Micro-Factory inside of a 26' Truck
The body of the truck is our cocoon protecting us from the extreme weather shift of the Colorado Rocky Mountains; sun rain, snow, ice... Swipe to see photos of what the truck looked like originally and an example of weather mobile chocolate makers like us navigate each year.
We bought the truck from a Craigslist seller in Texas. It had been a mobile library for the Dallas / Ft. Worth Independent School District and was not longer in use. Less than 30,000 in mileage and fantastic cosmetic conditions, we bought it. Then we broke down 20 miles down the highway. So we had it repaired and shipped up to us in Colorado... Ask us about the juicy details one day - there was a large snake, flood warnings and rainstorms, truck stop motel rooms and Aldo's first diner experience.
⠀La Lagunilla is said to be the oldest marketplace in Mexico. It unfolds across a network of streets in the Tepito neighborhood of Mexico City. Every other day of the week Tepito is an insular area, home to La Santa Muerte and generations of survival. Sunday morning it turns into the most spectacular example of a DIY informal economy welcoming the entire city in. Vendors sell antiques reclaimed from Spanish haciendas, the hottest new sneakers, vintage toys, furniture and clothes, art books and underwear. Barbers set up, DJs claim stalls for private parties, tattoo artists have lines waiting, hot iron grills are brought in for tuetano/bone marrow, and giant signature micheladas stalls compete for the most shocking combination salty rims for the huge paper cups filled with cold beer. One year we joined in an set up a stall each Sunday morning... that is a story for another time. In honor of a place that has become a part of us, all of our handles and knobs - the things we touch often, come from La Lagunilla as does the unknown goddess that blesses the front of our micro-factory.
We adapted 2 hand woven rugs from Oaxaca, dyed by plants and insects, into our seat covers and window adornment and the gold leaf window signs are all hand painted. For many years we had air plants growing from sustainably harvested Portuguese cork bark, caring for them inside during the cold Colorado winters.
As we designed our micro-factory we were also designing our micro-shop. The same space that produces our chocolate also sells it to customers. In this way we are able to share the making process with our guests and engage in conversations about #DECOLONIZINGCHOCOLATE and cacao culture.
The truck was a mobile library first so we removed carpet, shelves and stickers. Then we painted the floor and went from staining the walls to painting them. We found the perfect piece of scrap marble for our back countertop and installed cabinets for storage.
6’ DOUBLE WINDOW where we enjoy light and a view on production days. It is also where we spend time with guests when we are open as a shop.
To achieve our design we had a set of patio doors cut down to fit the large window. First we needed to cut a hole in the side of the truck, check out a time lapse video of us doing that in this post!
6’ WOODEN DECK, an essential piece of our design. From the deck we can share chocolate eye-to-eye with guests, host private tastings, enjoy a break during production days and share pop-ups!
We custom designed the deck with a welded steel frame that attaches to the truck with hinges & is able to fold up and bolt securely to the side of our truck when we are driving. The steel legs we designed for it detach and include adjustable levels and connections for the awning
6' double dome skylight, including a time-lapse video of us cutting out the roof of the truck. We knew having natural light would be very important to us.
Building the micro-factory in a way that supported us as makers was our drive in the overall design. We purchased the two dome pieces without any hardware or framing opting to create our own method of attaching the dome to our rooftop.
COVID UPDATE: Our micro-factory is humming along while we keep our distance for the safety of all. We miss seeing our guests and joining local events. As a small family business each order is meaningful to us and is meaningful to the network we are invested in on both sides of the border.
