Designing Ferndale

As we prepare to open our newest cafe in Ferndale this June, we asked Grant Wortley, Brand Designer at Madcap Coffee, to share a few of the details and decisions that helped shape the space.

Ferndale feels different... what were some of the small details or design choices that helped shape the personality of this space?

We want each cafe to have its own personality. Some of our other cafes are predominately white and black. With our Ferndale Cafe, we wanted to step outside of that and explore other materials, textures, and colors.

You'll still see familiar white and black but there will be introductions to new materials - chunky 6" x 6" timber, blocks of lime stone, and black patina stainless steel.

Additionally, we want the space to feel free-flowing and open, particularly around our service bar. To lean into this, the bar is a peninsula in style, inviting guests to use and walk around three of the sides. Further, the main bar is broken into three separate rectangles, allowing our team access to front of house or access behind bar from four different avenues.

You've been closely involved in the look and feel of Ferndale from early on. Is there a part of the cafe you're especially excited for people to experience in person?

You never really know how people are going to interact with a space until you invite them in. I'm particularly excited about our variety of seating options. We'll have your approachable two top and window bar seating. But then we'll offer some other options such as tiered stadium seating, low tables surrounded by a bench and stools, and we'll have several high-top stools available right at the service bar for a more intimate coffee experience.

Before someone even tastes the coffee, the space says a lot. What feeling did you want people to have when they walk into Ferndale for the first time?

Hospitality is first and foremost. Upon walking in, we want our guests to feel welcome and taken care of. But we also want to expand the boundaries around what a coffee shop might look like and communicate. We're using a lot of durable materials that are built to last - an integral mindset of the designers we're working with, Black Helmut. But in contrast, the space will be softened with white cedar wood, intentional plants, fresh cut flowers, and an abundance of natural light.

We always try to create an intentionally designed space that communicates how intentional we are about coffee and hospitality.