Good Design is Good Business

Some people work at a place because it’s affordable, others because of the community. Then there are those who look for inspiration amongst their surroundings. East Side Collective is a beautiful warehouse space on East Cesar Chavez that was started by three designers/architects. Jared, Tim and Javier have all shared spaces with each other in the past but always had the space  taken from them in the end. Therefore, they were adamant on finding a warehouse space in Austin for their teams. In their search, they came across an old Pepsi factory. This was 5 years ago when East Austin wasn’t as developed as it is today. They knew that building a concrete warehouse would be costly and too large of a project to take on.  So in 2015, East Side Collective was born.

Creative Hotspot

Every creative has their go to place when they need inspiration. Whether it be a beautiful library in Porto that inspired JK Rowling for Harry Potter or the bustle of Venice Beach for Scott Neustadter that inspired 500 Days of Summers. We all know the frustration of creative block. It can be discouraging and time consuming to wrack at our brains but yet be unproductive. That’s why places like East Side Collective is so essential to Austin’s ecosystem of coworking spaces.

 

The warehouse turned coworking space has a minimalist yet grand feel.  Upon walking in, I quickly noticed the bright white walls, tall ceilings and open floor plan in the two story, loft style office. As you’ll notice in the photos and immediately upon approaching the building, the full front of the office is solid glass; inviting in natural light. How the office is designed, there isn’t too much need for interior lights. The front “lobby” of the space is lined with bookshelves of magazines and books relevant to all things design. You can chill up front and bask in the natural light or climb to the top loft and hole up to get some work done.

Growing East Austin

The building is across the way from Atmosphere Coworking. There’s a friendly community that promotes collaboration amongst the two spaces which I’m always a fan of. East Side Collective is situated in the Holly neighborhood. The area “is an up and coming neighborhood whose residents are trying to dispel the image of east Austin as being rundown and crime-infested” as the Austin Texas Insider explains.  As the city continues to grow, it makes sense that businesses are venturing East of downtown where property costs are lower. East Austin Collective is a nice addition to the area. It’s a beautiful space but yet not intrusive to it’s quickly gentrifying neighborhood.

 

Who Should Join?

Majority of East Austin Collective’s community consists of designers and architects who concentrate more on the structural side of design. Although you can’t pinpoint it exactly, you can immediately tell there’s a difference in environment. Rather than people in hoodies chugging coffee, there’s a calm air with an openness to creativity. Whether you’re looking for a permanent place to bring your team or just a day escape to find that inner creativity, take a day out of your week to try it out. You won’t regret it!

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