SOCIAL MEDIA ZEITGEIST

Architecture studio OMA has collaborated with hospitality group Potato Head to create the Good Times General Store in Seminyak, Bali, a new retail and creative space where visitors can explore traditional craftsmanship, recycled materials and the processes behind everyday objects.

Opened in October 2026, the project is Potato Head’s first permanent retail space. Located within its Desa Potato Head hospitality complex, the store combines the sale of locally produced goods with workshops dedicated to making, repairing and reusing materials.

Good Times General Store. Via seminyak.potatohead.co

The building was developed by OMA in collaboration with Ade Herkarisma, Potato Head’s Group Head of Architecture and Development. Its design draws on Balinese construction traditions, using locally sourced materials and incorporating existing waste streams into the architecture.

Rather than separating shopping from production, the project places craftsmanship and material experimentation at the centre of the retail experience.

The building combines walls made from rammed earth using local clay with reclaimed timber, bamboo and traditional alang-alang thatching. Terrazzo flooring incorporates recycled bamboo offcuts, extending the use of recovered materials into the building’s permanent finishes.

These elements establish a connection with local building practices while demonstrating how natural and reused materials can be incorporated into contemporary commercial architecture.

Inside, the store is organised into five interconnected spaces, each dedicated to a different aspect of material culture, consumption or production. The arrangement allows visitors to move between finished products and the activities involved in making them.

The first areas present objects created by Indonesian artisans, including homewares, books and design products, alongside Potato Head’s clothing and travel collection. A third space features the Wasted collection developed with British designer Max Lamb, which transforms discarded plastics and other waste materials into furniture and everyday objects.

The remaining spaces are dedicated to practical experimentation. A natural dye studio uses pigments extracted from plants and food waste collected across the hospitality complex, offering workshops in colouring, painting and textile techniques.

Good Times General Store. Via seminyak.potatohead.co

Another workshop incorporates shredded high-density polyethylene plastic recovered through collectors and recycling initiatives in Bali and Java. The material is used in demonstrations and activities exploring how discarded plastics can be transformed into new objects.

The workshops are also connected to Potato Head’s wider sustainability programme, which includes an on-site Waste Lab and educational activities examining how resources are collected, processed and reused throughout the complex.

This approach gives visitors access to processes that are usually separated from commercial environments. Instead of encountering only finished products, they can participate in production and learn about the materials, techniques and people involved.

Further activities are planned for 2027, including dedicated programmes for weaving, sewing and upcycling. These additions will expand the store’s role as a place for creative exchange and practical learning.

The project continues OMA’s long-standing collaboration with Potato Head, which has included the development of hospitality and entertainment spaces within the complex. The new store extends that relationship into retail, education and local craft production.

It also introduces a different approach to the relationship between commercial architecture and traditional knowledge. Indonesian craftsmanship is incorporated not only into the building’s appearance but also into its programme and the activities taking place inside.

By combining retail, local craftsmanship and circular material practices, the Good Times General Store demonstrates how commercial spaces can become places for learning and production rather than consumption alone.

For architectural practices, the project offers a model for developing commercial environments around material innovation and active public programming. Its combination of traditional construction, recycled resources and hands-on activities suggests opportunities for closer collaboration between designers, artisans, manufacturers and hospitality operators.

Further information

Designboom – OMA turns Potato Head’s Bali store into a creative workshop for recycled materials and traditional craft, October 2026

Potato Head – Good Times General Store, official project and workshop information

Wallpaper – Potato Head opens the Good Times General Store by OMA