Sharing is caring
How a short-term project turned into an unexpected, almost decade-long, artistic hub
Words: Karl Puschmann
Photography:
Minka Ip never intended to work in a shared space, let alone own one. But for almost 10 years, his workshop has been a buzzing hive of creative activity for artists, jewellers, potters and fashion designers. And it's all because of Venice.
A graduate of NZIA, the New Zealand Institute of Architects, Minka had bought the building in Uptown and set up a workshop for his company Finework, making incredibly detailed architectural models. These to-scale miniatures are used for everything from development applications and exhibitions to planning and sales and marketing. The idea is to allow people to get a physical idea of how architectural building plans will translate in the real world.
He'd been happily beavering away in the space when, in 2016, an opportunity to take part in a prestigious cultural exhibition in Italy brought him back into contact with an old pal from architecture school. Nothing would be the same after.
"Me and my good friend Stephen did a project together for the Architecture Biennale in Venice," Minka explains.
"Because of that project, we reconnected. At the time, he was sharing a workshop in Kingsland and needed to move out of that existing premise. He saw my space, and he just moved in from there."
Stephen had been sharing the Kingsland space with jeweller Hannah Sheehan, so when he moved, she came with him. Over the years, the industrial-style space slowly filled with more creatives, becoming something of a connection space for otherwise fairly solitary professions.
"It's really great having people around us doing similar fabrication work," Minka enthuses. "It's nice to have a bigger group hanging out, because it's a big space. It feels really good sharing my workshop with other people."
Despite the different businesses and disciplines, the vibe in the space is relaxed, something Minka puts down to the personalities. He says it's more like a group of artists working together in the studio than a bunch of businesses.
"None of us is aggressive in terms of growing the business. We're more like one-man studios or workshops. We have a very relaxed environment." That could be down to the way everyone assembled. Stephen and Rachel were only going to move in temporarily but settled in - as did jeweller Warwick Freeman, who only moved in as a short- term measure while his house was built.
"But he's never moved out, even after his house was complete! I'd feel bad to ask him to leave," Minka laughs. "A few others are the same as that. It's going to be temporary, and then they just stay, and I feel too bad, you know, to kick them out."
He jokes that he'd happily buy another workshop to get out of the shared space, but is serious when he says that spaces such as his are disappearing from the inner city, long the traditional home of such artistic industries.
"We know a lot of artists, and they told me there used to be a lot of studios around K Road. But they're all being moved on because those shared studios have been turned into apartments or turned into car parks for construction," he says. "There's not a lot of warehouse space available anymore. I don't know if there's any chance to do the same thing again, to be honest."
Sadly, his workshop is not a solution for artists struggling to find a centrally located studio.
"A lot of people have asked us whether they can move in, but we have had to, unfortunately, turn them down because we have run out of space," he says. "I'm not actively leasing out the space. It just happened back in 2016."
Despite his bemused air when talking about how his shared space came to be, he unhesitatingly recommends that other people do the same, especially small or creative operations whose work can be isolated.
"The advantage is a lot. Especially to do with mentality and health," he says. "You get so much happier. Having all these people around helps. Mentally, it's good because you get to see more people, you get to hang out with people. They're not clients; there's no business relationship between each other, it's just people."
Then he smiles and says, "Friends, I think we call them."
A graduate of NZIA, the New Zealand Institute of Architects, Minka had bought the building in Uptown and set up a workshop for his company Finework, making incredibly detailed architectural models. These to-scale miniatures are used for everything from development applications and exhibitions to planning and sales and marketing. The idea is to allow people to get a physical idea of how architectural building plans will translate in the real world.
He'd been happily beavering away in the space when, in 2016, an opportunity to take part in a prestigious cultural exhibition in Italy brought him back into contact with an old pal from architecture school. Nothing would be the same after.
"Me and my good friend Stephen did a project together for the Architecture Biennale in Venice," Minka explains.
"Because of that project, we reconnected. At the time, he was sharing a workshop in Kingsland and needed to move out of that existing premise. He saw my space, and he just moved in from there."
Stephen had been sharing the Kingsland space with jeweller Hannah Sheehan, so when he moved, she came with him. Over the years, the industrial-style space slowly filled with more creatives, becoming something of a connection space for otherwise fairly solitary professions.
"It's really great having people around us doing similar fabrication work," Minka enthuses. "It's nice to have a bigger group hanging out, because it's a big space. It feels really good sharing my workshop with other people."
Despite the different businesses and disciplines, the vibe in the space is relaxed, something Minka puts down to the personalities. He says it's more like a group of artists working together in the studio than a bunch of businesses.
"None of us is aggressive in terms of growing the business. We're more like one-man studios or workshops. We have a very relaxed environment." That could be down to the way everyone assembled. Stephen and Rachel were only going to move in temporarily but settled in - as did jeweller Warwick Freeman, who only moved in as a short- term measure while his house was built.
"But he's never moved out, even after his house was complete! I'd feel bad to ask him to leave," Minka laughs. "A few others are the same as that. It's going to be temporary, and then they just stay, and I feel too bad, you know, to kick them out."
He jokes that he'd happily buy another workshop to get out of the shared space, but is serious when he says that spaces such as his are disappearing from the inner city, long the traditional home of such artistic industries.
"We know a lot of artists, and they told me there used to be a lot of studios around K Road. But they're all being moved on because those shared studios have been turned into apartments or turned into car parks for construction," he says. "There's not a lot of warehouse space available anymore. I don't know if there's any chance to do the same thing again, to be honest."
Sadly, his workshop is not a solution for artists struggling to find a centrally located studio.
"A lot of people have asked us whether they can move in, but we have had to, unfortunately, turn them down because we have run out of space," he says. "I'm not actively leasing out the space. It just happened back in 2016."
Despite his bemused air when talking about how his shared space came to be, he unhesitatingly recommends that other people do the same, especially small or creative operations whose work can be isolated.
"The advantage is a lot. Especially to do with mentality and health," he says. "You get so much happier. Having all these people around helps. Mentally, it's good because you get to see more people, you get to hang out with people. They're not clients; there's no business relationship between each other, it's just people."
Then he smiles and says, "Friends, I think we call them."