Over the road from Climpson’s Arch on Helmsley Place, owner Ian Burgess has been hard at work over the last few months shaping our new space into our Head Office and purpose-built Training Academy. We will be hosting a range of barista training, SCA barista training, as well as keeping the office team working hard upstairs.
Hackney has been our home for sixteen years — and counting. What started as a market stall bringing better coffee to Broadway Market in 2002, paved the way for the Climpson & Sons cafe, one of the pioneering speciality cafes in London at the time. We started roasting in 2005 and in 2012 we moved our expanding roastery operation into Climpson’s Arch on Helmsley Place, where we also hosted renowned restaurant residencies for five years. In addition to the cafe and the Arch, in 2015 our burgeoning team took up residence at Regent’s Studio by the canal and Broadway Market.
The recent sale of the nation’s railway arches by Network Rail has put local businesses like ours in a less secure position. The opportunity arose to purchase a unit directly opposite the roastery so whatever happens with the businesses housed under the railway arches, our London Fields home is now secure with the new Climpson’s HQ and Training Academy.
“We have never really had a proper office, that hasn’t been thrown together in 5 mins or makeshift, so this was the perfect opportunity to do things properly. I really wanted to build something that not only looked good but was also functional.” Ian Burgess
Founder and owner Ian Burgess enlisted the help of a local architect and friend Chantal Martinelli from the Mad Atelier to come up with plans which made the most of the space we had for a purpose-built office and training academy.
From the exterior glass folding doors, skylights and double height ceilings, the space was designed to be bright and inviting. The space as a whole is divided into two levels with a large purpose-built training room on the ground floor, while the mezzanine is open plan with a hot-desking area that sits directly above the training room and connects to a meeting room and office via a sky bridge.
The build itself was carried out by Geoff Walker of re-fuze with the help of Ian and longtime friend Luke Clarkson. When it came to interiors Ian wanted something timeless as if it had always been there, not too polished. Influenced by the classic mid-century office, he used friend and stylist Michelle Kelly to come up with colours and sourcing of furniture.
Now that the building is finally complete, the office team have moved in and are enjoying settling into our new permanent home in Hackney.
Address: Unit 5, Helmsley Place, E8 3SB
By appointment only.
Ian talks candidly about the best and the worst of the build:
What was the best bit about the build?
The use of cedar. I have a 60s kit house in Kent built from the stuff, so I know it well. I wanted to incorporate a bit of that in the new space, besides I also think that the smell of coffee and cedar really work well together.
Biggest blunder?
The time we accidentally hit a gas pipe. It wasn’t an absolute disaster, but it came close.
Was it on time?
No. We moved out of our existing office in March, so we had staff everywhere - working from an improvised hot desk office in the Roastery to working from home or on the road with their laptops. It was far from ideal.
What’s ahead?
The future is bright at Climpson & Sons - our training centre and office being over the road from the Roastery makes for a more cohesive workplace. The training facility is purpose-built to host a range of barista training and SCA training courses. The office is far more conducive to welcoming people in to visit and try our coffees, as well as keeping the whole office team working hard upstairs in a space where they can hear themselves think.
