It certainly doesn’t look much from the outside. Big, yellow and pretty ugly springs to mind. A commercial relic of the 1970’s waiting patiently to be demolished and converted into apartments feeding the ever-growing city of Melbourne. Some say it was a box factory. Others say it was a customs building. Today it’s three-levels of craft workers and artists brought together under the collective banner of the Coburg Studios.
It's easy to get lost in the Coburg Studios, and not just from a geographical perspective.
Entry is through the grungy ground level carpark behind which is a large warehousing area now converted into a series of woodworking and manufacturing workshops. Level One, ‘the middle floor’ features partitioned studios for painters, potters and sewists. The middle floor also houses the community’s main kitchen, breakout area and gallery. Up another level and you are on the top floor with the original interior fit out still intact. The steely grey lino and brown veneer wall panelling would make a great set for a Hollywood slasher film. The top floor houses photographers, vintage clothes merchants, more sewists and is of course the world headquarters for Wood Dust and Wood Play Studio.
On first impressions the Coburg Studios may seem like a bohemian shelter. In reality it's a sanctuary for creative refugees huddled together for safety in a world that has forgotten the pleasures of the hand made. And there is more. This is a place where people of all backgrounds, ethnicities and disciplines come to create. It's a place where management are flexible, and the rent is reasonable. It's a place where you can be yourself and pursue the work that is important to you insulated just a little from the mainstream.
Some residents of 69 Charles Street hide away in their spaces beavering away only to be seen coming and going in sync with the cycle of the Sun. Others are far more social with late starts and even later nights making their days at the studios the centre piece of their existence. Others are strictly night dwellers holding down day jobs while they realise their creative dreams. The best time to experience this community in entirety is market days. Four or six weekends a year, I’m not sure how many exactly, the doors are flung open, and the residents work pours out and is put on display. The carpark and the upper floors are converted into a retail strip that rivals even Sydney Road. The only thing that matches the diversity of the residents and their products is the inner-city audience that the Coburg Studios Makers Markets seems to attract.
This whole operation is run by Stu and Andy. Stu runs his business Carpentry by Stu from the ground floor specialising in high end fit out and furniture. Warm and authentic, Stu doesn’t say much, yet when he does speak it's worth your time to stop and listen. Andy is a wood and metal worker who makes custom furniture. Andy is an artist in disguise capable of making practically anything particularly conversation, which for the record are legendary in both their humour and length. Together Stu and Andy are the Ying and Yang of studio management. Perfectly balanced divided only by a thin line of chaos to keep it all interesting.
So where do I and Wood Dust fit in round here? Quite simply, I like this place. It has a vibe. I’ve worked in a lot of places, good and bad. I’ve dealt with a lot of different people, good and bad. Here I can just be, taking it all in and be just another citizen of a healthy community. Helping out when needed. Respecting the needs and space of others. Keeping an eye on each other to make sure we are all doing ok. No one is excluded, no one is discarded. Everyone has a purpose.
Next October I am running WOOD DUST backstreets from the Coburg studios. There is a pretty good lineup with Chris Schwarz, Michael Fortune and Matt Kenney all booked and ready to go. It amuses me that these international woodworkers are coming here to this rather insignificant corner of the world, to a funky old building on a dirty old backstreet to share their incredible knowledge. Yet knowing the community behind the studios assures me that this is the perfect venue. A place where you can relax, create and be accepted for who and what you are. Yet I'm not convinced that all the creatures dwelling within the Coburg Studios are ready for what’s coming. Lucky I went out early.
PS. We do have one problem though. NOT ENOUGH BENCHES. Stay tuned for more.
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