Cockburns of Leith is a heritage wine merchant and importer with a trading history dating back to 1796.  Under the ownership of Murray Capital since 2010, it is now an integral subsidiary of Wine Importers Edinburgh Ltd. Murray Capital also own Chateau Routas a vineyard in the heart of Provence, France which currently produces c. 20,000 cases of estate grown wine sold on trade and through the Cockburns of Leith retail unit in Frederick Street, Edinburgh.

 The ongoing ownership and care of brand legacy, values and sustainability are crucial for a company like Cockburns of Leith.  Considerations such as to how the retail team demonstrate superlative customer service and great pride in belonging to a heritage brand, through to the cost value and sustainability of each material used alongside how the brand is embodied throughout the customer experience without significant cost outlay, forms part of the decision-making process. Every detail and aspect of each customer touch point is carefully thought through.

 Supertonic were engaged to design and fit out the stately Georgian Edinburgh retail premises, merging the refurbishment of two challenger brands: Chateau Routas and Cockburns of Leith into a cohesive customer experience and environment.

 Part of the brief was to help define and clarify the brand while raising awareness of its value.  Considerable effort went into breaking down all aspects of both the Cockburns of Leith and the Chateau Routas brands to help explain the intention and synergy of each element of each. Supertonic identified that the heritage of Cockburn’s of Leith aligned to the quality, sustainability and knowledge of the team from Chateau Routas should come together in a carefully crafted retail interior supportive of a series of flexible education and taste experiences. By curating core product ranges to enable a cohesive customer experience, Supertonic considered every last detail – from the display of product through to the play of colour, light and texture throughout the flexible retail space.

 Symbiotic of the design approach were discussions regarding the tiled mosaic in the doorway step, a significant cost for a small piece of work.  However, the WOW factor created by this entrance delivers significant cost value, inviting customers to step inside while also creating clear brand distinction.

 Supertonic were praised for their hands-on approach with particular reference to planning, communication and end to end project management skills.  The client noted that they “didn’t have to worry” as Supertonic took charge of the project.  Of particular note was the Supertonic approach to  problem solving while never letting go of the end vision and outcome.

 You can visit the Cockburns of Leith retail experience at

48a Frederick St, Edinburgh EH2 1EX

 Or visit their website at https://www.cockburnsofleith.co.uk

As a 4th generation family-owned Gelateria, Jannettas enjoys a 115-year heritage.  Continually  evolving and adapting to customer needs and focusing on delivering exceptional product and service lies at the heart of the approach of co-owners Owen and Nicola Hazel.

Brand Cornerstones

High level lens.

Supertonic’s approach to this iconic local brand was to look at its provenance, its people and its place in the local community, creating an environment which combines all elements while still retaining focus on the flavors of its core product; Gelato.

When walking into the St Andrews store customers will experience a world of choice and colour and taste sensation.  They will feast their eyes on the easily adaptable flavor wall of choice, followed by the tasty bites in the self-selection chillers.  Following the flow of service, they will turn towards the brightly lit multitude of home-made Italian cakes alongside the myriad of crisply lit gelato .  The friendly and knowledgeable staff stationed at the various counters encourage patrons to taste various flavours before selecting their choice. They will also offer customers a choice of how they would like their gelato served; in tubs or cones of various sizes, with a multitude of toppings or au natural.

Many customers exclaim over the blend of traditional service merged with a progressive design environment which invites them to explore both new and traditional Gelato products alongside the finest Italian coffee, tea or hot chocolate.  They may even watch the magic happen as the Gelato creation often occurs at the retail point of service.

A warm welcome awaits

Step into a world of WOW!

This is a modern, progressive Gelateria at work.  A fusion blend of flavor and experience that takes its provenance seriously, listening to and responding with visiting and local customers while simultaneously looking to the future.

A world of flavour

Simply laid out to help you choose.

T

As Owen explains “the level of enjoyment I have when I see customer faces who are not expecting this level of design, service or experience brings me great pleasure.  Supertonic helped us create a WOW factor that starts from the moment you walk in”.

Owen shares that in working with Supertonic he has experienced way more than a traditional interior design service.  In the process of understanding his brand and his business and creating a matching environment, they have “opened my eyes to what this business means to others, not just to us”.

He is already planning his next expansion and upgrade and is clear that with Supertonic as his trusted partner of choice, that Jannetta’s ongoing success will continue.

An award-winning small craft distillery, situated in the wild and remote north of Scotland, Dunnet Bay Distillers was set up just over a decade ago by husband-and-wife team, Martin and Claire Murray with a vision to create a sustainable industry and environment for the local community to thrive.

In this time, Martin and Claire have mastered the art of white liquor distilling and the creation  and building of distinctive brands.  They are now turning their considerable time and energy towards restoring a rundown Mill into the home of Northern whisky distilling while at the same time building a constantly evolving environment to support local community entrepreneurship.

In engaging with Supertonic they were immediately struck by the level of interest expressed in the location and environment, drawing upon the heritage in stone, seed and water and the resilience and hardiness of these and this most Northern community of Highland Scots.

High Level Lens for Castletown Mill

Martin explains “we knew what we wanted , we just didn’t know how to create this into reality, Supertonic drew this into life”. 

Linking local materials into brand enhancement

 By visiting site, initial drawings were immediately enhanced by greater understanding of stone and slate, colours and materials, situated in and around the old Mill.  Martin is now finding and keeping all artifacts on site, and with the help of Supertonic exploring what these mean, so the stories, myths and legends from around the area can be woven into the fabric of the Old Mill restoration project and customer experience.  Martin explains “Supertonic have changed our thinking from the creation of a static space to an ever-evolving building which offers flexible space, accessible to all”.  With Supertonic as a partner, the concept is to create an environment  with distinct seasonality which moves and changes as more is uncovered.  This also invites an added bonus of a continuously evolving visitor experience, exciting for both locals and repeat visitors.   

As they wait for planning permission to come through, Martin and Supertonic are in regular touch.  Martin speaks of their ability to “see things that others don’t see” and cites an example of how he now thinks about light; harnessing the daylight of the wide Caithness skies to create luminosity in a space and conversely how to use the darkness of the night sky to create atmosphere and warmth.

Integrating light and colour

Martin is adamant that this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship with Supertonic and that by working together they will create a building and environment testament to its people, its heritage and to time itself.

The R&A exists to make the game of golf more appealing, accessible and inclusive to help ensure its future.  The organisation would like to see greater participation in the game, by all kinds of people and to help, they know the perception of golf needs to change.  This is why The R&A created GOLF IT!  A brand-new replicable blueprint for Golf.

The R&A engaged with Supertonic to implement the GOLF IT! brand which  had been developed and to oversee and visualise the overall creative and customer journey strategy for the whole project. Supertonic essentially helped bring the project  and brand to life.  The R&A tells us  “it was like a meteorite had been dropped into the project.  From the beginning Supertonic listened and took our creative thoughts and ideas to the next level, turning concepts into 3D drawings, developing ideas and the masterplan on the back of our customer research data, which added real value to the project and our strategy”.

Oculus imagery of front entrance

Supertonic developed a 3D render of the proposed physical environment and then invited The R&A client team to wear Oculus headsets to step inside the concept. This visual communication tool was used to bring internal stakeholders on a new journey for the governing body. This world-first facility challenges everything about the sport in a bid to attract a new audience to the game as well as to  and to inspire the next generation. Supertonic also designed, developed, and produced a video story to further articulate the entire project.  These visual communications were key to inspiring all stakeholders with the new concept and helped to secure significant support and funding from both commercial partners and government.

The importance of shared values when working on a cutting-edge project, challenging the status quo and imagining new ways of engaging communities, ensures that even in tough times all parties remain aligned and committed to a successful outcome.  Supertonic aligned themselves immediately to The R&A’s values of courage, integrity and inclusivity, which have been critical to the success of this project. The tenacity to deliver excellence and to pay attention to even the smallest detail means that the Supertonic work is simply described by R&A as “groundbreaking”.

Wow February has flown by in the blink of an eye, where did that go! For me, the month ended with a trip to The Fife Arms.  To celebrate my beautiful wife’s birthday - just the dose of inspiration I needed at the start of the year. Sometimes you just have to escape the ordinary to feel rejuvenated again. Now I'm looking forward to Spring (literally counting down the days) and all the fresh beginnings that brings, including a number of new projects in the diary. 

The hotel is not in Fife but in Braemar on Royal Deeside, named after the Duke of Fife.

For many years The Fife Arms was a large, rather tiered & instantly forgettable hotel serving budget conscious travellers. 

The Fife Arms - it has to be experienced to be believed. A feast for the senses.

A blizzard of brilliance; heritage meets contemporary art, pure unadulterated maximilism in every sense of the word. Interior design, textiles, furniture selections, wallpaper prints, colour choices etc

It was bought in December 2014 by art A-listers Iwan and Manuela Wirth – owners of the renowned gallery Hauser and Wirth – and closed for five years for renovation. 

Darren, one of the Ghillie’s took us on an informal tour of the parts of the hotel and artworks he loves. Kicking off with Queen Victoria’s watercolour of a stag’s head in the entrance to the stories of the local taxidermist’s extensive collection of work.

Absolutely loved the art tour - anyone thinking of staying should make sure they can join that! 

Now put simply, this is a no-expense-spared style transformation and a must-visit for anyone coming to the area. Everywhere you look something else catches your eye... like the subtle painted stripe on the cocktail bar walls.  The most stressful thing that happened is knowing we’ve missed things…trying not to fret… we’ll just have to go back! The Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla have already had the tour.