The story of dwight
I came to meet Dwight in October of 2022. At this point, he was a cream Renault Trafic conversion, with a wooden cladded kitchen, four seats and portable loo, called Daisy. The van’s character immediately stood out to me. It had portholes, and an odd shaped roof, and just felt really friendly. When looking at vans, I knew I really valued personality and definitely didn’t want anything that I felt I had seen before. More practically, I needed a van with good head height, little mechanical work, and at the lower end of my budget. Dwight, or should I say, Daisy, ticked all of those boxes. This feels like an episode of Location, Location, Location!
The first generation of Renault Trafic vans were produced between 1980 and 2001. My van is from 1989, and is one of the first Trafics to be given an update of a plastic bumper and a bit of a longer nose. Some of the vans were then converted into campers, by companies like Holdworth, which is how Dwight became a Romance van. That is the model of the conversion, not a strange euphemism. Finding pictures of an exact replica of him is virtually impossible. They all have slight differences: some have the same bodywork, but no portholes, others have the same interiors but with a pop-out roof. According to ‘How Many Left’, there are currently 65 vans, in the same model as mine out there somewhere, but I think it is safe to say that there is only one which has been converted into a coffee van…
So after bringing the van back home, getting some plans drawn up, and having endless searches on Pinterest, it was time to get it converted, again. We drove it up to Cambridge to a workshop called ‘Owen’s Horseboxes’, who carried out the stripping, building and revamping of the van. I felt that the main conversion was worth spending the money to get it professionally done; I didn’t want to do a botch job. It was far too important of a project to do all by myself, and luckily the team at Owen’s, converted it so beautifully. When we picked it up, the paint was no longer cream, and was instead the perfect shade of blue. There was a giant hatch cut into the side and a full professional kitchen, equipped with a fridge, sinks and a coffee machine which I found in perfect condition, second hand. I was over the moon with the results. It felt, and still feels, so roomy and bright, but wasn’t just a boring white box.
With the van back in our possession, there was still so much that needed to be done. Decals needed to be stuck down, curtains needed to be sewn, my whole business needed to be set up, and we still had to complete the front section of the van. During the conversion, the cab was left as it was, mainly due to the fact that it was so irregularly shaped, and I had such a clear idea of what I wanted, that I thought it would be best to complete that part myself. My Dad and I dedicated a week to ‘van work’.
My Dad, Marcus, is a master builder. Anything you need built, he will make. When I was younger I asked for a beach themed room, so he made, from scratch, a full sized beach hut wardrobe, and a functional lighthouse bookshelf. He also made every single school project (with) me, from roman forums, to a giant Harry Hill head. As much as he would probably dislike to admit, I know he loved getting stuck into all of my creative endeavors, and I’m sure he would say that his hours at the kitchen table, sticking down thousands of playmobil soldiers were worth it! I am so lucky to have had him to help me with the latest project, as I am not sure many fathers would take a week off of work to paint their daughters hubcaps!
My Dad’s, I mean our, Roman creation…
We sanded down the walls, which for some reason someone at some point had covered in hessian fabric, and then painted over in cream emulsion, so we then repainted them in a crisp white, which looks so much cleaner, and is definitely more hygienic. All of the fiddly bits which required sewing, I did myself with my trusty sewing machine. The fabric I used for the curtains was one I printed myself using collages made from band photos my dad has taken over the years, and animal heads I cut out from magazines. I got the little collages printed onto thick cotton, and made curtains both for the back windows, and to shut off the cab from the rest of the van. We still had some left over, so we then used the fabric to upholster the side panels of the van, which turned out perfectly, and makes the front feel like a magic cocoon.
The seat covers were made using denim offcuts from past projects, or from my parents' donation pile! I patchworked them all together to create a mismatch of different hues, and miraculously, they fit the seats like a glove. I then picked out a red gingham fabric, which I thought married all of the elements perfectly, to make sun visor covers, which definitely was not an essential job, but the devil is in the detail! After all of that sewing, all that was left to do was a deep clean of the carpets, final touches to the exterior like painting the bumpers, and then adding my final flair to the whole of the van.
The brief I gave myself was to keep Dwight fun, kitschy, camp and youthful. I didn't want anything I had ever seen before in a coffee van. I didn't want anything predictable or cringey. And I definitely didn't want anything boring. I really wanted the van to be filled with character, coming from vintage pieces such as a cross stitch I found in a market in Hampstead and artwork I found on Etsy, and I wanted little trinkets, which bring joy to anyone who notices them. I had a visceral reaction to a light up gnome my Dad had shown me over Facetime, which he had found in an antique shop, so I felt like it would be rude not to have him on the van with me. It has certainly proven difficult to hold myself back when buying nicknacks for Dwight!
And now, we are pretty much up to date. The van is ready to go, and I cannot wait to get him out on the roads, to give back the happiness that he has given me. Dwight’s journey has been pretty monumental, and now he's in his final flamboyant form. The first time I drove Dwight through Watford, a small older chap waved at me as I was stopped at a red light. He was chuckling away to himself, probably at the sight of my logo, a farting sheep-man, but it filled me with immense pride. That was the exact reaction I wanted: a little sprinkling of joy to brighten up someone’s day.
Take a look at the gallery section of my main website to see more of Dwight, using the link down below.
