At L’Atelier, we make sure to implement a sense of  community within our members. It’s vital for us that our members feel a sense of belonging and support, as such, we make sure to include team building activities, outings, and gatherings in our monthly agenda.

Why Team Building?

1. Individual and Collective Business Performance: Research has shown team building activities actually boost overall business performance. After a team building activity is completed, the members end up understanding each others strengths, weaknesses, and interests better, which ultimately leads to a more efficient performance. In the case of a co-working space, team building activities can build valuable work relationships between members and make them more likely to reach out to each other for help and support in their individual businesses.
2. Conflict Resolution: Socializing outside the office space leads to better conflict resolution within the workplace. In fact, problem solving skills are enhanced in certain types of team building activities (such as Escape Rooms), hence aiding in strategic and analytical conflict resolution skills. At L’Atelier, we have members from various personal, cultural, and business backgrounds, hence finding a common ground for conflict resolution is vital to us.  
3. Communication and Networking: The upside to working in a coworking space is having different people from different businesses working under the same roof. However, with the absence of any team building activities, members might not take a personal initiative in getting to know each other. Initiating communication in a non-formal setting will open doors for both personal and professional networking, allowing members to make use of each others' talents and services.
4. Improved Communication with Management: It’s important for members of the management to participate in team building activities. Not only does that foster an honest relationship with our members, but it also aids in the development of a sense of loyalty to our company and space.
5. Breaking the Barrier: Identifying as one team, versus a cluster of teams that just happen to work in the same space, will bridge the gap between different people and industries. Nothing beats our morning chat sessions, our weekend get-togethers, and our after work gatherings.

It was almost a year ago when the idea for The Focus Journal came about right here at L’Atelier Vancouver Coworking - our beautiful shared office space in Gastown, where freelancers, solo-preneurs, and startups can rent the space by the hour, day, or month.

Below is a summary of our journey.

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Deanna is an internationally published portrait and editorial photographer who uses the images she creates to craft continuous line drawings. This image was drawn by hand with pen and paper, scanned into the computer and a printable vector file was created. The file was printed at East Van Vinyl, thanks, Spencer.

Deanna has lived and worked in the photographic industry in Vancouver for 14 years, she grew up in Halifax NS and never leaves home without a camera. She has worked in the fashion industry in Toronto and Vancouver and is now working with her images to create more continuous line drawings.

Deanna has had solo exhibitions in the USVI, Toronto, Vancouver, and Halifax and is currently part of Project Instant V6.0 for Capture 2019 at Science World. Her trio of Polaroids won best creative series in the show.

Deanna was able to photograph L'Atelier before it was open to all of you fabulous people.

She is very grateful to Sabrina for their friendship and collaborations.

You can check out more of Deanna's work:

Instagram @freeadmission  

www.freeadmission.ca

Commissions are available or if you want you can choose from over 200 images Deanna has already drawn.

It takes some guts to be the first to sign up for a brand new coworking space, which is why we are forever grateful for our first ever dedicated desk member, Adrian Crook, who we would like you to meet him.

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We're one week away from launching The Focus Journal on Kickstarter!

After months of designing and testing, we're ready to share our creation with the world.

To make sure you don't miss our launch, subscribe to The Focus Journal's email list here. 

Minimal Design

The Focus Journal is a decluttered daily journal and was designed according to the premise of minimalism. That means the layout is very clean and has only the graphic elements that are really needed. It also doesn’t impose rigid systems, thought frames or methods. Its structure allows you to plan and execute according to your own way of thinking.

The pages are not dated which allows you to use the journal whenever. There is also a lot of free space for notes and sketches.

*Prototypes pictured

Timeline

• April - June: Developed concept and initial designs of The Focus Journal
• June 10th: Printed 25 booklets which included 1 week worth of Focus Journal entries for testing
• June 12th: Gave 25 booklets to our Focus Group participants to try for at least 10 days
• June 27th: Focus Group Session. Received feedback from test group
• June 28th: Emailed online survey to Focus Group participants and other testers
• July 7th: Journal Content updated based on feedback
• July 14th: Production ready prototype file completed
• July 18th: Production ready prototype file sent to printing shop (250 pages x 10 prototype journals)
• July 25th: 10 Prototype copies received: 5 in light gray and 5 in dark gray
• August 13th: Filmed kickstarter video
• August 30th: Final design revisions based on prototype feedback
• September 7th: Kickstarter launch + party
• October 7th: Kickstarter campaign ends 
• November 7th: Journals ready to be shipped 

Photos by Olivia Sari 

We had the chance to connect with Rebecca Rochon, founder of Pivot and Pilot and were truly impressed by the ways she conducted her business. Her outgoing personality drew us to her and left us wanting to know more about how she became such a badass.

So we met over Kombucha and listened to her story.

Read more about how she went from being a storyboard artist to starting her own business in the interview below.

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Do you hate networking? Do you dread attempting to get dressed in something "professional" just to cling to your wine glass all evening and then go back home feeling drained and like you wasted your evening? You're not alone, because networking in the traditional sense is no fun. Even the word comes with connotations of stuffy, boring, cringe filled events. Fear not, we've got 5 quick tips to get you on your way to having fun whilst networking!

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