making spaces with kelvin ho

Hi Kelvin, can you tell us about the work you created for the bassike 10^th birthday celebrations?

The work is a sphere of rose marble which is a material we used in the strand arcade store. The sphere is made by hand, so although it appears perfect, when you hold it you can feel the slight variations and imperfections of the shape, giving a sense of its organic origins.

Do you remember the first project you worked on with bassike?

The first project I worked on with bassike was the guerilla store at Avalon. It was the first retail space for bassike and as a ‘local’ store it had a huge amount of importance for the brand and myself.

And the most recent? 


The most recent store is the Strand Arcade Store in Sydney. It was a great opportunity to work on a luxury, contemporary brand within a heritage building. Being a women’s only store was really cool, as it gave us an opportunity to create something quite new for the brand.

You collaborated with LA based design studio Early Work on bassike’s Venice store in Los Angeles. Can you tell us a little bit about the concept for the store and how the collaborative process worked?

The store design needed to capture the essence of bassike but also have a local connection. This made the collaboration with Early Work a perfect partnership. We started by sending initial sketches and concepts for the space to Early Work and from there they were able to provide new interpretations of the store elements.

Each bassike store has a slightly different feel about it. How do you and your team work to make each space unique while still incorporating common threads that are true to the brands DNA?

There are common threads that run through the palette of all stores, however, each space also has unique details that set it apart from the others. Our approach to design extends beyond the actual site of the store; we consider neighbouring buildings and the feel of the local area which naturally gives each store a subtle difference.

You also worked on the new bassike head office in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, what were some of the key ideas included in the brief for creating this space?

The key concept for the office design was to create a calming, open space that reflected the brand. The central atrium was important to create this feeling so all the working spaces looked into a tranquil, sun lit space.

How did you celebrate your most recent birthday?

Swimming, pizza and an afternoon sleep.