liddell
