Sitting in the corner of the coffee shop, I’m trying to nail down what makes this place feel different. Yes, it’s aesthetically beautiful, comfortable but functional, excellent coffee, universally great playlists. All essential, but it’s more than that - there’s an ease in the air here.

No-Hands Rest opened it’s doors a little over a year ago but it’s a place that feels resolutely sure of itself, its purpose and its value in the community. A brand that emerged fully-formed and not attempting to be anything but itself. An impression that clicks into place when you meet the founders.

Marc Langley and Scott Heleniak have worked together on creative projects for years, but No-Hands Rest is an expansive and ambitious vision bringing together all the things that excite and matter to them.

The opening gambit of a five-year plan to regenerate the old K Village site along the River Kent in Kendal, the pair have given themselves an undeniably enormous task, but one that is clearly a passion project for both Langley, an adventure photographer and writer, and Heleniak, a graphic designer.

Despite working other jobs, running their own businesses and Heleniak becoming a father just as the shutters went up on the coffee shop, Langley says it’s important to them that they are present in every aspect of No-Hands Rest.

“One of us is always working here. Scott paused his graphic design business to focus on this and the new baby, and I split my week between N-HR and my other work. We want to be across all of it, and for people to know who we are.”

The impact of this is etched into every corner of the place, from the design to the music to the atmosphere - their personalities are what brings No-Hands Rest to life, and undoubtedly the catalyst for the community that’s taking root here.

A meeting point for creatives, climbers, freelancers and families, the co-founders wanted it to bridge the gap between social and working spaces, to bring whatever you have and stay for what you need.

“We want to show that there’s a different way of running a private business,” says Langley. “No-Hands Rest isn’t a CIC but we put community, values and collective responsibility above profits. It’s about providing a place where you can bring your whole self to the table.”

This is a philosophy that extends to their staff, including a strict rule that no-one works a minute past the end of their shift - proving they practice what they preach as Langley leapt to his feet mid-interview to relieve a colleague behind the till.

“We’re not the smartest people in the room, everyone has ideas and better or different ways of doing things. If there’s something that someone finds difficult, the other team members will pick up that task for them.

“We want people to bring their whole self, and everyone is going to have different strengths and struggles. It’s about being fluid and flexible enough for people to do and be what they need.”

Occupying part of the original K Village site, a place that has stood empty and neglected for years, Langley says it’s been a bumpy road to get to where they are.

“It’s a pretty inward-looking town, so it’s not been the easiest place to get something like this off the ground. Historically there’s been a lot of negativity about the K Village site too, it’s a bit of a white elephant for the town that nobody wanted to take on.

“If we’d opened in a city like Leeds no one would have batted an eyelid. In inherently diverse and inclusive communities people are more open to change. We’ve had all sorts of trouble just getting people to take us seriously - the people making decisions here questioned our professionalism because we didn’t turn up to meetings in a suit and carrying a briefcase!”

Though it is their first venture into running a business of this kind, the pair have startling clarity about what they want and how they’re going to make it happen. No doubt a testament to their working relationship, there’s also an unmistakable air of ‘go on, tell me I can’t and I’ll prove you wrong’.

The visceral presence of their personalities in the bones of the business gives them licence to play with the boundaries of what they offer.

Not content with one space, the coffee shop is just the beginning of a development that hopes to breathe life into the riverside again, providing a unique blend of work space and playground.

“First is this place, then there’ll be the co-working space next door,” says Langley, “Eventually, we’re hoping to build a climbing wall in the unit on the other side of the coffee shop. It’s a big project, but exciting. It’s chaos but all self-inflicted carnage!”

Set to open in early 2025, the development of the N-HR co-working space has been a collaborative community effort, taking suggestions from potential members on everything from layout to membership fees.

“People don’t use co-working spaces just because they want a desk in a different building, we want it to offer something more. Members here will have a space that offers them so much more than a blank, soulless desk and a coffee machine.

“We want to bring the element of play into work spaces. We all need somewhere to play - it helps us think differently, to be creative, to be resilient in the face of stress.”

And how will they do this? A treehouse and a giant hammock, naturally.

“We’ve designed a kind of makeshift canopy from camo netting that you can climb onto with your laptop and work, or whatever you need.”

The ability and confidence to think outside of the normal boundaries of what adult spaces should look like and be used for is, perhaps, what provides No-Hands Rest with its unique magic. By inviting people to work, socialise, create, network and play within their walls, they’ve carved out a space that moulds to the needs of every person who walks through the door.

As much as Langley and Heleniak are mindful of the community they serve, the in-built flexibility of their offering is an incredibly savvy business move. In just a year No-Hands Rest has shape-shifted from a community coffee shop to a secret cinema, a a hub for local charities to an exhibition space for artists, hosting events from intimate creative workshops to DJ sets that spill out onto the riverside into the early hours.

Listed among the values they live by as a business and printed in large letters above the front door are the words ‘motivated by friendship’. Sitting in the corner, observing the rhythm of the place, the atmosphere and the humour of it, this feels like the imperceptible feeling I was searching for.

Without sacrificing ambition, business-sense or even profit, Langley and Heleniak have started a movement built on community and creativity. And a stubborn playfulness that encourages people to join them in doing things their own way.

Author: Kate Relton