Boxing Clever

12.01.07

With a philosophy that’s the antithesis of conglomerate coffee shop thinking, David Williamson and Carlo Ventisei established a distinct identity for the newest member of the Tinderbox family which opened in October last year.

Their first baby arrived on Glasgow’s Byres Road in 1998 (when coffee culture had just hit the UK), and in 2001 they nurtured a Tinderbox beneath Matthew Algie’s London headquarters in Islington.

For the new space, Williamson, managing director of Glasgow-based Matthew Algie, the UK’s largest independent coffee roasting company, asked Graven Images’ designers – who worked on the first two venues – to avoid materials with which Tinderbox customers were familiar.

“That was more challenging,” says Williamson, “We’re not building a chain, but a sustainable business we can enjoy.”

The Merchant City had long been discussed as a potential location, and when the timing was right the pair bought a prominent Ingram Street site (a car-park before conversion to ground and first-floor retail shells). Interestingly, this was originally home to Glasgow School of Art, and close to the site of the famous Ingram Street tearooms.

While sharing the West End’s mix of desirable housing and bespoke shopping, the Merchant City has a distinct vibe. Both Glasgow venues may use predominantly glass facades to provide alluring glimpses of warm timbers, subtle lighting and glowing Elektra coffee machines, but Graven Images’ designer Kirsty Lang brought fresh ideas to this coffee table.

“It was a great chance to revisit Tinderbox, and it helped that we know these clients well,” she says.

Lang was asked to create a multi-purpose space people would visit not only for its full-bodied coffee (in addition to its wine and beer) but also for a personality enriched by live music and exclusive shopping.

A double-height volume greets visitors with a delicious concoction of texture, the main servery (with takeaway offering) encasing mellow LaPacho timber within polished concrete.

Mirrored stainless steel at roof height and pebbledash resin flooring (by Altro) at ground level reflect the industrial nature of the city and collectively these materials furnish the space with robust quality.

Mezzanine seating overlooks the servery, front-facing perspectives partly enclosed. The gallery is walled by a timber section (appearing to float above the ground-floor link corridor) and, above the servery, by high mesh grills, bar stools (by Modus) lining their length.

The notion of concealing, yet revealing, is enhanced by discreet windows’ cut to the timber section, while a wide-glazed aperture to the side of the building secures the mezzanine unfettered visual access to the outside world.

Contemporary seats with retro flair in hardy polyurethane are by Italian firm Arper, orange versions splashing vivid colour against hardwearing LaPacho’ Brazilian walnut from McKay Flooring.

From the exterior, the shop boasts an alluring patch of green deep within the shop, drawing visitors Hitherto’ – as the performance and retail area to the back of Tinderbox is known.

The corridor delves below the mezzanine, via pockets of intimate seating, to open dramatically into Hitherto’s double-height volume.

“We developed original Tinderbox booths with a series of small rooms that have distinct personalities and functions,” Lang explains.

These cosy pockets are defined in part by Seventies-inspired wallpapers, vivid greens as well as muted greys in fluid patterns back-dropping tables. Seating facing the corridor makes this a hot people-watching spot, while the old bank clock from the Byres Road site and Italian postcards add character to snug booths.

Hitherto’s contrastingly voluminous space is under the charge of Christa, the curator responsible for sourcing intriguing items, largely exclusive to the store in Scotland.

The differentiation between Tinderbox and bigger brands is sealed by Hitherto, casually bedecked with an old piano and retro leather furniture (for visitors’ use) from eBay. Shelves and tables bristle with discerning products including look-alike clay dolls handmade by Judith Johnston, bespoke bags and drawings.

“Artists come to me with ideas,” says Christa, who sources items on travels to locations including Korea. Local artists painted the wall behind the counter with large trees, with the image to change every few months. As Lang points out: “This interaction with users makes Tinderbox quite different to other coffee shops.”

The high ceiling displays a magical array of Graven Images’ cross pendant lights interspersed by suspended bird shapes. To this creative, flexible space, members of Glasgow band Belle And Sebastian have already added music, and with evening DJs (as well as food by West End delicatessen, Delizique) on the menu, there’s plenty of reasons to visit Tinderbox, day or night.

While the original Tinderbox still feels fresh, its owners’ refusal to create a duplicate allows the new kid on this Merchant City block to successfully reach an audience appreciative of a distinctive blend.

Tinderbox, Ingram Street, 0141 552 6907
Byres Road, 0141 339 3108
www.graven.co.uk, 0141 552 6626