a flock of history worth restoring.

A local entrepreneur sets out to bring people together through intentionally selected products and creative artisan events.

ARCHITECTURE, INTERIOR DESIGN & SIGNAGE

Flock Mercantile + Makerspace | Celina, Ohio

Offering thoughtfully curated heirloom ware and local market items, Flock Mercantile + Makerspace took flight in a newly restored downtown building. They started their business with the simple concept of bringing people together with hand-made products and creative artisan events. Featuring unique products from vendors local to the surrounding areas, Flock carries custom wood tables, handmade soaps, scrubs & sprays, freshly roasted coffee, and much more.

This tired, historic structure sat vacant, needing a tenant with a desire to preserve as much history of the building as possible. When Revival first stepped into the space, the floor was caved in — touching the gravel that sat eighteen inches below. The walls were crumbling and the ceiling was falling from the rafters. Knowing this space needed more than a little love, our team worked closely with the building owner to select the perfect tenant for the space. 

Removing the broken architecture that no longer served the space, our team stripped the building back to its shell, preserving the exposed brick and plaster walls. While the new concrete floors were being poured and interior walls were being put up, our designers were hard at work selecting finishes, light fixtures, and casework details. To fill the space with light, the storefront was replaced with grand windows, cased in an iron ore finish, that nearly span the full facade. The front door featured a full glass panel with muntins integrated between the two panes of glass — giving a seamless finish to the exterior.

capturing color

Preserving as much of the existing building as possible is always our goal. With the original painted exterior brick in decent condition, our team chose to give it a coat of paint to freshen and restore the facade. The selection of neutral gray paint for the brick brought out the beautifully detailed cornice at the top of the building, putting emphasis back on the historic architecture. With the lower existing siding in disrepair, our designers selected a stunning gray-blue lap siding to replace it. 

The striped awning provides the storefront with shade on bright, sunny days. This custom, motorized treatment was designed so it could be opened and closed by remote from inside the building — allowing customers to know if the store was open based on if the awning was out or not. With that, the Parisian market vibe on the exterior was complete, with a soft color palette, striped awning, and ornamental shutters on the second floor.

resourceful retail

Having a wide variety of local makers offering vastly different goods provided our tenant with a unique retail experience for their customers. Every piece in the store, including tables that held merchandise, chairs for tired shopping partners, and hooks for displaying product, were for sale. This meant the retail space was ever changing as products sold and replaced within the mercantile. Revival stylists helped arrange dining tables with merchandise sold by Flock, decorate the shelving behind the point-of-sale counter, and set up the retail space for peak customer enjoyment.

The north wall features the historic exposed brick and plaster, separated by an added wood ledge that was finished in a smooth walnut stain. This allows for product to be displayed on the ledge  — with a focus on styling the product as customers might in their home, giving them the vision before even purchasing the items. The high ceilings is lined with adjustable track lighting, perfect for shining spotlights on the art pieces and product on display. Our designers selected large sputnik chandeliers as visual interest, drawing the eye up. These add to the space funky, industrial vibe that ties in to the exposed ductwork and conduit.

This tenant has a love for reclaiming old pieces and upscaling them into something new, creating connection between the aesthetics. When looking at Flock’s retail area and makerspace, that’s just what she did with that transition as well. Our team designed a pocket door, that separated the mercantile area from the makerspace area, that was built from an old, reclaimed door with a flush gold pull where the knob used to rest. This would allow the back area to be closed off for private events while the front of the store was in operation simultaneously.

exposing history

Wanting to expose the brick on interior walls in the makerspace, the construction team set off chipping away at the plaster that lay overtop. After accidentally exposing too much of the original brick walls, our team had to develop a solution quickly. We got our hands dirty and grabbed a piece of chalk — drawing a rugged line to dictate where the contractor should reapply the plaster. This created a creative, organic effect when you see the two materials married on the walls; the original brick peeping from behind the freeform curves of the white plaster. With the bricks being so old, those that were exposed were very soft and weeped dust on the floors often. As a solution, our team had the workers seal them, to preventing further decay of the bricks, allowing people to enjoy their beauty for many more years to come.

With hosting artisan workshops and catered events, the makerspace needed casework that would be stylish and functional, while also being budget conscious. They needed to be able to store many items away such as art supplies, dishes, and seasonal decor for the space — so instead of using a typical cabinet system with shallower shelving, we selected large, deep drawers to be more accommodating for keeping the mess hidden, and being able to focus on the event at hand.

The large grade change provided a fun challenge for our team. We worked with a local welding company, Lefeld Welding, to develop a custom interior stair at the rear of the buildling. This new flight would have a small footprint, finished with black metal to accent the industrial notes in the space, and was, most importantly, code compliant. It sits tucked against the rear wall, leading you out the back door and onto the freshly poured concrete patio and parking.

Revival is continually inspired by historic restoration projects — it’s our bread and butter. We love taking a structure that has been neglected for ages and breathing new life into the space, giving it the chance to continue on as living history; Flock Mercantile fits into that category perfectly. Collaboratively, we took each roadblock, reconfiguration, and crumbling challenge and translated them into a space that is not only functional and beautiful — but kept the history as the focal point in the design.