The Monkey Diaries: Planning Out the Vision

About author / Rebecca Michaels

Queen of the desserts and pastry chef extraordinaire; graduate French Culinary Institute; Golden Scoop Award winner; Flying Monkey Bakery founder

At the moment, I'm in the development phase of the Monkey. I've hired a commercial interior design company to design the space. Hiring a professional space planner, whether it be an architect or interior designer, was a must for this location. My shop's location at the Reading Terminal Market is a historical property and all plans must be approved by the Historic Commission (as well as the Philly Food Protection Department) before construction can begin.

I met with a few designers before settling on the company that I'm going with. Choosing a designer was very interesting process; you realize that you and she must connect in some way so that she can plan out the vision that you have in your head. Or if you don't have a vision, but have a feeling for what you want. I immediately felt comfortable with this company, whose clean and simple feng shui-inspired portfolio matched well with the vision that was in my head: clean, simple, and playful, with lots of light.

I asked Jeremy Alexis, an architecture professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology about working with space planners. "There are generally two types of designers: those who think design would be a great profession if it weren't for the clients, and those who think great design comes from great clients." Phew! I felt the firm that I had chosen was definitely in the latter camp. Alexis went on to say that the second philosophy "requires collaboration and co-design, both which are becoming buzz words in the design profession. Here, designers engage the client to better understand their needs, and then actually listen to them. This requires more work from the designer, and trust on both sides. However, the results tend to speak for themselves."

My designer and I worked together to create my vision. She has the design expertise to be able to make what was in my mind's eye happen. I have the professional experience to know how I wanted to use my space most efficiently--and also how I wanted it to evoke that Flying Monkey feeling, if you will. It's what I would call simply "classic with a twist."

The general idea behind designing the bakery was that people love to watch pastry being made and cakes being decorated. So it will be (with approval of course!)! One side of the stall will have a glass wall just above the countertop so that visitors can take a gander at how we do our baking thing. And as a consumer of food products that other people prepare, it's just kind of reassuring knowing that what you put in your mouth is made in a clean and thoughtful place by clean and thoughtful people. Trust me, I've worked in many restaurants.

So, if all goes well, the plans will be approved. I'm fairly confident the Market will go for the concept, but if we need to tweak it, we will tweak. I'm also confident that there will be some changes made as we go along through the process, but this is just a normal part of the whole shebang. If there's one thing I've learned about opening a small business so far, it's "Roll With the Punches!"