Black Blaze Paddington: Fragrance and Timber

COMMERCIAL · PADDINGTON, SYDNEY

Black Blaze first opened its shop at 58 Oxford Street in Sydney in 2019. As its homewares range grew, the fragrance-led store needed a new approach to display. The brand commissioned Strutt Studios to redesign the existing premises, making room for vases, lighting and furniture alongside the bottles.

The shop measures just 36 square metres. Displays line both side walls, with an island in the middle and a passage leading from the entrance to the rear window. Despite the limited floor area, there is room for a round table and chairs beside the window.

Central island, timber display shelves on both sides and rear window — The central island stands between two runs of shelving, with the window visible beyond.

Room for objects of different sizes

Products of different sizes occupy different display areas. Timber shelving along the walls provides shelves at varying heights for small bottles and boxed goods, while the central island and freestanding plinths display individual objects.

Wall shelving and a wall light on the timber end panel — Long shelves line the wall, with a wall light mounted on the vertical timber element at one end.

Small fragrance bottles and boxed products on timber shelves — Small fragrance bottles are grouped on a timber shelf, with boxed products above.

The island’s metal top projects beyond the timber cabinet, its angled edges facing the passages on either side. Nearby, cylindrical elements support a timber partition, with a small tray suspended on fine wires in front of it.

Timber partition on cylindrical supports beside a passage — Cylindrical supports sit beneath a timber partition, with a passage beside it and a freestanding plinth in front.

Small tray suspended on fine wires in front of timber panelling — A small tray hangs from fine wires in front of the timber panelling.

Timber, metal and light from the window

The materials and colours draw on Black Blaze’s updated visual identity and packaging. Darker timber is paired with cork cladding and terracotta-coloured floor tiles. The upper walls are pale, while the central island has a metal top.

Daylight enters at an angle, casting patches of light and shadow across the timber panelling and tiled floor. Wall lights sit between the shelving units, and concealed linear lights beneath the shelves illuminate individual displays.

Timber panelling, wall light and reddish-brown floor tiles in angled daylight — Light from the side illuminates timber panelling and floor tiles; a wall light sits between two groups of shelves.

Dark timber shelving with lighting beneath the shelves — Linear lighting is recessed beneath dark shelves, with objects arranged between the vertical supports.

Near the rear window, vases stand on the metal countertop. The window frame casts its shadow on the wall behind, and light from the side picks out the edges of the timber fittings and objects.

Passage between the angled island countertop and wall shelving — Looking towards the rear window from beside the island, a passage runs between the angled metal countertop and the wall shelving.

Two vases on a metal countertop and a window frame shadow on the wall — Two vases stand on the metal countertop, with the window frame’s shadow on the wall behind.

A place to sit at the back

At the back of the shop, a round table stands beside the shelving. Chairs sit near the window, and a few cups and pots occupy two wall shelves. Within a shop largely devoted to display, this area offers somewhere to sit and pause.

The redesigned store also features lighting, furniture, ceramics and bonsai by Australian designers and makers. These pieces sit alongside the fragrance range.

Round table, chairs and shelves of vessels by the rear window — A round table and chairs sit beside the rear window, with a few cups and pots on two wall shelves.

Five people posing beside the table inside the shop — Five people pose beside the round table at the rear, with timber fittings and wall lights behind them.

Dark central island and a wall with timber below and a pale finish above — An open gap runs beneath the island’s dark cabinet front; timber panelling meets the pale upper wall behind it.

Vases and vessels lit from the side on dark shelves — Light from the side falls on vases on a dark shelf and smaller vessels below.

Facing the street, the timber-framed entrance adjoins a display window with reddish-brown brick cladding below. Products and shelving are visible through the glass, while the number 58 and a Black Blaze lightbox sit above the entrance.

Timber entrance, lightbox and brick-clad display window at 58 Oxford Street — Reddish-brown brick cladding sits beneath the display window beside the timber-framed entrance, with the lightbox and street number above.

Dark shopfront and street entrance at the base of a pale building — The dark shopfront faces the street at the base of a pale building.

Strutt Studios has reorganised the displays around an expanding product range, carrying the brand’s colours and material textures into the interior. Passages between the shelving and island, together with seating by the rear window, give this small shop space for people to sit and pause as well as browse its products.

Project credits

Project — Black Blaze Paddington (name used in this article)
Location — Paddington, Sydney, Australia
Address — 58 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021
Project type — Fragrance and homewares shop refurbishment
Interior design — Strutt Studios
Client — Black Blaze
Area — 36 m²
Shopfitting — Trinity Shopfitting
Photography — Nic Gossage
Images and original feature — New Norm
Additional sources — Black Blaze, Yellowtrace
Editorial adaptation — 01DES