We’re Hitting Refresh!

BIG Rapier Wit news, friends! Like, so-excited-we-can’t-hardly-stand-it big!

The not-great part first: 575 Wellington West, our studio home of nearly 21 years, is overdue for some sizeable repairs and replacements of its building body parts, and we’re going to have to close the studio for a few months in order to get ‘er done. HOWEVER, we are pretty damn stoked because we have just received permission from the City of Toronto to make some long-awaited improvements as well. Since the day we moved into 575 we’ve been dreaming of making full use of the second-floor space, and over the years we’ve come up with a long list of ways we could improve the functionality and comfort of both levels. While we may not be able to bring into being all of the changes we’d love to make – sorry, no hot tub – we’re confident that the refreshed version of the studio will be a wonderful place to visit and attend class. The plans for 575 2.0 include upgrades like additional bathrooms, a more user-friendly kitchen, a better-equipped dressing area, quieter HVAC and ventilation, more meeting/hangout space upstairs, and a larger finished outdoor area. And a new leak-free roof!

Here’s the (rough) timeline: the studio will go out of commission at the end of February. March is our month to pack up the contents of 575, and some time near the end of it we’ll be holding a please-take-our-stuff event (details of which we’ll announce on our channels in the near future). We hope that the work will begin shortly after that and be wrapped up by the fall, but we’ll have to keep you posted on this because we already know that there are likely to be…erm…surprises along the way. Good things take time, come to those who wait, etcetera.

So what about classes during that time? At the moment we don’t have any scheduled, but are looking at location alternatives for short workshops while 575 is offline. All other aspects of the business will continue as usual, with rentals, fight direction, and consultation services still available. And if you’re interested in classes, please let us know! Give us a call or shoot us an email and we’ll be happy to answer your questions or set you up to receive notifications of new events. Oh, and we’ll also be refreshing our online channels during the studio closure, and are looking forward to offering you improved communication and payment options in tandem with the new space – more changes that are long overdue.

Please wish us luck as we navigate this transition, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you’ve got questions or just want to say hi. We’ll miss seeing y’all during The Big Fix, but we are so looking forward to welcoming you back into a studio space that’s better than ever!