Those of you who know us know of our fondness for great photography and you’ll also know we have daily stuff going on at The Chimney House – in The Meeting Room or in The Pop Up Dining Hall that we don’t often get to shoot in the haste of daily life… So here’s a mini attempt at a daily pic… We thought of this a few days ago… So here’s a couple to be getting on with!
We have to say it (even though it’s not very modest…) but last night’s Pop up Shop was THE most beautifully stylish of shops…
The evening aptly named Cocktails & Macaroons and was hosted by 3 of the UK’s leading ladies in style, creativity and fashion Roanna Wells, India Hobson and Yaelle Caplan who brought their respective brands to The Chimney House with indulgent purchasing pleasure in mind. Bringing to Sheffield an edge of European glam mixed with the best of British.
We had a multitude of the good and the great in attendance…and shopaholics everywhere came to peruse and purchase. This is what else we did…
We sipped glorious French Martinis and divine Elderflower Collins’ gracefully and expertly made by the wondrous of cocktail makers and shakers (as well as being rather handsome) The Old House.
We nibbled (some more so than others!) the most dainty of Parisian treats delectable macaroons which literally fell out of every orifice of The Chimney House and into very eager mouths and hands…
We basked the in ambient surrounds…
The bar made us more cocktails…
And admired our very chic guests…
We enjoyed cool future house vibes and tunes – esp Sheffieldien Kathy Diamond…
And admired the new Pop Up Shop neon…
And altogether had a shoppingly fabulous time!
Thanks to all involved…especially the uber talented Roanna Wells, India Hobson and Yaelle Caplan – we LOVED having you at The Chimney House! Plus thanks to all of our guests for coming along and spend spend spending!! Also thanks to 93ft’s Rich for snaps and styles.
The next Pop Up Shop will be Popping up in May… keep very posted for more!
NEWS FLASH!!!! 300 is the magic number!
So we all know that The Chimney House has been restored as The Meeting Room to bring a glimmer of excitement and dare we say inspiration into meetings and proceedings through our translation of the restoration of our building and the creation of our brand (take a breath)– we’ve had some great feedback from our guests thus far… So are feeling pleased with the thus far so far…So when the chaps from Creative Pantry (Ben Duong, Jonny Douglas and Clare MacKenzie) approach us and say… ‘We want to run the first EVER official Sheffield Pecha Kucha event at The Chimney House’ we naturally said ‘yes please’ followed by ‘what is it?’ This is what they said…
Creative Pantry Presents The Official Pecha Kucha Night Sheffield Launch (Devised and shared by Klein Dytham architecture)
Pecha Kucha, meaning ‘chit chat’ in Japanese is an event phenomenon bringing creative worlds and talents together. Currently running in over 281 countries worldwide, the event was first started in Japan 2003 by the architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham.
Did we think we’d get more celebs running through the door at The Chimney House than we could chase up the stairs and round and round the room… of course we did. After our Heaven 17 biscuit eating experience (and very stylish interview and film making) we had high expectations…and naturally being of a positive and optimistic personality the standards had been set.
So who should call us and ask to use The Chimney House for his own personal use for the duration of his time in the UK (whilst over from LA) for interviews and star studded filming but Glenn Foster himself (He’s the one in the pic above jumping around on roof tops in a Bond sequence)
So these are the facts… Glenn Foster – stuntman to the rich, famous, most talented and brightest stars in the world – nominated for 2 World Stunt Awards (to be hosted in Hollywood in May) had decided that The Chimney House suited his style and tastes and would be the perfect base to hold court to the press and chat about his awe inspiring rise to the dizzy heights of the top of the tree.
And we are talking the top… See if you recognise any of these people that Glenn has worked with… I struggled – but you may find some familiar… So he’s Robert Downey Junior’s stunt double (Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man 2 – people on set included Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mickey Rourke )
He has also starred (as an actor) in Bond (Quantum of Solace) and was responsible for pinching the limelight on more than several occasions – including the opening scenes with Daniel Craig (Casino Royale)and to list a few more blockbusters – why not… The Dark Knight, National Treasure, The Golden Compass, The Bourne Ultimatum, Munich, Alexander… you get the picture.
So as the UK press descend – and a rigorous round of interviews commence we’re there cheering him on… we’d have liked it if he did a stunt jump off the top of our chimney into the goit water below… but we’ve heard there are some pretty ferocious Pike in there…and that would be a whole different story…
Check out his story(told in The Chimney House)…keep very posted for more!
The Star Watch out for The Chimney House hitting small screens EVERYWHERE!!!
The Star Part 2
The lovely Tracey was one of the first ever photographers we let into The Chimney House… she came in when it it was still dusty and part derelict …being a cool sort of a gal she loved it even then and we decided to use it as a location to shoot a shot for her top exhibition ‘Cogs’. Of course we are in the company of the great and the good in her portfolio as she is a globetrotting, high profile musician snapping, top brand attracting creative photographer… who happens to have snapped the fabulous and the downright cool including the Arctic Monkeys, Groove Armada, Paul Weller, Heaven 17, La Roux alongside top jobs from The Observer, NME and Channel 4…. Oh yes AND working for Retna one of the world’s leading picture agencies.
Fabulously and famously easy to get on with and drives the best motor – which looks particularly perfect in front of The Chimney House she is high achieving and high octane performance. She fits in with our Chimney House ethos perfectly. She also like chocolate fondant flavoured sugar in her brew which makes her double right in our mince pies.
Electro synthpop gods Heaven 17 came and ate biscuits in The Chimney House last week – along with super cool director Mr James Strong who said this about our Chimney House….
‘The Chimney House was a great place to shoot. A beautiful main room with its lovely design, layout and stylish mix of modern and old design perfectly captures the modern style of the city of Sheffield. It’s also very quiet and the shortbread’s yummy.’
Of course they didn’t just eat biscuits – they were also filming NOW AS IT WAS THEN: Heaven 17 the making of Penthouse & Pavement directed by the said Mr Strong.
They took over The Meeting Room and used our parquet table and 93ft chimney with Tom Newell’s illustration of Sarah and the fish to set the scene. The mood was buoyant, creative, focused and celeb ridden with a hint of flamboyance…you know… film star like – just how we like it in The Chimney House…. Our expectations are sky high now…we want more stars in our Chimney. Please form a not so orderly queue at the door.
The day after they hot footed it off to Magna – for their live world premier of their 1981 album ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ to a huge crowd of loving fans… ‘come back soon to The Chimney House and see us again’ we shouted at the tops of our voices… I think they heard us.
Images courtesy of NOW AS IT WAS THEN: Heaven 17 the making of Penthouse & Pavement. Directed by James Strong. (C) STRONG PICTURES 2010
We always wanted to know someone called Edmund… and now we do. He’s a temporary resident at The Chimney House between the 25th March and 22nd of April 10 for an exhibition of Wildago’s art along with Pearl and various friends (who he doesn’t know) So I do hope they don’t bump into each other, (gosh, the responsibility!) … as their destiny hasn’t been written – or should I say painted yet. Their stories so far are shown through the art of Wildago – who captures their series of adventures and daily musings through life in a series of paintings. Wildago is one of the UK’s most exciting emerging artists and we are delighted to have a sleepover for Pearl and Edmund… they are as real as you or I when you get to know them… so sleepover does seem more fitting for them….
Catch the Wildago show at The Chimney House from the 25th March – 22nd April. Please book in advance to view.
Our chosen one… in terms of who we let loose with a paint brush and 3 tins of paint on our precious 93ft chimney. Tom the Sheffield hot shot who is a Dazed & Confused Mag regular and also John Richmond’s artist to accessorise his Parisian store… was the man on a mission to paint us the story of The Chimney House and Kelham Island. So we lured him to the Island, put him in the freezing room with builders, no lights, no kettle (half done and very dusty) and said get on with it…
