Creative Solutions

Reed Space HNL

In collaboration with local non-profit group Interisland Terminal, CS/HI was fortunate to work with New York City menswear icon - jeffstaple of Staple Design. Invited by Interisland Terminal to open a temporary retail store in Honolulu, designer and founder, Jeff Ng (jeffstaple) imported the book shop of his Reed Space art gallery to the Waikiki Parc Hotel. Before doors could open to Hawaii’s creatives, CS/HI was tasked with design and assembly of the interior retail space. Armed with a modest materials budget and a standard conference room setting, we had a design challenge to overcome.

The Concept
In constant communication with Jeff, as he crossed the globe towards Honolulu, the team decided on the unifying theme of the Reed Space logo (white shaker style chair) to focus on within the space. With limited furniture resources on the island, acquiring multiple versions of the iconic chair proved costly and difficult. The idea was adapted to include a collection of eclectic chairs sourced by the team, all approved by Jeff over emails and text messages. The chairs would serve as flexible mini shelves for books and magazines.

Planning & Installation
Understanding people movement within a non-traditional retail space was critical to the overall experience, quick mockups were built to determine a comfortable person-to-chair ratio. Also at this stage, we tested chair configurations, walk paths and optimal areas for support fixtures. Updated renders were sent to Jeff and IT for comments and approvals during the weeks leading up to install.

In an attempt to create a neutral art gallery space, we reduced and removed as many superfluous conference room details as possible. Requested by the hotel management to preserve their meeting space, we were politely asked to refrain from mounting things to the interior walls of the lobby and conference room. This left us with limited options for adding decor and imagery to the interior walls (thankfully, the beech wood walls and blue carpet were easy on the eyes). After assembling the chairs from various sources, we determined it was necessary to fill the negative space above the chair line. We quickly developed an inexpensive hanging system (fishing line and binder clips!) that allowed us to implement a gallery of photos, curated by Jeff, along the walls of the space.

Grand Opening
After a final plane ride and a few media interviews later, Jeff, CS/HI and the Interisland Terminal team assembled the room for opening night. The overall process took a few meetings, a bunch of emails and three days working in the space. With Jeff’s practical and flexible guidance, we collectively arrived at a solution that was attractive and unique to Hawaii. Good things do come in small packages.

Mahalo to Jeff and the Interisland Team for the good times. CS/HI was happy to be along for the ride.