Boko Built Our Tasting Room

Boko is a collaborative design studio based out of a workshop in New Hamburg that aims to create a community resource through shared access to tools and a facility for designers to prototype new ideas. What Boko is or does is hard to explain though, even for Boko designer and founder Adam Schwartzentruber. "That's really existential", he says, describing that Boko has been an idea all his life that continues to evolve. Adam describes himself as a futurist, maker and creative thinker, which is exactly who Four All needed when we wanted to transform our tasting room into a creative space. The connection between Boko and Four All Ice Cream began with our first custom-built ice cream cart.

To date, Adam has completed and collaborated on many different projects including large wall and floor murals, market stalls and kiosks, furniture and tables, interior walls and planters, props for film, a tiny home, large sculpture projects, digital media, signs and much more. When Adam took on the task of designing our small tasting room, he wanted to do his best not to over-complicate the space. Alongside Ajoa, they sought simple moves that made the room look clean and feel fresh and warm.

As the construction starts to come to a finish, Adam explains that all the feature details work together to complete the space. One of his favourite features though is the floor that Ajoa stencilled herself. "The floor is one of the reasons why I let everything else remain simple and uncomplicated, and it was really fun to work against", Adam mentions. Once we open, he hopes the part customers appreciate and notice the most in the tasting room is the ice cream: "I hope they love the space, but I'm hoping that it all makes the experience the most important thing to soak up and remember/appreciate".

Thinking about our approaching opening of the tasting room, Adam is looking forward to the two Vegan flavours for May, Mint Chocolate Chip and Rhubarb Sorbet, claiming he could devour an entire pail of either one. He is also looking forward to what the rest of 2017 has in store for Boko. There are a bunch of projects in the works and their workshop is bringing in a couple new tools that they are really excited to experiment with. Adam is also rearranging the studio space to make room for new members, including his wife Stephanie Boutari, who is a designer and artist, and another architecture/design intern. He believes that this year will be a big year for all of them.

In the end, Adam says he really enjoyed working with Four All, "I felt like we were a team - I love it when my clients become friends and work with me to create the space they dreamed about. Just seeing the positive reactions we have had so far from the Four All team and everyone in the building has really made all the extra efforts worth it." 

Read more about Boko on their website, and follow their Instagram and Facebook to see what they're working on.