Earlier this week I was asked to come and help with the installation process of the new Formentera-style terrace bar at Aqua Nueva in London, sponsored by Ciroc vodka. We had a day and a half to get all the boxes in place and planted, the bar and planters set up, the window boxes placed, and get the entire theme looking cohesive.
Mehrnoosh Khadivi, the designer behind Craftwork studio and the project manager for the instillation, met me bright and early at 8am on Monday morning. from then until almost eight in the evening, we were potting and replanting, sanding and filing, gluing, measuring and cutting, hammering and nail-gunning the whole project together. There was a short lunch pause for a spot of macrame-making (a skill I'd picked up on another project with Mehrnoosh) and then we were back at it again, undeterred by the unfortunate weather.
The main events management company we worked with was Wileywood, who had constructed the majority of the bar-surface assets, planter sides and box pieces offsite, leaving construction as an on-site task. I learned invaluable skills about problem-solving on my feet, making things work, and using the materials at hand to get a high-quality aesthetic and finish worthy of the luxury dining experience. Wiley's team, lead by Steve Wylie (Dylan, Ed, and Milly) and worked well with us and our group dynamic and coordination got everything finished on time, looking clean and polished.
Smoothing out the bar top's joints with a belt sander to prep for filling and whitewashing
