Orphic Bar
A time-worn cement building sat on the Mekong River front like a blank canvas waiting to be reborn. In 2017, Colby was given full artistic freedom, and transformed that forgotten dwelling into ORPHIC, one of the hottest cocktail bars in the city of Phnom Penh, and his first step from metal sculpture into the world of design.
An entrance symbolically flanked by fire welcomes patrons to a warm wooden terrace complimented by brass bordered circular windows scaling the 6 meter high front facade, in the center of which stands a towering entry door, a gently gliding mass of steel and glass guarding the threshold between the city street and the aura within.
The main room boasts high vaulted ceilings clad in shattered amber glass, dispersing warm glowing light on the red silk and sanded brass accents. The solid steel bar top molds smoothly into the center column of the bar, which grows like an oak, expanding its arched branches to all ends of the space. Circular portals can be seen from the main floor, hiding behind them, a cozy cigar lounge with its own private bar and brass lamps, handmade as part of the FLAWS sculpture collection.
Each corner of orphic is highlighted with a glowing luminescence; the absence of exposed lighting and black glass mirrors create a dream like experience only felt at ORPHIC.
