Coffee and Art

The Art Café That Accidentally Became My Gallery

When I walked into The Crepe Shop and Art Café, I instantly knew this wasn’t going to be one of those places where you clock in, do your shift, and disappear. It had that quirky, rustic and hipster vibe, the kind of space that makes you look up and around as soon as you step inside.

It used to be an old butcher’s shop, so it still had those tough, industrial bits like exposed steel beams. Instead of feeling random, it gave the whole place character, like it already had a story before we even added anything to it.

I was working there full-time and it was a proper graft. Serving, prepping, keeping things moving, making sure customers were happy, keeping the place looking sharp. All of that everyday café life where you’re always doing ten things at once. That experience taught me loads about business in a way you can’t learn from a book. You really start noticing what people respond to, what makes them come back, how important the little details are, and how much energy it takes to keep a place feeling alive.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, the artist in me couldn’t help it. I wasn’t trying to turn the café into “my studio” or anything, it was more like if you’ve got a space called an Art Café, why wouldn’t you make it feel like one? So, I started putting my creative touches everywhere, even on the food and drinks :)

The walls started changing displaying big murals, making the café feel warmer, memorable, trying to give the place a personality. People were already coming in for coffee and crepes, the art wasn’t sitting in some silent gallery corner. It was right there, people chatting, laughing, taking photos, asking questions, coming back and noticing new details.

I got properly carried away, not just the walls. I started using what we already had as part of the look. Coffee bags and Nutella Jar became little displays instead of just stock sitting there. The windows turned into my favourite canvas where I used chalk pens on the glass to draw up drinks, crepes, offers, little illustrations… anything that made someone stop for a second and go, “wait, that’s actually so kool.” After a while, it felt like I’d accidentally trained myself to be ready to draw on anything at any time.

Then came the latte art era, which was humbling. Can you imagine how many milk bottles I went through just trying to pour a heart that didn’t look like a blob? 😂 It took me about two months to get to a decent level and once I did, I started playing with coloured lattes too, because clearly I needed another challenge on top of everything else.

All those little creative bits weren’t just for me, they actually helped the shop. People would come in and stay a bit longer with friends and take pictures. They’d point at the walls, the windows, the details and ask who did it.

Looking back, that café was such a special chapter. Busy, fun, full of character and it gave me room to build new skills while still being in the middle of a real working environment.

If you’ve got a space that could use a bit of that energy, a mural or a custom piece that actually fits your brand, drop me a message. I love creating work that makes people feel something the second they walk in.

Thanks for reading this journey :)