WE FINALLY GOT A SHOP!
Having a shop for Checkpoint felt like a bit of a “moonshot” that I wasn’t sure would happen for a very long time; but sometimes everything aligns and even your wildest dreams come true.
It wasn’t too long after Pop-Up III when our friend Milo asked if we would be interested in sharing a shop with him. Even though this seemed early to us and we weren’t sure what to expect, we figured we might as well check it out just to see what’s out there. As soon as we walked into what would eventually become our warehouse, our eyes filled with stars, and we reeled over how much potential the space truly had.
The shop walls were filthy, the office looked like an old elementary school, and the mezzanine looked like OSHA’s worst nightmare. Regardless, none of this seemed like too big of a challenge; rather, these all felt like exciting projects for us to tackle.
Alex had just finished painting his new house and was pretty much a pro with the rollers, and there was nothing more he wanted to do than take on an even larger painting project (I’m sure). The first thing we did was go to the store and buy eleven gallons of paint (including the beautiful green epoxy floor paint that the lady seemed less than enthusiastic to mix for us), and get to work. We were touched by how many of our friends came over just to grab a brush or a roller and help us out.
The green flooring was inspired by the countless shops in Japan that share the same decor and has easily become my favourite part of the shop. As far as renovations usually go, we argued a bit about what colour to paint the walls…(XD)… But, as a team, we made happy compromises and figured out a style that everyone was excited about.
Styling the shop came together really quickly, mostly thanks to Dylan, who was a Facebook Marketplace legend and found such great decor and accessories. Rather than spending hours upon hours filling holes and painting the walls, we decided to cover them with nobori flags instead, which I think looks incredible. The blank (but dirty) canvas that was our walls served as the perfect place to display our line of flags as well as our collection of flags that we have collected from friends and supporters.
The enclosed office space is intended to be something of a showroom for us, a place where we can have all of our goods on display along with other fun knick-knacks that contribute to the atmosphere. The mezzanine will serve as our shipping station, but also has a couch and a TV so that we can get our friends together and watch Family Guy funny moments on repeat for hours on end.
The shop came together in the blink of an eye, and we’re so proud of how it looks. Not only is it the coolest thing ever, but it’s inspiring being in our own space – a place that we can call “The Home of Checkpoint”. For me, the best part of this experience was seeing how everyone came together to make it happen. Checkpoint wouldn’t be what it is if not for the people involved, not just the official team but everyone who truly supports us. This shop feels representative of that.
I was previously renting another shop space where my Skyline was being stored. As much as I liked that one, I never really got the chance to go there because it was very out of the way. I’d also be lying if I said that this shop wasn’t a huge upgrade for me and will make working on my car infinitely easier now that I have access to a lift and more tools than just a Stanley socket set.
The final step in making this shop feel like home was bringing everyone’s cars there, including the team, Cressida and the Alphard. Seeing all of our cars, together for the first time, and lined up outside was quite the spectacle. It was exciting to bring a new life to our shop (probably for everyone else, not me, though, as having my car outside as it sits probably brought the property value down about 37%). All I could think about were the endless adventures we were going to have there. We did make our dreams come true.
