Rehab²: Furniture Porn for the Jilted Generation

A stroll through Douglas high-street is, for most of us, an experience on autopilot: The hustle of the suited and booted, heads bowed, scrolling through the day’s events; the bitter aroma of cigarette smoke stinging and fading the senses; familiar shops and buildings, unflinching and present; dependably there but leaving no lasting impression. That is until you hit 9-11 Duke Street. Shining like a bastarding beacon of bedevilment, are Rehab²: The Island’s funkiest interior design store.

Although, in truth, ‘interior design store’ is a trite definition for this retro, vintage and kaleidoscopic nirvana. The brainchild of creative visionary Gemma Wasley, Rehab² has been well established on the Douglas high-street for the past 3 years.Entering Rehab² is quite the experience. There is a ramshackle disorder here on first viewing. A neon sign bellowing “FURNITURE PORN” greets you as you survey the assortments on display: Witty cushions, gigantic and magisterial clocks, solemn gorillas, Union Jack sofa, monochrome chairs, charming odds and spectacular sods are all encased in this near 150 year old building. It feels as though, once your back is turned, everything in the store will come to life and a Great Gatsby-style swing party will be under way. It is at once old and new: Elegant glass chandeliers cling to colossal ceilings, like royalty looking down at an alien future: A neon orgy in Sherlock Holmes’ study.The difficulty in defining precisely what Rehab² is, you suspect, half the intention. Taking inspiration from a miscellany of influences, here, there is no room for corporate pigeonholing between the black walls. There is a warmth and a welcoming atmosphere here – no sales patter, pushing or pressure. Gemma and her wife and business partner Zoe Guilford, have gone to great lengths to transport you to a bygone era which is familiar in vibe yet thoroughly singular in creativity. This is anything but ramshackle; rather, it is precise and beautiful chaos.They want you to soak up the visual onslaught and allow your retinas to feast on the spectacle. At times, it feels akin to the latest quirky art exhibit stripped of pretension. It is, you won’t be surprised to read, unlike anywhere else on the Island.As Gef sits atop a glossy sofa – soft and velvety, like stroking a luxurious Persian cat –  we chat to Gemma and Zoe about the Rehab² evolution thus far and what it’s like to be a married couple working together.

“We married last year and love working together as we have busy lives and other business interests, so when we’re in the shop, we really enjoy hanging out and basically creating a shop environment that we feel was lacking on the island until now”, says Zoe.

They’ve known one another since Gemma was 11 years old and Zoe only 12 when they met on the school coach. Then, after separately leaving the Island (Gemma to Sydney via Manchester and Zoe to London) they both returned to the Man Isle in the same month of 2010. Gemma set up what was known as Interior Rehab that same year which has morphed from furniture upcycling into a renowned design studio, creating custom made furniture, production design for films and befitting the Rehab² ethos of – “Interiors with attitude”.In 2016, Zoe came on board to add her business acumen to Gemma’s mad, fizzing creativity and now she too has fallen in love with furniture and design. Gemma’s years of experience setting up and running nightclubs around the world allied to creative roles with the likes of Virgin and Microsoft have all stood her in good stead, serving as the ideal apprenticeship.In only a short space of time with Gemma and Zoe, it is clear how much passion they share for Rehab². They are both charming hosts, friendly and engaging. When she’s talking about her latest ongoing projects, you can see the feverish glint in Gemma’s eyes light up. She gesticulates, growing increasingly animated, even when talking about that perennial bugbear of the creative soul – the loss of control when your work is out there in the public sphere – ” It can be frustrating to me but I have to try and let it go. You have the concept of an idea and then to see that become reality still gives me such a buzz. But once it is designed and finished you have to let it go”.Zoe appears initially to be the more reserved of the two: The measured voice to help steady Gemma’s restless, inventive zeal. Yet, it soon transpires, she is every bit as impassioned about Rehab² and indeed, potential future projects.She tells us that, to her, “the store is the window into Gemma’s design business” and really, only the tip of the iceberg. The commercial design projects they have taken on have been truly stunning and suggest just that. The Fishery restaurant in Port St Mary, for example, is the very first Manx-concept restaurant: Art prints with archetypal Manxie colloquialisms – “Ay Boy”” “Blowin’ a Hoolie” etc – are married to a maritime colour blend which work in tune with the seafood on offer. It is emblematic of Gemma’s style: Off the wall, irreverent, grand but with painstaking attention to detail. Other commercial successes have followed including Harbour Lights at the Sefton, Salon3, The Tea Junction and Sir Norman’s; all divergent stylistically but sharing that same common need to tell the story: yesterday’s history bathed in the visuals of today.Clearly, the present is being smashed right in the temples. So what does the future hold?A refurb of a boutique hotel in the Lakes is next on the horizon which, they hope, will be more than just an excuse for wine and luxury! Gemma is presently heavily embroiled in the Courthouse Club revamp which promises to be mind-splaffingly cool; there will also be an online shop launching imminently with an expansion of their distinctive Manx product range – your yessir contingent from across the globe will soon to be able to buy a nostalgic piece of sweet, mountain air. There is also a top secret new restaurant in embryonic stages but which could be unbridled Gemma on amphetamines. Exciting times, of that there is no doubt.Spending concerted time in the Rehab² store is a bit like wandering the dizzying, surreal corridors of Gemma’s brilliant mind: Kind of like Inception without the wankyness. It’s a welcome tonic to speak to genuine, kind humans – the antithesis of the stereotypical hard-nosed, miserabilist disposition we are told one must adopt for business success – who are, it has to be said, bloody well smashing it.Their mantra is quite simple, Zoe tells me – “We want to create an Isle of Man we want to live in now”. Both Gemma and Zoe are on the frontline, along with other Manx creatives and SME’s, in dispelling antiquated notions of small-Island syndrome. Hear their war-cry: This is an eccentric Island. An Island of misfits and dreamers; mad heathens in search of inspiration and like-minded souls, not salvation.So, step into the treasure trove at Rehab² and see what wonders you can find.var bannersnack_embed = {“hash”:”bc3abs08h”,”width”:672,”height”:280,”t”:1548765471,”userId”:38193901,”responsive”:true,”type”:”html5″};//cdn.bannersnack.com/iframe/embed.js