Balancing a Design Practice and Co-Working Space in New York City, with Jessi Arrington & Creighton Mershon
The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Release Date: 09/19/2016
The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
That went quickly! Listen in to our live event where we commemorate 100 episodes of The Busy Creator Podcast and remark on the journey. This event was a crossover with the New York City Podcast Meetup, recorded at Small City Co-working space in Brooklyn.
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Craig Ward (@MrCraigWard) is a designer, art director, typographic artist, and author currently living in Brooklyn, NY. A UK native, he came to New York in 2009 shortly after being selected as an ADC Young Gun.
info_outline Going Hollywood, How Brittany Cormack Thrives as a Costume Designer Amid the Madness of Show BizThe Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Brittany Cormack is a costume designer for film and television. Following her training in fashion and dance, Brittany arrived in Los Angeles without a clue how to work in the movie business, but has since found her groove. She works primarily on independent films, commercials, and music videos, but every day is an adventure.
info_outline Practical Typographic Advice and Building an Education Business Alongside a Design Firm with Michael StinsonThe Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Michael Stinson (@MWStinson) is a veteran designer, educator, and business owner. In addition to his work as a professor of graphic design, he also runs Ramp Creative, a branding studio in Los Angeles, as well as Type Ed, a dedicated typographic education business which helps creative pros return to form in the fields of typesetting and layout.
info_outline Becoming a Multi-Faceted Creative, and The Movie-Making Process with Filmmaker & Podcaster David PowerThe Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
David Power is a multi-purpose creative pro based in Brooklyn, NY. Since moving to New York, he’s worked in music recording & production, written several business books, penned screenplays, and helped write and perform in comedy films. His latest project is a podcast documentary of how a feature film is made.
info_outline Business Lessons for Creative Entrepreneurs & How to Launch an Online Community with Designer, Writer, and Podcaster Kathleen ShannonThe Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Kathleen Shannon (@AndKathleen) is a graphic designer, brand strategist, and co-founder of Being Boss, a podcast and community for creative entrepreneurs. Kathleen began as a staff art director, but learned entrepreneurial habits working on her side projects and blogging. She's now seeking to become a media mogul and serve the creative community.
info_outline B-SIDE: Planning A Modern WordPress Website, with guest Avery SwartzThe Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Avery Swartz (@AverySwartz) joins Prescott to discuss the possibilities for the next version of BusyCreator.com. Together, the two discuss the capabilities of WordPress, best practices which Prescott is adopting (and should start), and the shortcomings of WordPress themes and plugins.
info_outline Methods and Mindsets for Successful Web Design Projects with Agency Boss Ben SeigelThe Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Ben Seigel (@versastudiollc) is a web designer and developer, and head of Versa Studio. In addition to managing projects and writing the necessary code for client sites, Ben has examined and written about the underlaying value of design, how small businesses and design agencies can work together toward successful ends.
info_outline Exploring Business Issues Faced by Creative Pros with Author & Professor Douglas DavisThe Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Douglas Davis (@DouglasQDavis) is a graphic designer, professor, consultant, and author of the new book Creative Strategy and the Business of Design. The book, which follows his recent talks and workshops, explores business issues that face creative professionals, especially those which may not even seem apparent.
info_outline Balancing a Design Practice and Co-Working Space in New York City, with Jessi Arrington & Creighton MershonThe Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Jessi Arrington (@JessiArrington) and Creighton Mershon (@Cr8tonMershon) are the founders of Workshop, a Brooklyn-based creative agency, as well as the proprietors of Small City, a new co-working space and home to dozens of independent creative pros.
info_outlineJessi Arrington (@JessiArrington) and Creighton Mershon (@Cr8tonMershon) are the founders of Workshop, a Brooklyn-based creative agency, as well as the proprietors of Small City, a new co-working space and home to dozens of independent creative pros.
Alongside their design practice, Jessi & Creighton have grown their co-working experience by taking on more responsibility across three different spaces in Brooklyn. In this conversation, we discuss the oddities and challenges of New York real estate, the financial and logistical efforts needed to run a co-working space anywhere, and a bit about balancing family life with all manner of creative and business tasks.
Catch up with Jessi & Creighton on their websites for Workshop and Small City.
Cover photo by Bekka Palmer
Get The Episode
- Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 92 (MP3, 59:17, 21.5 MB)
- Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 92 (OGG, 59:17, 26.1 MB)
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Show Notes & Links
- In Fall 2007, Prescott ran the Philadelphia Marathon but also discovered that he didn’t know any peers in the design biz
- Jessi and Prescott in Debbie Millman‘s class at SVA in Fall 2007
- Jessi & Creighton met in the “New York Design Scene”
- J&C have broadened the definitions of “Design”
"A shared word does not mean a shared definiton."
—Debbie Millman
"Design is about intention. We're trying to live a designed life."
—Jessi Arrington
- Parsons, The New School for Design
- Jessi & Creighton founded Workshop in 2005 (and married in 2006)
- Workshop now practices “in-person experience design”, which encompasses physical spaces, graphics, and time (how a person moves through a place)
"I like to think about our projects and ask 'What happens when we press play?'"
—Creighton Mershon
"Nothing like your job to get in the way of your work."
—business adage
- Workshop is currently three partners: Jessi, Creighton, and Casson Rosenblatt
- TED
"Keeping it small has been good for our business but bad for our personal lives."
—Jessi Arrington
- The Hollywood Model, a definition
- Co-Working, a definition
- Small City is a converted industrial space in Gowanus, Brooklyn
- The decor is very un-office-like
- Big Reuse
- Brooklyn Beta
- Comedy Hack Day
- Before opening Small City, J&C ran two prior co-working spaces, allowing them to become familiar with security deposits, etc.
- Desks at Small City cost $550/mo. (get yours)
"Airbnb is a real estate play."
—Prescott Perez-Fox
- DUMBO, Brooklyn (which used to be a very scrappy, creative ‘hood is now too expensive for upstarts like Workshop)
- HOW Magazine
- Different professions need different square feet per employee (call centers need 90; architects need 600)
- Airbnb
- One aspect of gentrification is desk workers replacing industrial workers
- Coney Island, as far as you can go in Brooklyn
- Popular Science magazine (and its predictions of the future)
- Will self-driving cars transform commuting, and thereby the suburbs?
- Sheepshead Bay, Ridgewood, Castle Hill — New York City neighbourhoods outside of Manhattan
- Jessi & Creighton sold their Brooklyn condo and bought a building in Louisville, KY as part of a future project and for the ability to live in multiple cities
- Some folks are commuting to Small City from Manhattan and other parts of Brooklyn
- Commuting is tolerable if you have a nice “work neighbourhood”
- The Internet of Things
- ACH
- Carting Companies, independant, for-profit companies a commercial space must use to collect garbage
- “Who’s dealing with the trash!”
- Adobe MAX
- Prescott’s family comes from the Recycling industry
- P&L = Profit & Loss
- WeWork
- Will co-working spaces offer childcare and other services?
"Us being happy parents involves a certain amount of chaos."
—Jessi Arrington
- The Gowanus Canal (not for swimming)
- Jessi gave a TED talk
- AIGA & AIGA/NY
- Workshop
- Small City
- Jessi Arrington on Twitter
- Jessi Arrington on Facebook
- Jessi Arrington on Instagram
- Jessi Arrington on LinkedIn
- Creighton Mershon on Twitter
- Creighton Mershon on Instagram
- Creighton Mershon on LinkedIn
Tools
- Quickbooks
- Google Sheets
- Station Wagon
- Found objects
- Reused furniture
Techniques
- Keep your company small enough so you don’t have huge overhead
- Look for other ways to keep a network alive aside from conventional employees
- Use co-working studiomates for accountability and courage
- Find and reuse furniture or items, especially when found on the street or at flea market
- Use your existing resources for client events and experiences (no rules against that)
- Build a culture where people “take out their own recycling”
- Work up little by little into bigger spaces, which in turn allow you to save more and more money for future use
- Schedule a day each month to create the necessary invoices
- Keep separate bank accounts for different areas of operation (client services vs. renting desks)
Habits
- Work to improve stopping and documenting projects and process
- Keep your company small if you’re not an effective or natural manager
- Always consider the trash situation following an event!
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