VAN MORRISON.
Interior designer, Mina Staples reached out to van designer, Cooee Conversions to co-design the perfect multi-purpose van; a beautiful, sophisticated mobile design studio by day and a footloose and fancy-free pad for weekend adventures.
FOOT-LOOSE AND FANCY-FREE
The pivot for me was to invest some energy into my creative journey - which is where Cooee Conversions comes in! I decided to invest in my friend, Samantha’s van building company since she was the new kid on the block and a clever woman in business who needed support. I wanted to work with her to create something beautiful and feminine and also allow myself the freedom to have fun and be my own client for a change. Utilising my ideas and finishes with her expertise in small spaces was such a fun journey!
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION?
I am definitely a city girl, but I crave travelling and escaping into nature as much as I can. Covid compounded this but the clincher was flying to the NT to do the Larapinta Trail trek. I was away for 3 weeks and I left my dog, Frankie Bear behind. It is the longest time I have been away from her since she was a pup and I realised I couldn’t do any more adventures without her. Our time together is so short and I wanted to be able to take my little sidekick to as many places as possible, so what better excuse than kitting out a van? I wanted a multi-purpose vehicle for adventure weekends, long summer road trips and also a mobile office for presenting to clients. I carry a lot of samples to meetings to make it easier for my clients, but it means being the crazy bag lady and I have to admit that walking a few blocks with heavy sample bags in tow is not always ideal!
TELL US ABOUT THE DESIGN
I wanted it to be footloose and fancy-free, plus I didn’t want to worry about throwing a board in and a wet dog and hitting the road. I also wanted a means to be able to showcase special finishes and to save my back from carrying all my design samples, so the van had to be multi-purposed for work and play. We wanted to create something truly unique in the market which would hopefully gain some interest in the #vanlife world and help boost Cooee Conversions profile to the next level. Samanth is unique in her industry, she has a rare ability to create a van that meets a women’s wants and needs and not be just a functional machine. I wanted the van to be carefree, tactile, uniquely fresh and fun yet durable!
FAVOURITE DESIGN ASPECT
Oh now that’s hard, it was always all about the curves and playing with the notion of old and new!! The curved birch ply roofline was designed to wrap around you like you are looking down a barrel of a green wave. The deep green barrel was done in specialty paint finish - created by my genius artesian, Peter Holmes from Tadelakt Sydney. His brief was that I wanted a waxed plaster aesthetic but it had to be flexible and not crack with vibrations & would be easy to clean.
Van Morrison felt like he needed a vintage vibe so one little detail that took it to that nostalgic level was the bespoke whiskey-dyed Italian leather that was lovingly detailed by the genius Atelier Stefani. Stephanie upholstered the sideboard lift-up lids. Being a natural aniline leather it will patina over time, and age and become more and more tactile, supple and sexier with marking and age, like an old English grampy chair.
BEST ADVENTURE SO FAR
My best Van Morrison trip was spending 3 weeks travelling south from Foster to Mallacoota and back chasing the sun and discovering all the dog beaches down the coast and geo-tagging them for future trips. It was one EPIC adventure with little Frank. I had a killer tan and she was blonde after that haha.
WHAT’S NEXT?
My next adventure is a big trip up north to see friends in Crescent Head, Bellingen and then go further inland to Nymboida. The floods have put a dampner on those plans for now but soon!!
To read more about Mina, see her full story - here. If you need inspiration designing a van contact:
Mina at www.minastaples.com or @minastaplesinteriors
Collaborators: @cooeeconversions, Tadelakt Sydney and Atelier Stefani