The Keep 2.0
We got the keys to the castle back in November 2021 and thats when work started on this insane project. It’s been an wild amount of fun and we are so proud of where we are with things so it really is about time to start sharing some of the process.
I knew going into this I wanted to spend the first year building, feeling things out, finding our direction and getting it to a point where I was happy to share things to a wider audience.
On first sight of the place I knew that if it was going to be done, it had to be done right. No half measures or shortcuts for this. I’ve used many spaces that fell short in one or two areas, which for creative projects can be a make or break situation. It had to be done right from the start.
Stephen and Philippa had already started plans for the space and had done the basics of gutting out the old cladding, stairs and fixing of the roof. However, at this point they still didn’t know what it was going to end up being used for so for me it was a blank canvas.
The starting point was “natural light studio” so the first thing we started thinking about was light. Stephen originally wanted to tile the floor with beige/grey carpet tiles. When I said that wasn’t going to work, he was reluctant to agree but it was worth it in the end.
From using various other spaces for commercial work, we know textures are important. We managed to find a local company that was able to take the square footage of the space and laser cut some high quality spruce ply to whitewash and lay down. This ended up looking perfect and I’m still super proud of. Its always the first thing people ask about when they step into the space so I guess thats a win in my books.
It’s real hard trying to summarise the amount of work we have done to the castle over the last year so I think this will probably end up being a series of blog posts outlining various areas and builds we have done. This is just a start.
Almost a year and a half on now and we are really proud of what we have made. We have an amazing selection of clients and photographers through the doors of the castle and we really hope to build upon that this year. Please get in contact if you’re interested in the space or working with us.
As always, everything has been built by hand, by us. This will only continue in 2023.
