Story
DIY: Creating Maido
13 September, 2024
Did you know that Provider Store turns 10 next month?! 10! What an expedition it has been! While reflecting on some of the bigger things that took place over the last decade, I started to go down a bit of a rabbit hole of memories.
I thought I would start sharing some of these moments with you so you can follow our journey so far. One I wanted to share was when I renovated Provider Studio, which has now become Maido.
While I am jumping far ahead of the inception of Provider Store and will U-turn back, I thought you might find this one interesting.
01
Getting rid of the strange tiles.02
How upstairs looked.I went and looked at this space in Surry Hills that was a real estate before. There were terrible tiles on the walls, carpet everywhere and a rotting kitchen.
Back in 2021, we had outgrown our little candle studio in St Peters (most people didn’t even know that we’d stopped making the candles in our shop, and moved production to an external studio a few years prior). I went and looked at this space in Surry Hills that was previously a real estate. There were terrible tiles on the walls, carpet everywhere and a rotting kitchen.
03
Getting the keys.04
First time seeing the space.'I remember getting on my hands and knees and pulling back the carpet to see what was underneath'
I remember getting on my hands and knees and pulling back the carpet to see what was underneath. The agent in her high heels watched over me in amusement.
I saw the potential of the space, so I signed the lease and collected the keys. This was a time when I was going through a lot of big life struggles. My mum was really sick and I had just come back from a four month stint in Brisbane looking after her.
05
Ripping up all the carpet.06
Getting shit done.I would pop headphones in and go into the space and just rip things up and out, I had zero idea what I was doing but found it cathartic none-the-less.
07
DIY tiling.08
Ripping out the kitchen to rebuild.Bunnings Youtube taught me how to tile and I just winged sanding the floor (a job I would wish on no one). I roped in a few friends, Provider customers with electrical skills and enlisted some people just for their height (I am 5.4’) to help with installing some lights and other bits.
09
Kitchen before.10
Help along the way.Downstairs became our candle pouring area and workshop teaching area. Upstairs I redid the kitchen and made it feel warm and welcoming – a space for creativity.
11
Renovating downstairs.12
Renovating downstairs.Then after two years, we decided the space was too nice to only use as an office, so we decided to turn it into Maido. Construction started again and I still had no idea what I was doing.
13
Maido.14
Finished upstairs reno.We built a custom candle lab, and our old candle making area became our coffee bar. Our friends Dan and Shoji from Artificer dropped off a machine and some beans. The night before we opened I was hammering in banners to the roof (a last min design idea I had). We opened the doors (knowing very little about hospitality) and thankfully the locals seemed to like it.
15
Our initial coffee bar setup.16
Opening Maido.You can now watch us make candles and be creative while having a coffee or matcha, hang out with Pocari or let me talk your ear off.
I might add, Provider Store is self funded. I get asked this a lot but it was truly hard work and doing everything within our means. Starting a business is the hardest thing but the most rewarding.
See you at Maido!
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Studio details.18
Studio details.Maido
7-9 Flinders Street, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
Tuesday - Friday
7:30am - 2pm
Saturday & Sunday
8am - 2pm