Nightclub Design and Where To Get It?
Perfect. You’ve now negotiated a great lease based on 6% of gross. You have gotten the normal and yes, I do mean NORMAL 90 day buildout from your landlord and now you are ready for the next big step. Unless you are a seasoned operator and concept maven you probably don’t know exactly what to do. You’ve seen nightclubs and nightclub design that you like. You’ve seen nightclub design that you hear people talk about and nightclub design that you have seen in magazines. You ask yourself. “how do I do that and more importantly where do I get that? Since Gatecrasher is all up and busy in the international press, let’s use Simon Raine and Gatecrasher Birmingham as a small but important case study.
Simon Raine had a hugely successful brand in the UK for almost a decade before it needed a big change. Simon is a real club guy, a real player in the international nightclub scene. He began his search well over a year ago and before he and I spoke he had researched more nightclub designers and nightclub concepts in a year than most people visit in a lifetime. He had the resources and the experience to hand pick the best of the best. He also had a distinct vision for his brand and he knew it had to be different and fresh.
My journey with Simon began at the Shore Club in South Beach, he in shorts, me in a suit. We talked culture and spirit and how people feel when they are clubbing. We talked and shared stories about our most memorable club nights. We really talked about life and relationships long before we got down to the brass tacks of whether he would hire me as the nightclub design firm for his new and precious baby.
For now, alas and thankfully he did. In a big way. Gatecrasher has been born a new and to open and welcome arms. Hats off Simon, enjoy the dance.