Set Piece Fabrication
Set piece fabrication is the heaviest work on the floor and the reason the long bay exists. Podium surrounds,
scenery flats, room dividers, reception counters and stage furniture are cut from measured drawings and
assembled on the taped floor so that fixings, joints and returns can be checked at full size. The bench vice
is used to hold rail sections while mitres are fitted, and the hand tools stay on the wall so that a late
change requested by a creative director can be tested within the hour.
Frames are built first in timber or light steel, faced with sheet material, then finished to a specification
agreed against a physical sample. Corners are reinforced because a set piece usually travels by goods lift,
sits in a truck and then survives a busy event floor. Edges are sanded and sealed so that they do not catch
light in a photograph, and every piece is test assembled in the bay before it is wrapped. Clients receive a
cutting list, a finish record and a set of assembly notes for the installation crew.
Materials: birch ply, MDF, aluminium tube, steel angle, composite sheet. Typical bay time: five to fifteen working days.
Signage Cutting and Finishing
Signage cutting and finishing happens at the bench under the hanging lamps, where the light is even and the
sight line to the cutting mat is clear. Letters, dimensional plates, wayfinding panels and window graphics
are cut, dressed and edge finished in house. The team selects the material for the reading distance: acrylic
for close work that needs a bright edge, composite sheet for larger exterior panels, timber veneer where
warmth matters, and thin metal where a hard shadow is part of the design.
After cutting, each element is checked against the proof for spacing, height and colour. Edges are polished or
painted to match the face so that a mounted sign reads as one object rather than a cut shape sitting on a
backing. Mounting options are prepared at the same time, including hidden studs, stand off spacers and
adhesive channels. The floor then lays the sign out on a full size sheet for approval, and the approved sheet
is kept with the job record so that a replacement can be reproduced months later without guesswork.
Materials: cast acrylic, composite sheet, timber veneer, brushed aluminium. Typical bay time: three to eight working days.
Brand Installation Days
A brand installation day is a single scheduled window in which a retail unit, lobby, showroom or pop up is
stripped, fitted and dressed before it opens. The floor does not treat installation as an afterthought to
fabrication. Components are pre built and packed by zone, the access route is walked in advance, and the crew
travels with a snag list that is closed before handover. Lift dimensions, fire routes, power positions and
working hour restrictions are confirmed in writing before the day is fixed.
On the day itself the crew works from a zone plan rather than a pile of parts. Each carton is labelled with
the zone it belongs to and the sequence in which it should be opened, so the unit is never blocked by a crate
that is needed later. The final hour is reserved for cleaning, lighting checks and the sign off walk with the
client. Anything that cannot be resolved that day is recorded and scheduled, never left as an informal
promise. A written handover note reaches the client within one working day.
Scope includes: site survey, zone packing, crew and tools, snag list closure, handover note. Typical window: one day, occasionally two.
Studio Fabrication Rentals
Studio fabrication rentals give other people access to a measured, well lit work surface without a long lease.
Photographers, stylists, prop makers and small design teams book the bench area, the hand tool wall and, when
available, the studio fabric bolt racks. The rental is scheduled around production so that a client build is
never moving behind a camera, and the bay allocated to a rental is taped off so that the boundaries are clear.
A rental period includes an induction on the vise, the cutting bench and the safe use of the shared tools, a
short list of consumables that are stocked on the floor, and a clear note of which equipment is excluded.
Larger power tools and the craft kiln are not part of the standard rental and must be agreed separately.
Rentals are usually booked by the day or by the half week, with a longer studio period available on request.
The rate card is issued with the booking form so that the cost is known before anyone lifts a tool.
Included: bench bay, hand tool wall, induction, consumables list. Typical period: one day to two weeks.
Kiln and Finish Work
The craft kiln stands against the far wall with a vent stack rising to the ceiling. It fires small ceramic
components, cast plaques, clay tokens, decorative tiles and other fired elements that need a controlled
finish rather than a painted one. Work is loaded to a published firing curve, held at temperature for the
specified time and cooled slowly on the rail beside the kiln so that thermal shock does not spoil a batch.
Finish work extends beyond the kiln. Glaze trials are kept in a labelled sample box, and every approved finish
is recorded with its recipe and firing curve so that a later batch can match it. Where a project needs a
painted or sealed finish instead, the bench is cleared and the part is prepared, coated and cured under the
lamps in a dust controlled corner. Parts are inspected against the sample tile before release, and any piece
that falls outside the agreed tolerance is set aside and re made rather than quietly shipped.
Processes: firing, glaze trials, sealing, painted finish, sample matching. Typical lead time: seven to twelve working days.
Billboard Row Displays
Billboard row displays are built on the floor and tested on the row itself. The workspace includes a
shortened billboard row of panel displays where finished boards are hung in position so that alignment, colour
and spacing can be judged under the lamp type that will run on site. Panels for transit corridors, event walls
and street facing rows are assembled with a lighting channel and a rear service access point, so a failed
lamp can be reached without dismantling the face.
Each display is checked for flatness across the full width, for consistent colour between panels, and for a
clean edge where boards meet. Hardware is selected for the wall the display will hang on, and a mounting
drawing accompanies every set. Panels are then wrapped, corner protected and packed flat for transport, with
the order of hanging marked on the crate so that the crew on site does not have to sort through the stack.
Replacements can be produced from the retained drawing and colour record.
Scope includes: panel build, lighting channel, rear access, row test hang, mounting drawing. Typical lead time: four to ten working days.