The old Hop and Vine pub in St. Austell’s town centre is being converted into a café and community centre. The café will pay homage to St. Austell’s china clay heritage not only through colour, but also through the material itself, with specialist clay plaster on the walls sourced locally from Cornwall. The scheme is centred on sustainability and locally sourced products. To keep the project local, minimise transportation, and drive money back into the local economy, we are sourcing from as many Cornish trades and businesses as possible.
Prior to William Cookworthy’s discovery of china clay near St. Austell in 1775, the area was populated with small villages. The discovery of china clay had a dramatic impact on the surrounding landscape, bringing these communities together through employment. This is what Trinity hopes to achieve by providing a welcoming space for the community to gather. The plan is to repurpose and reuse as much of the existing structure as possible. The china clay industry in St. Austell and the colours it has brought to the landscape have influenced the colours that will be used throughout the space. Because of the influence of the china clay industry in Cornwall, we have a plethora of renowned potters and ceramicists who work with our local clay. Specially commissioned pieces would be used throughout the building to bring warmth and local craftsmanship into the space. Trinity Café will showcase the building’s structure, as a nod to honesty and respect for the past. We will be revealing some of the core elements such as brickwork, woodwork and metalwork.
The characteristic pink clay of the Bodelva pit is responsible for the Financial Times’ colour. This will be expressed through the pink toned Clayworks plaster on the walls of the café. The colour scheme is picked from the natural landscape of clay country, from the bright blue waters of the clay pits to the greens of the evergreen bushes. During renovations a number of artefacts have been recovered, including time capsules from 1949, ‘74, & ‘90, a Victorian photograph, and a wooden catfish toy, amongst several others. Local antiques such as bottles, bricks, and a large ‘St. Austell’ glazed panel will also help to tell St. Austell’s story. All of these items will be displayed within the café. The café will also feature a bespoke servery frontage built with an assortment of bricks. Antique, local bricks reclaimed from the site and the church across the road, aside Trinity’s very own handmade bricks will create the artwork. Local children from the congregation joined Boaz Studio at Brickfield in September 2021 to make their own bricks for the project.
Two murals were commissioned for the Trinity Cafe. One to show ‘before’, the other to show the ‘future’. ‘Before’ is a vintage photograph of Fore Street, St Austell and depicts a cart full of clay, passers by, the church in the background and the same building in which Trinity Cafe is based.
Wheal Martyn Trust Collection
‘Future’ is a photograph taken by James Darling for St Austell Project on August 15, 2020. It depicts a wind turbine next to Blackpool Pit, close to the village of Trewoon on the outskirts of St Austell. The saturated blue of the lake inspired the colours for the cafe.
St Austell Project / James Darling
We used Boaz Studio as we needed some help reimagining our lounge after moving in just before having our first child. Our house wasn't working for us and our toddler. Stephen is so approachable and friendly and really listens. He's keen to understand what your needs and wants are as a client and then has an amazing way of turning that into something beautiful, practical, and personal. I am so impressed and would highly recommend Boaz Studio. On top of that, they're really professional, and communication is easy.
Stephen managed to build a true understanding of what we wanted and embed that in his conceptual designs. When we first saw those designs for a fresh and contemporary take on the heritage library, we knew that we would be creating something special.
I found boaz studio to be the perfect combination of design ideas and down to earth sense. They opened my eyes to aspects I hadn’t considered and delt with problems in creative ways.
You have been incredibly instrumental in the first part of this project and given us inspiration on how best to utilise our space, giving us vision on layout, design, style and colours. You are very skilled at what you do !!
Boaz Studio came in to advise on the complete refurbishment of the communal space here at Sunley Orford House, a purpose-built block of quality retirement housing in the centre of Truro. Having listened thoroughly to the design brief he provided well thought out advice on materials, colours and decoration with options that not only bring a more contemporary feel but will revitalise the space for the future. His thought and attention to detail was appreciated by all involved.
We worked with Boaz Studio to plan our two-storey extension and associated alterations to our house. We couldn't have done it without them, they were brilliant! Their thoughtful designs really made the most of the spaces, not only in terms of furnishings and decor but also really useful advice about positioning for doors and windows. Stephen and Alice are both fabulous at what they do and really lovely to work with. Highly recommended!
Boaz provided layouts and concept interior designs for our new home, and the results were fantastic: they managed to somehow provide us with something completely unexpected that was completely our style and what we wanted. We feel so much more confident managing the building work and decorating now, and can't wait to see it finished. Highly recommended.
Stephen and Alice worked with us to produce a design for the interior of our coffee house - their ability to bring together all of our different needs and ideas into one unified concept was fantastic - they have knack for drawing out the most efficient use of whatever space they're working with. First class.
Stephen managed to build a true understanding of what we wanted and embed that in his conceptual designs. When we first saw those designs for a fresh and contemporary take on the heritage library, we knew that we would be creating something special.
"We used Boaz Studio as we needed some help reimagining our lounge after moving in just before having our first child. Our house wasn't working for us and our toddler. Stephen is so approachable and friendly and really listens. He's keen to understand what your needs and wants are as a client and then has an amazing way of turning that into something beautiful, practical, and personal. I am so impressed and would highly recommend Boaz Studio. On top of that, they're really professional, and communication is easy."
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