Sat outside on a cold Thursday morning, there was something different about this bench. Not your average bench, The Bench, based in Digbeth’s custard factory is the only graffiti store in Birmingham with people and artists travelling from all over to visit this rare and unique shop. The Bench caters for a niche audience, providing amazing street artists with equipment and the latest info on what’s on in the graffiti world. We managed to take a seat with Rob, owner of ‘The Bench’ in order to discover his thoughts and feelings behind what it means to call the Custard Factory home.
Rob has managed to create a colourful history as seen here, exposed by this vibrant display, representative of his art, after a night out at the Digbeth, he realised that custard factory was the place for him, he chose it for the fact that it is biggest up and coming area in Birmingham and “the” creative place to be, with unique shops and boutiques around.
Before his days at ‘The Bench’, Rob engaged with young people in community based work for a company called ‘CRUNCH’. Providing them with guidance on knowledge gained from Street Art. As newcomer to the Custard Factory, ‘The Bench’ has only been established for four months during the economic downturn which hasn’t affected him at all.
His business has continued to grow through magazines, the internet and word of mouth. He has found it to be a very creative environment, allowing him to express his arrival, with a recent project encompassing the streets of Digbeth which he organised. If there was one piece of advice he could give to someone starting out, it would be to promote your business on a competitive scale that would create awareness on a significant level.