I very briefly mentioned that we recently moved into a new workspace on the floor. This is a little experimentation we’re trying that hopefully would further cement our Small But Mighty Immaculate Team of 3 into an even more efficient work rhythm. The idea is simple: to break down the rigid and often siloed office cube setup, and to create a new space and a new way of working together that would allow for real-time and fluid communication between team members. In a nutshell, we’ve been penned into one shared space so we’re “fused in” to breathe, think and work together in perfect synch. Hey, you know you’re in for some major team building when you’re always in each other’s faces, literally, everyday, all the time. Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Sure, there will be (and have already been) moments of TMI (part of any effective team building!), but the fact that I’ve already moved into my very first “corner office” with this wicked view (of the sun setting over our backlogged highway everyday during rush hour) this early in my career? Totally worth it.
There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done. For one, we’ve still got a long way to go on our office décor. We’re planning on putting up some of our favorite folk art. This is probably one of the best perks of working on Immaculate Baking: I get to buy and enjoy fantastically inspirational artwork from talented self-taught artists that I would otherwise not have been able to afford. There’s something about being surrounded by these recycled wood planks and scrap metals and vibrant colors that have been so creatively reincarnated into works of art that just gets your creative juices flowing. Okay, so it is a bummer that we couldn’t fit a foosball table, a bean bag chair, a napping pod, a surround sound stereo system complete with the latest video game consoles and other things that would also get our creative juices flowing into our new workspace, but baby steps, people. Folk art will have to be inspirational enough. For now.
But like anything that’s in beta, there are bugs that need to be fixed, wrinkles that need to be ironed out and there’s always room for system upgrades. We quickly noticed that even though we’re now “fused” together in the same room, it really was more like throwing all of our work stations on to a conference table that wasn’t too large to begin with. So now with our keyboards and mouse pads and docking stations, there really isn’t much desk space left at all. And if only our great, big monitors could rotate sideways, we might actually be able to get some real face time with each other. Hmmm and it sure is going to be tricky figuring out how the three of us are going to share one phone that has the world’s shortest phone chord which barely extends past the tiny round table tucked away in the corner. Clearly, some more thought and design need to go into this room to transform it from a conference room to a Brand Lab for 3.
Oh yes, and let’s not forget about the toxin-emitting floor-to-ceiling tack board that continues to suffocate the room with traces of dizzying chemical fumes. Having left it to air out over the weekend has certainly helped, but it’s probably going to be another few days before the wretched stench of freshly unwrapped cork board completely dissipates. Big exhale.
To be fair, it always takes time to fully settle in to any new place you just moved into. We’ve already got some ideas of how we want to redesign the space to fix all the kinks that we’ve experienced so far. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since working on Immaculate Baking, it’s that everything about this brand is still very much a work in progress. It’s daunting, but mostly exciting to take the reins of a brand this early on in its journey, knowing that even something seemingly as minuscule as creating a new workspace and a new way of working together as a team is all part of the unknown that we’re defining and the unprecedented we’re creating. No amount of nasty chemical stench is going to get in our way of being a part of history in the baking!
Goodies & Yum x Immaculate Baking 