> > The thing we sold at the beginning was the ability to make the space your > own. I took care of (and still do!) all the stuiff that is not fun to shop > for or buy -- like desks and chairs and cabinets and so on. Every single > other thing here was brought by a coworker and gifted to the community when > they left. I bought a table and chairs for the garden, but the > translator's circle, which meets outside weather permitting, bought a much > bnetter one so we replaced it. All of the basic furniture I bought is > removed when a coworker feels ready to put their own stamp on things. >
Our art is also all from the painter's group that meets here on Tuesdays, and we have a special corner in that room for paintings in progress so folks who are not here on Tuesdays can see them as they develop. We now have two printers, mine which is a good printer but nothing to say wow about, and one a coworker bought and put on the network which is. The music system was installed by a coworker for a party, the barbecue same. If anybody wants some cool thing they can make a pitch which we send to all the coworkers and sometimes it gets bought. We have an active book sharing corner and a basket where people can share craft/handwork supplies and so on. Never met a person who does handwork who does not have a pile of extra stuff they intended to use once and are keeping because they might use it someday. They enjoy very much the chance to swap out and get something they otherwise would not have thought of. So you facilitate relationships and the ability to get things, you don't hand people a package and expect them to like it. I can go through your list if you like: - Snacks in kitchen (Mixed nuts, m&ms, cereal, milk, some fruits): We have fruit pretty much all the time, people bring it or I buy some. Food is shared unless you indicate it is not to be shared, I cannot remember the last time this happened. It just works out, sometimes you buy and sometimes somebody else does. - Beer on tap (Keg) We only get beer in for parties. Pretty often on a Friday the beer does appear in the frig, but a keg is an event for us. - Fresh fruit water: Nope, not a thing here. - Awesome coffee machine (not just for coffee but also for espresso, capp, coffee, hot choc): We cycled through several of these, In the end most folks just keep using the regular coffee maker like your mom had. :-) - Color printing/copying (with a limit) Yes. This I did buy. - Notary Public: I think it is important to have at least a connection with th eprofessionals your coworkers may bneed. A time comes when you have them in house; until then, I think it is good to serve a concierge function. I just interviewed a bunch, you will find that professionals whoa re not stupid are eager to establish a relationship with a coworking space once they figure out what a coworking space is. - Arcades: I think I have the wrong demographic for that. - Photography studio (Basic setup, no electronics/photo equipment, just the lighting hardware and setup): Nope. One location had a music studio, and anothe rmay be getting one, but the partner at the new location does sound and lighting so it';s a natural development. . - 3D Printer / Laser cutter (members pay for materials): Not yet. Two years ago we had a guy who gave classes on 3D printer use and he had it here on occasion but it was not used that much. - Lockers (where desk members can store their belongings).I go back and forth on this. This is the kind of thing I would get and occasionally get asked about but it's a space suck. We do have metal cabinets in our warehouse location and product cages in another location -- both cater to retail, transport, webshops and import/export -- but not in the office locations. But I might go there yet. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
