Our co-working space on the North Shore of O'ahu is located in the old Waialua Sugar Mill. It’s a fabulous time capsule of past industry, with buildings that seem virtually unchanged from when the mill was last active, a myriad ancient tools, dials and machines, and a fantastic array of old safety posters and notices. Unable to pass up the opportunity, I tried to capture a few of the highlights.

“An Earthmover Tire Contains Enough Energy to Raise a 3000 Lb Car”

The stylised car illustration on this poster is spot-on; both beautifully stylish and deeply menacing at the same time. And, to me at least, very reminiscent of the Were-Car from Futurama.

“Somebody Expects You Home Tonight!”

These posters are located above the urinal (eagle-eyed amongst you might have noticed the scrawled note explaining how to ‘flush’ the toilet)—a wonderful opportunity to refresh your memory on health-and-safety as you empty your bladder.

“Promotional Antenna Toys”

I’ve so far managed to resist the urge to open this and check to see if it really does contain 2.5 kilos of promotional antenna toys.

Welder

Looking at the settings on the various dials (and what I can make out from the badge), I’m pretty sure this is some kind of TIG welder. Doesn’t look like it’s been used for a while though.

“Main Sw.”

There are real echoes of Myst in some of the equipment—I can’t help but think I need to make use of it to get to the next Age. This appears to control one of the wonderful collection of hoists mounted to the ceiling of the room; I’ll try to capture them for a future update.

“Smile You’re On Camera”

There’s so much going on in this scene, from the CCTV sign, centered on the hole in the glass, to ‘HER SHOP’ that’s clearly been welded into the door at a later date, almost like an artist signing their work. I love it.