Gallery, cafe dream alight at old button factory

A firefighter plans to use a rundown Cheltenham warehouse to ignite his passion for art.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade firefighter Phillip Smith was one of the first respondents to the listing of 14 Hamlet St late last year, snapping it up for $1.9 million after it passed in at auction.

Smith, who is retiring from the MFB in April after nearly 30 years as a firefighter, plans to convert the former button factory and bricklaying warehouse into an art gallery and cafe.

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“I’ve been doing art for about five years — linocuts and sculptures — and I’ve been looking for a warehouse in Cheltenham for some time,” he says.

“I wanted a place to be creative and where creative people in the community could work on their art.

The old button factory at 14 Hamlet St in Cheltenham.

“It will be a co-workable space with offices to rent out on the second level for professional-creative people.

“There will also be an event area for product launches and an outdoor garden.”

And the new gallery will be a chance for Smith to collaborate with his whole family.

His daughter Alice, a graphic designer-turned jewellery maker, and her husband Jules, a woodworking apprentice, will work alongside him.

The button factory will be reborn as a gallery and workspace, as well as a cafe.

His parents will also have a special place in the building, with the art gallery and cafe to be named after his father and mother, Ross and Dot.

Smith is now keen to begin work on his mission at the 1950s-built factory.

“It’s a lovely old factory and I feel incredibly lucky to have found it — and to be able to dedicate it to art,” he says.

“It’s a very exciting time.”

MFB firefighter Phil Smith plans to convert a Cheltenham button factory into an art gallery and cafe. Picture: Wayne Taylor.

Brix Property Group director Adam Brick, who sold the warehouse to Mr Smith with James Davie of DBRE Moorabbin as the selling agent, said the building had plenty of character and seeing it converted into an art co-op was a big sign of change in the area.

“Richmond and Fitzroy are coming to Bayside,” he says.

“There’s already a boutique brewery and art gallery nearby and I think Mr Smith’s idea will go down really well.”

Smith says the gallery and cafe should be open by the middle of this year.

This article from Leader Newspapers was originally published as “Firefighter’s Cheltenham button factory win sets art dream aflame”.