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10 posts tagged martha
Loosecubes, Friday, February 3, 2012
This is our first company office with co-working spots, versus a pure co-working space. Quite a different dynamic. The co-workers are put in an area to the side, while the company works in the main space. 3 out of the 5 co-working desks are used all of te time, so there’s really only 2 guest spots. On Feb 3, we were the guests.
Pros:
- Monitors available at the co-working spots
- Nicer chairs (though not enough. one of us almost had to work on a stool
- There’s a tent for a conference room!
- Bright space
- Bike parking
- Fast internet (Download 41.91, upload 54.25 pr speakeasy.net, what!)
- Nice views, we’re on a high floor so you can see over the buildings
- Not as close to the bridge (a huge concern in DUMBO because the subway is loud)
- It’s only $5 a day. Dude!
- Decent bars nearby
Minuses
- Because it’s a company, they aren’t as welcoming and inclusive in the co-working experience. They set us up pleasantly enough, but it’s not the same energy of “omg, yes, be part of our community please!” like other places. It’s also not the point to the space either. Although, since they’re focused on co-working for their business, we were surprised at the insularity.
- Sitting with a company can be loud. They have a lot of meetings.
- Not terribly quiet, any confidential conversations can be heard by everyone
- Not too many cheap lunch options
Highlights:
- The tent. It’s cool.
- Having a documentary film maker come in and ask us if we wanted to talk about butts. yes, like the one you are sitting on. Apparently they’re doing some documentary about anal sex or something. We all had a good laugh about that. Definitely office wide bonding moment.
This is a great space to try for a day but not necessarily to settle into for good. There are 3 folks who work here on an on-going basis, but they pretty much keep to themselves. The split between office and co-workers is clear.
It is however a great space to overhear others talking about the concept of co-working. Very cool on that! We had hoped for more of that though. They really sounded like any other tech startup talking about resumes and wireframes.
Posted by marthadenton
Source loosecubes.com
Plans for 2012
There are still co-working spaces popping up all of the time in NYC and we still plan to review all of those fabulous places. However, we plan to expand our blog this year to get into talking about co-working on a higher level. We’ve already laid out some awesome questions and features that we want to cover. But hey, why not ask you what you want to know?
Please reply with questions you care about and we’ll try and address them.
Posted by marthadenton
Martha’s take on Greenspaces (NYC location) on November 11
Wow, time flies when you are having fun, doesn’t it? Laurea already wished you a happy holiday and I echo that and wish you a happy future holiday, too. All of em!
Anyway, on a lovely sunny but crisp day, Laurea and I checked out Greenspaces, just a block south of New Work City, aka 3 blocks south of Canal on Broadway. We walked into a lovely but small lobby and took the elevator up to the 5th floor, right above a karate studio and below a design studio. We were greeted by a very bubbly and nice receptionist who gave us the tour and then came back and chatted with us after we settled into the open area in the back.
The space is split into private desks in the front and communal working in the back, near the kitchen and bathroom areas. There are 2 conferences rooms that have glass walls. As you’d hope from a “green” aka “environmental” space, most of the furniture is reclaimed, giving it a cozy feel. The kitchen area has an elaborate recycling system, splitting out cans, paper and composting. There is also a nice little sitting area with coaches near the kitchen, so you could take a break there. Some people really do use that area as a break because we saw a guy sleeping there half he day with jackets all over him. No one said anything or thought oddly of him.
It seems that coffee supplies are a concern there, because I had to ask to have a new pot made and the coffee was taken out of a secret spot. Good coffee, though! And good to know: da coffee be hidden, ask for more!
Everyone there has a green slant to their work, including various internet designers, writers, investors, someone who works for GOOD and NPR, and others. There are various green oriented meetings there for both networking and community knowledge purposes. Certainly a place to check out if your primary industries are green oriented.
The crowd is a bit older than the tech spaces, some folks seem more established, others seem like they’re struggling a bit (we overheard a lot of “I’m working on my resume” conversations). But everyone seemed a laid back. We did get a noise complaint(Laurea and I are talkers and we bring a lot of energy with us), so do speak quietly. We found that noise travels in general in that space, we could overhear meetings in their conference rooms. So, be aware of that!
Onto the random Martha list (you know to go get the facts in Laurea’s take):
- There are slightly more men then women in this space. If you like dating writers and political activists and are a single woman (which I am and you all know this by now), this is a good venue
- The racial mix is a bit more mixed up here. We saw more Asian and Black people than other spaces we’ve been to.
- The lighting is a bit dark. Not a good space to work out of if you have say, glaucoma.
- Seems like a great space to work out of if you’re a small green start up.
- Also a good space to work out of if you want to do karate at lunch (there’s a place in the building).
- There is a mix between introverts and extroverts, some people doing lots of chatting, others deep in their email. A wider mix of personality types than other co-working spaces we’ve been to.
- They follow up! I got an email from the community manager afterwards to ask what we thought about the space and if we’d want to join. We like people who follow up.
- Lots of awesome cheap lunch options, it’s Chinatown after all.
- Good train action.
- Good office supplies – we saw an area of paperclips, recycled paper, books to trade.
- They have another venue in Denver, so it’s possible to travel between the two and work in both. Neat concept.
All in all, this space feels like a real community. There seems to be something about organizing a space around basic shared values. Not sure this is where we’ll join, though, I love green politics and putting money where my mouth is, but it may not be the perfect fit. I would be happy to go to events here, though!
Posted by marthadenton
Source greenspaces.com
Martha’s take on Hive at 55 on November 3
I had been part of a couple of meetings here with Live with Design, so I had already had a sense of the space at night and for giving classes (pretty smooth in the back room, a really great venue for group work in the big space, btw). BUT, I had no idea what it was like to work there during the day. So, this was a fun treat to see a new angle on a place I’d been to already.
First off, it’s in the Financial District which makes it a bit more difficult to find, but is still pretty convenient from my part of Brooklyn (I live on the 2/3, among other trains). So, if you’re not an expert on the Financial District, be sure to bring your favorite mapping app (FourSquare, Google Maps, HopStop, etc). Hive at 55 is located on the 13th Floor of a build owned by the city and is part of the Alliance for Downtown NYC. So, the entire building is a fun mishmash of mostly non-financial companies (including the Reputation Institute, which is a name we are intrigued by. If you work there, do email us and tell us about your work.) Unlike most of the co-working spaces we’ve seen, Hive at 55 is only part of a floor. (Co-working spaces seem to take entire floors of big and small buildings on the norm)
Daria, who mans the front, was quite friendly and gave me the tour (which she’s done many times considering that this space is 2 years old). She gave me the password and told me how to pay the $25 drop-in rate on their website (quite easy).
When I walked in, the first 2 things that stood out to me instantly were: This space is unusual because there are private offices right off of the main space and it’s smaller than other spaces. There’s coffee, coffee mugs, 3 conference rooms, a more casual couch area for phone calls, and a table in the kitchen. People works in a variety of industries. I overheard conversations in tech, real estate, development, beauty and design.
We found that the smaller size had 2 big affects on the community: People are a lot friendlier with each other (they can clearly hear each other’s conversations) AND it felt cozier. Being physically close to others was nicer than we originally thought it might be. The one draw back to the smaller space is a bit of a battle for the best spots, not that it isn’t hard to be close to windows, but there does seem to be a bit of strategizing by the more experienced folks to get their favorite spots. Since this is the day that our lovely friend Sandhya joined us, I was a bit nervous about being able to get us all together (luckily we did that just fine, phew!)
Lunch and Happy Hour options all seem to be best on Stone Street. There is a strip of bars and restaurants that are well frequented by the financial community (aka men in blue button down shirts and women in suits). We didn’t find them to be our people, but if you are comfortable with those types and overhearing conversations about derivatives and the like gets you excited, this is a good part of town for you. If you’re starved for creative folks, this probably isn’t your best part of town to be spending time in. Hive at 55 is also fairly close to Battery Park, could be a good outdoor lunch option as well.
OK, now for the silly Martha points:
- There are more men than women (it was roughly 1/3 female), 1/2 of the men were wearing button down shirts, most of those being blue. Seems to be a uniform for this part of town.
- People are in their 20s-50s, so a nice range of experience in the room
- There are fun little coin snack machines for your inner 8 year old, who doesn’t like that?
- Overall feeling is pretty casual and friendly. Not sure it’s ideal for all client, but certainly fine for some
- Decor is very yellow and green, couch is modern, plug-ins at table easy
- My friend Nathalie Molina has a private office there, how fun! I didn’t know until I was there :) Oh the fun-ness you find!
- Internet is generally super fast (certainly compared to my home network)
We liked Hive at 55. Not so sure we’re huge fans of the part of town it’s in, but we liked the space and it felt homey. Certainly worth checking out!
Posted by marthadenton
Source hive55.com
The Grind, Meeting Edition, October 3 & 7
So, Laurea and I have been busy little working bees, as we’re sure you little bees have been as well. Laurea was fortunate enough to book a workshop this week at Grind Space so she got to really take advantage of the fancy conference room action.
I needed a conference room last Monday evening and the only space I could find was Grind Spaces. So, only makes sense we update you on what it’s like to run a meeting at The Grind, yo!
Some background on my meeting:
One of the 8 million projects I work on is Ignite NYC (www.ignitenyc.org), as the presentation guru. That means that I chase the speakers to get their slides, make sure they are in the right formate, load them on the presentation machine, run the machine during the event, and oh yeah, coach and rehearse all the speakers. The rehearsing and coaching is really the most time consuming but also the most rewarding (I love seeing people improve. Shameless plug for my services: www.thepresentationschool.com)
Anyway, to do that I need a monitor for the presentation machine, water, a clicker, reception to have food delivered (presentation deliverers gotta eat), work space for presenters to work away like crazy people on their slides, WiFi for file transfer, and privacy so everyone can give presentations.
The conference rooms here were perfect for this! At the beginning of your meeting, the lovely staff brings you ice water in a pitcher, glasses to drink it out of and they set up your machine with whatever cords you need to get your meeting going. They’re also super accommodating with coffee, tea , directing folks to you, and receiving deliveries of food at reception.
People who got there early had a lovely area to sit and chat in. I felt pride in bringing the oh-so-impressive speakers to such a cool, beautiful and professional space. It was also super easy for everyone to come in, no hassle with security stuff.
Our meeting went smooth outside of the items I left at home (let’s call my bed a bad co-working place, it eats my Flip camera and power cords – no wonder I’m hunting for a new space). Everyone felt comfortable, we had plenty of space to move around the room, had no technical difficulties once we were up and running. AND I had the added bonus of being able to write on the wall so I was able to put some high level tips up there for people to focus on while talking.
Really a great place to have a meeting! BTW, it’s $35/hour for members. First come, first served. I liked it so much, I’m talking to them about using the room regularly for Presentation classes.
*Note image above is me being a ninja and taking a picture of Laurea in her meeting in the conference room. She wasn’t in the know hence the “mer, what are you doing Martha?” look on her face. Ha!
Posted by marthadenton
Source grindspaces.com
Wix Lounge Sept 23, Martha’s take This space is free. It’s sponsored by Wix websites, which are easy to use portfolio sites for design professionals. It’s in a really awesome location near Union Square on 18th Street, right near a lot of ad agencies. We were greeted by a lovely British lady, who was very informative and helpful. Lots of personality at her desk, quite a homey feel. After giving us the password and the information of where things are (free coffee and tea, bathroom, etc), she asked us to sign up on their site so they could track all that marketing stuff that is good to do. There are couches all over that are nice and tables with chairs that were not nice. Our desk was somewhat wobbly. Cell phone reception was spotty all arund, so I had to move around a bit, not always fun. In the front there was a photo shoot happening all day, which is kinda neat to be around. Looking over people’s shoulders, it seems that most people are designers and developers of some type. So, in line with the Wix brand. On average, there seemed to be a bit of a struggling artist/student vibe to the space. Kinda dorm like, but friendly. People did get up and chat with each other throughout the afternoon. The bathroom is clean and has paper towels, good thing. There is no conference room and it’s only open during the week from 10-8 (typical designer hours). the pros: Cons This is a good place to hit up if you don’t want to make a commitment and really want to get out of your house.
Posted by marthadenton
Source wixlounge.com
We Create NYC Sept 23, Martha’s take
So, we went up in an old school elevator with an elevator operator. We were greeted by some dude on the phone, who stayed on the phone most of the morning (he’s apparently the founder). There were some folks in a conference room with the door closed the entire time we were there. And no one else. We’re told other people work here. It was apparently an off day. We did however find 7 dead plants, no paper towels in the bathroom, poorly painted, desks, cheap chairs, fast internet, and 2 windows overlooking a bunch of apartments. The windows were huge, though and there are some lovely skylights above.
We were shown free water and the internet password. No other free beverages available. Apparently there is free business coaching.
They also have a venue in London, that apparently has 250 members. They’re looking to expand into Detroit and Hong Kong as well. The plan is for some art links between the various cities.
The whole concept is apparently based on some cognitive research and brain wave theory. All color selections and layouts had that in mind. Everyone has to face each other because they want the members to have conversations. There are plans around having workshops around the concept of freelancing and something else around engineering and cognitive, brain something or other. Talk of showcasing new art on a regular basis, ideally from new artists.
BTW, they’re sad about the plants being dead, too.
The people who work here include a social media app tech start up, someone who freelances with Unicef and has an interest in game mechanics, a lawyer, an accountant, and someone related to Herman Miller some how. So it’s more varied than some of the other spaces.
The pros:
- No wait for the bathroom
- No problem finding a place to sit
- All the dead plants made us giggle. Maybe it’s a Friday thing
- The location is great, being near Union Square is great
- There’s a conference room, if you can book it
- I got inspired to contribute to Laurea and her husband’s Fastest Possible blog, drawing a deadish plant
- The founder is willing to chat about his theory at length. Good guy to chat with about neuroscience and cognitive space design
- There will be art featuring new artists
- There are plans for creatively structured workshops
The cons:
- The desks are big but not super high quality
- The chairs aren’t high quality
- No paper towels in the bathroom
- 7 dead plants, weird that they didn’t throw them out
If you need a place on the cheap, check it out. Fees here: http://www.wecreatenyc.com/services/workspace-membership/
Posted by marthadenton
Source wecreatenyc.com
Martha’s Take on The Grind Sept 16
PIC: Laurea Working Liquid at The Grind.
So, the second location in our journey was The Grind. You can only go there by being invited by other “grindists,” in our case Jalina and Marcus from TEDxHarlem.
Our first impression was “wow! this is beautiful and fancy!” The furniture is really nice and eco-oriented. The tables are large, the chairs are really nice and there are outlets in the various tables. It feels like a professional buzzy office that designers work at. More importantly, this feels like the co-working space that you go to when you are ready to take yourself seriously.
Folks that work in the space work in all sorts of industries, not just tech like so many other co-working spaces. And everyone is enthusiastically conducting business all day. It’s totally ok to speak loudly, either at your table, in the phone booth, at one of the tables near the coffee or anywhere in the various private conversation booths. There are also fancy couches to sit in if you want a more causal conversation, or 2 blinged out conference rooms with white board walls, pin walls or digital monitors for presentations. 2 of the walls are all windows. There’s a professional lobby. It’s fancy.
Right now it’s $500 a month or $35 a day. They stay open until midnight, or until you’re done. The receptionist desk is quite chill and the people are super friendly. We really felt like we could walk up to any table and make friends and collaborate with people who are on the same level as we are.
Pluses:
- We felt like adults here. This is a big people space, many of the folks around us are in their 30s and 40s. Some people were in suits.
- It’s a space we felt like we could bring any clients to, including our super corporate ones (of which I’m fortunate to have)
- There are magazines in the bathroom stalls. A small thing, but a fun thing. I enjoyed looking at Italian fashion models while I did my thing.
- There are monitors around and about if you need one. A huge plus for someone who designs, like me. It’s a huge part of why I stay in my house sometimes (my super fancy time 27” monitor is a huge pull)
- Candy at the receptionist desk. A small touch, but a great touch.
- Intelligensia coffee it’s their first location. Talk about feeling like a cool kid with touches like that!
- Approachable – despite the awesome fancy collaborations (it’s behance, breakfast, magic+night and cool hunting supported), it feels like everyone wants to know everyone
- Regular happy hours with fun talks. There’s one this Thursday we may hit because we like these kids.
- Location. It’s Flatiron, right in the midst of all of the hot stuff going on right now.
- Facilities are as nice as any fancy ad agency I’ve temped in. There are mugs and glasses to use on site.
- Fantastic design. As someone who’s studied interior design, it’s important to me. It’s important to you, too. You’d be surprised if you don’t care already :)
Drawbacks:
- The price structure. $500 is a big commitment.
- Not a place for perpetually single Martha to pick up dudes. They’re seemingly married.
Highlights of the day:
- Seeing a picture of Jalina with Deepak Chopra
- Meeting friends of Marcus who are innovation strategists (cool!)
- Cheap Indian lunch around the corner
- Checking out the portfolios on the wall
- The afternoon sun beaming into the space
- The views down Park Ave South
- Magazines in the bathroom
- A lovely conversation about monkeys
Having hip friends, one of them emailed me 2 days ago telling me to check this space out. I was all “Laurea and I are hip and cool, we’ve been there, done that, love that, gonna blog that!” My cool hip friend, Jesse, did have a contribution I wanna share with you, though. This video: http://www.psfk.com/2011/09/members-only-coworking-space-grind-opens-in-nyc.html
Posted by marthadenton
Source grindspaces.com
Martha’s take on New Work City on Sept 9
For our very first trip on our co-working journey, Laurea and I hit one of the very first co-working spaces in New York, New Work City. It was super easy for me to get to from North Park Slope via the N train (one whole stop!)
It’s located on the second floor of a Chinatown commercial building. To get into the space, you go down an aged metal hallway and up a flight of stairs, pretty old skool NYC stylee. when you get in, you are greeted by a nice receptionist who takes you on a tour of the space and answers your various questions. You can make copies, print, use a conference room, and drink free coffee.
The seating areas seem to be split between the more populous back area and the the quieter and brighter front areas. People seem to sit in the front to be more shut off or quieter from others, the back seems to be more social. Big chatting meetings seem to happen in the center of the floor.
There are 2 one-holer bathrooms that are clean and have nice soap and paper towels. Plenty of toilet paper so there is no awkward moment of yelling out to the other co-worker bees that you need some TP for your bunghole.
Desks are easy to move around, chairs are basic but better than folding chairs. The space is easy to reconfigure and they do for classes, happy hours and other social outings. They are really cool about social groups. So if you want people to go to the gym with, be at the office at 9 am with or anything else you can think of, you’ll find those peeps here.
There seems to be more of a programmer vibe, meaning it’s a bit more casual, bit more dude.
Pros:
- It’s ok to talk
- There are attractive men bopping around, some even with accents
- Organizers are open to hearing about what you do and collaborating (I hope to teach some classes here)
- Down to earth vibes
- The big ass window in the front lets in a lot of natural light
- Is in the midst of an NYC cheap lunch mecca
- Desks and chairs are easy to configure in all sorts of arrangements, awesome for big events
- Flexible billing plans
Cons
- It’s not the sort of space you can take any client to, you can really only invite your more casual clients here
- Bathrooms are really close to the receptionist desk
Yup, I’d go back. Is it our final home? Not sure. Partially because we’ve just started exploring and there’s just too much to see, first!
Odd thing from the day: I bought a bottle of water that I thought was in a black plastic bottle, turns out the actual water is black. Too weird not to share.
****
Update! I just had a meeting with one of the founders and their education director. The training programs they’re in the process of developing are something to really take note of. There’s a huge community orientation to it. If you take a training there, you’ll get to have office hours with the trainer for re-enforcement of whatever you’ve learned. New courses will be showcased in a Meet up style so you can get a sampling of the importance of that skill and a sense of the instructor. They already host 8 Meet Ups so they’ve got a sense on how to use the space.
Instructors are selected by quality of courses and if they jive with the whole New Work City vibe, which is now more focused on entrepreneurs, not just tech. Super cool!!!!!
Posted by marthadenton
Source neworkcity.com
Our mission, should we choose to accept it…
…is to get the hell out of our apartments and work with other people.
We’re freelancers who both primarily work from home. Which on the positive side means we get all of our packages, have cleaner than average kitchens and know that all of our stuff is in one location. On the not so bright side, it means that we get sad and lonely sometimes. (And in Martha’s case, a little weird.)
The irony is that we’re professional village makers. We’ve chosen careers where we bring people together to network and transfer ideas (Laurea a professional conference producer, Martha a presentation designer and delivery coach).
So, we’re off exploring the world to see other people’s villages. We wanna work in awesome co-working spaces, meet awesome people, and do after work happy hour, like normal people (extra exciting for Martha). We’re excited about it.
Posted by marthadenton
Source marthadenton.com
