South Carolina studios SDCO and Primary Tasks have overhauled a Charleston waterfront restaurant with a nostalgic design that extends to every little thing from interiors to memorabilia.
Modern particulars seem within the redesigned Sullivan's Fish Camp, however are interwoven with retro components to create an aesthetic that respects the restaurant's lengthy historical past.
Situated on Sullivan's Island on the entrance to Charleston Harbor, the household restaurant has been serving chilly beers and seafood to locals and beachgoers for over 35 years.
Amy Pastre and Courtney Rowson from model technique studio SDCO labored carefully with Kate and Ben Towill from interiors studio Primary Tasks to ship a cohesive visible id.
Daring typography, cartoon-style illustrations, classic artwork and furnishings, and playful messaging are included within the reimagined restaurant expertise.
“The design intent was to create a world that evokes the delight and affection that generations of holiday makers have had for the unique, family-owned restaurant,” Pastre and Rowson stated.
“Some particulars really feel fashionable, others nostalgic. Skilled collectively, company can't ensure if it's 1982 or 2024.”
Exterior, Sullivan's Fish Camp is written in giant hand-painted letters over a distinguished crimson roof, figuring out the restaurant as an area landmark.
Different graphic design cues embody drawings of the constructing's exterior and two hand-drawn characters: a “jolly captain” and Captain Sully, the “salty-sea-meets-fish captain”.
The restaurant's inside partitions are lined in art work that continues the seaside and maritime themes, from a stitched portrait of a fisherman to a lobster portray by native artist Katherine Dunlap.
Commissioned works embody fish illustrations by “Carolina legend” Duane Raver, whose work additionally seems on the tables, and a big sculpture of a marlin fish.
“It was essential to maintain what felt inherently proper for the story and the area,” Pastre and Rowson stated.
“We wished to pay homage to seaside fish camps whereas bringing modernity to the model and expertise,” they stated. “No nook was left untouched.”
The designers commissioned an area carpenter to construct furnishings components, together with tables, bench seats and a counter that frames the merchandise show and ice cream window.
Primary Tasks sourced lots of the different furnishings and lighting objects from vintage markets in addition to Ebay and Etsy. A stained glass pendant lamp is likely one of the most placing finds.
“My background is in movie set design, so I beloved each a part of the supply,” stated Kate Towill.
Sturdiness was an essential consideration; heavy rains and excessive tides may cause the restaurant to flood, whereas beachgoers deliver a whole lot of sand to their ft.
“We get them on the seashore with sand and salt,” Towill stated.
“The flooring are VCT (vinyl composite board) and all wooden is stress handled and sealed with marine grade sealant.”
SDCO has designed a variety of merchandise together with keychains, hats, tote baggage, hoodies, t-shirts, bottle openers and stickers.
Customized design additionally extends to tableware.
The cups are labeled with Sullivan's Fish Camp branding, whereas the plates characteristic scalloped scallop illustrations that reference the border of the unique 1988 menu.
“The result’s a feel-good area that takes you on a journey by means of meals, drink, design, nostalgia and memorabilia that create indelible recollections,” Pastre and Rowson added.
Sullivan's Fish Camp is the most recent in a sequence of notable design initiatives in Charleston, a metropolis that has seen an inflow of creatives over the previous decade.
Others embody the Publish Home boutique lodge, additionally designed by Primary Tasks, and the lately opened Worldwide African American Museum, designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Companions and Moody Nolan.