Commercial / Brand
A coffee shop that was more than a placed that served coffee. It was a lifestyle studio. Capturing many vibes and textures, but always making you feel like home away from home.
The brief
Create a third space that made people feel seen and welcome. didn't want another light-and-airy café, rather somewhere that read as evening at noon: low-lit, warm, deliberate. Mixing textures and styles so that it didn't always make sense, but left customers curious what was coming next.
The approach
Worked the brand and the room as one piece. Created a SLOWBAR so customers could take a break and enjoy the moment even if it was just a cup of joe or to therapise with one of the baristas.
The outcome
Open since fall 2023 with a regulars list before the soft open. The brand identity ships across cups, merch, and an Indianapolis-specific 'INDIANA' lockup. The venue closed after three years when lease was up, but the brand lives on creating experiences that foster creativity and connection.
The transformation
Before → After
BeforeAfterMoments in the space
18 views
Skosh, the finished coffee bar with black-walnut cabinetry, brass fixtures, an antler chandelier, and a neon 'the Slow Bar' sign.
An afternoon set: Haley on the mic in denim overalls, a guitarist in a cap beside her, the marbled mural wall behind.
A full house for an evening event, every seat and sofa taken under the hanging plants.
Two musicians sharing a laugh over an acoustic guitar in the corner by the plants.
Two friends over coupe glasses at the black-marble table, merch tees hung on the wall behind.
A regular in a rust jacket sipping from a mug in the window seat, autumn trees out the glass.
Three kids piled onto the velvet sofa with iced drinks, a linen shirt hanging in the mirror behind.
Two customers holding up a Skōsh shopping bag by the retail wall.
A black-and-white frame of the crew lounging across the chairs and sofa under the branch chandelier.
Three friends on the sofa in front of the cowhide wall, a pint and a cocktail on the marble table.
A customer holding up two iced coffees on the crosswalk outside the shop's brick corner storefront.
The Skōsh storefront in a downpour: the wordmark over black-framed windows, a neon lips 'open' sign, and someone getting a piggyback ride past the door.
Two friends and a white dog sitting on the front steps beneath the 'Lifestyle Studio' and Skōsh windows, brick and the mural-wrapped door behind them.
Mid-build: Haley sunk into a cognac leather armchair, feet up, facing the storefront window at dusk with the shop still open studs and bare wiring around her.
The studio side of Skōsh: a hand-painted tree mural reaching across the long white wall, a raised stage with a jute rug and white iron chair, wide-plank floors running back to the marble bar.
The tree mural up close, bare branches spreading across the wall under a black ceiling and a chalk-scrawled hexagon canopy.
The Skōsh crew on a brick front porch: five people around a small white bistro table with Skōsh cups, a Skōsh-branded cowboy hat, a wide-brim white hat, a striped shirt under an army jacket, denim, and a technicolor faux-fur coat over a blazer.
Have a space in mind?
Let’s collab!