Castlemaine’s industrial past has been brought quietly back to life, with Shades of Gray owner Peter unveiling the painstaking restoration of a second workshop space in the heart of town.
What could easily have become another demolition site or block of flats has instead been transformed into a richly detailed 1940s-1950s workshop restored almost entirely using salvaged materials and the skills of local tradespeople determined to honour the building’s working-class roots.
The corrugated iron shed has stood in Castlemaine for decades, once home to white goods repairman Jack Morrow, who built most of the shed himself.
Ken Smith, who bought the property in 1990 turned it into his vintage car restoration workshop, said he had feared the building would eventually be torn down.
“That’s what I was expecting to happen – that it was going to be pulled down. It was in pretty bad shape.”
Instead, he said seeing the restoration completed had been emotional.
“It’s amazing. I love it. Peter has such an eye for detail and everything he has done is just suburb,” he said.
“I’m so glad it still looks like this.”
Peter said preserving the building’s original character became an obsession from the moment he acquired it.
“This is a dream come true to have a purpose-built studio like this,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s much 1950s history still around anymore and I think things can be pulled down too quickly.
“In another 20 years this will be 100 years old,” Peter said.
Every stage of the project involved local tradespeople, local suppliers and local knowledge — something he considers essential.
“Every cent I make, I put back into the town,” Peter said.
That commitment saw him scouring Victoria and even South Australia for authentic fittings, industrial lighting, salvaged timber windows and original workshop materials. “I’ve driven to Port Lincoln to get the lights, Mildura for windows and picked up pieces all over the place while doing deliveries,” Peter said.
The restored workshop will not operate as a public retail store, instead serving as a private studio space supporting the growing Shades of Gray flower and creative business, which now attracts a substantial online following.
“We needed more space, but we wanted to stay in the heart of town, and this is the perfect studio for us,” Peter said.
“I’m so happy with the end result and all of the effort everyone has put in — everyone has gone above and beyond.”
A major part of the restoration involved retaining the workshop’s original industrial feel while discreetly integrating modern services.
Local electrician and lighting designer Lachlan Hough said the project demanded an unusual level of patience and craftsmanship.
“There’s no one else that can do what we’ve done,” he said.
“It takes a lot of passion and commitment to work out how you can do things in the way they were done, but safely.”
He salvaged and restored original 80-year-old switches and power points, retained sections of the old fuse board, and used black cabling and galvanised piping to blend modern electrical systems into the workshop’s heritage aesthetic.
Some fittings were even treated with hydrochloric acid to dull their modern shine and help them match the older materials.
The plumbing and roofing also reflects the building’s industrial origins, with extensive use of galvanised piping rarely seen in modern construction.
Local plumber David Anderson installed galvanised piping to add to the authentic appearance.
“It’s no longer done really. It’s all plastic and copper now, but this just looks like it belongs here,” David said.
“It’s a credit to Peter, what he’s done. It’s always been a beautiful old factory and it’s great to see it lifted again.”
The project also relied heavily on local salvage networks and reclaimed materials, with Matt Boyle from the Salvage Yard in Castlemaine helping source period-appropriate pieces.
Matt said projects like this had become increasingly rare as demolition yards and reclamation businesses disappeared.
“A lot of this stuff is endangered now — it’s not a real period people recognise. It’s very much a working-class building.”
The local reclamation specialist said the restoration represented something increasingly valuable in regional towns — preserving ordinary industrial history before it vanished completely.
“Things can get pulled down too quickly,” Matt said.
Outside, the workshop’s weathered corrugated iron and industrial yard remain largely intact, while inside the space now houses hundreds of metal flowers carefully arranged beneath restored factory lighting.
Artist assistant Teresa Bodno said the additional workspace would allow the business to continue expanding creatively.
“It means I can get the large production work done on the flowers, leaving Peter time to make sculptures and creative pieces,” she said.
For Peter, however, the workshop is about more than business growth. It’s also an artistic piece in its own right.
Now, instead of disappearing into memory, one of Castlemaine’s old industrial workshops has entered a new chapter — not polished beyond recognition, but lovingly restored with all its dents, imperfections and stories intact.
