Case Study: Sir Henry's

Download as a PDF here!

How Handwerk Art and Design Organized a Multi-Zone Hospitality Project with DesignSpec

Sir Henry’s is a hospitality venue in New York City designed around a deceptively simple brief: create a dive bar - but elevated. Led by Gregor Bugel, Founding Partner of Handwerk Art and Design, the project set out to create a space that felt both familiar and immersive, somewhere guests arrive as strangers and leave as friends.

The concept drew on three interlocking themes: classic Americana, indulgent dive-bar comfort, and a distinctly New York “style-no-style” sensibility. Like the city itself, the design layers decades of fashion, music, and culture on top of one another. The result is a venue composed of multiple distinct zones, each with its own character, yet cohesive throughout.

Project Overview

Designer: Gregor Bugel, Founding Partner, Handwerk Art and Design
Project: Sir Henry’s — Bar & Hospitality Venue, New York City
Project Type: Commercial interior design (hospitality / bar)

Key Challenge:
Managing a layered, multi-zone space with a mix of vintage, custom, and commercial-grade FF&E across a large team.

Key Features Used:

• Spec organization and room tagging
• Customizable reports
• Client portal
• Team collaboration tools

The Challenge

Sir Henry’s was ambitious by any standard. Its design complexity created real operational demands across the team.

A Layered, Multi-Zone Space

The venue was conceived as a series of smaller environments within a larger whole. Each zone offered a slightly different atmosphere while still feeling cohesive. This required managing a high volume of FF&E across multiple settings.

Mixed FF&E: Vintage, Custom, and Commercial-Grade

The material palette blended genuine vintage pieces with new items designed to look aged, alongside custom fabrications. Every piece needed to meet hospitality durability standards, arrive on time, and visually align with items from entirely different eras.

A Growing Practice Outgrowing Spreadsheets

Handwerk Art and Design evolved from an art feature and fabrication studio into a full-service interior design practice. As project scale increased, static spreadsheets became a liability - too rigid, too slow to update, and difficult to collaborate on.

Team Coordination Across Field and Office

With team members working both on-site and remotely, real-time access to accurate spec information was critical. Any delay between decision-making and documentation introduced risk.

Why DesignSpec

Handwerk Art and Design integrated DesignSpec from the earliest concept phase through to project completion, allowing their workflow to evolve alongside the design.

Dynamic Specs That Evolve

As soon as the initial collaging and sketching phase wrapped, the team moved directly into DesignSpec to organize materials and furniture. Specs were created early, vendors were confirmed, and the design became more resolved in real time. The system moved with the project instead of lagging behind it.

Tailored Reports for Every Audience

One of the most valuable features was the ability to generate different reports for different stakeholders. The team could produce a clean, high-level overview for the client while also generating a detailed, granular spec book for the builder—all from the same dataset.

Client Portal for Faster Approvals

Instead of relying on static files or long email threads, the team used DesignSpec’s client portal to share materials and information directly with ownership. This streamlined approvals and eliminated documentation bottlenecks.

“A very powerful tool for a team working across a complex, fast-moving project.” - Gregor Bugel, Founding Partner

Results

Organization & Coordination

• All FF&E tracked in a single, dynamic system
• Real-time material updates visible to the entire team
• Hundreds of commercial-grade pieces managed
• 23 vendors coordinated through DesignSpec
• 4 custom pieces specified and tracked

Client & Contractor Communication

• Tailored spec reports generated without duplicating work
• Client portal enabled fast, direct sharing of information
• Contractors received complete, detailed spec books without delays or reformatting

Team Efficiency

• Live, cloud-based specs eliminated version control issues
• Decisions documented immediately, keeping specs aligned with the evolving design
• A purpose-built tool replaced the limitations of spreadsheets and manual workarounds

Outcome

Sir Henry’s opened exactly as envisioned: a space with history baked in, where layered design reflects the layered people who pass through it. The venue carries the warmth of a place that feels like it has always been there.

For Gregor and the Handwerk team, the project demonstrated what’s possible when design ambition is matched with the right operational tools. DesignSpec didn’t just support the process—it enabled the team to stay organized, move quickly, and deliver without compromise.

“We needed something that was very dynamic and easy to use, not just a static spreadsheet. We use DesignSpec every day—it factors into our everyday workflow.” - Gregor Bugel, Founding Partner

Ready to Transform Your Workflow?

See how DesignSpec can transform your next interior design project. Visit designspec.com to start your free trial.