When setting out to find an office space with two of my fellow Power Tribe members, I never envisioned that in just a few short months we would find ourselves creating a whole new space – a movement, called the 3rd Place Pop-Up! How did this all happen?
When searching for office space, we were determined to find a diamond in the rough, and that is what we did! One of The Stasko Agency’s clients called to say they had a space that has been a challenge for retail tenants and asked if we wanted to consider it for a temporary office space until we found a permanent place. The price and timing were right – so Myrna James Yoo (owner of Blueline Publishing and Publisher of Apogeo Spatial), Janine Underhill (owner of Idea-360 and The Epiphany Lab), and I jumped on the opportunity.
The first few days consisted of us sitting in a large open space on camp chairs trying to figure out what to do with the space – and then an idea struck – based on a concept we created several months earlier, which was orchestrating a Listening Pop-Up for one of Denver Mayoral Candidates, Jamie Giellis. That event helped capture the thoughts and concerns of the audience by giving them a vehicle to record their messages to Jamie.
This sparked the idea of hosting other Pop-Ups in this newly acquired space, which could serve as a place for other businesses to come experiment and experience – a place for other businesses to explore how and where to market their ideas, products, and services. It could be a way to IGNITE the space – a way to build revenue in a non-traditional retail way. Once this idea gelled, we never looked back.
Our first Pop-Up was created by Nancy Hopper of Set the Stage, which provides furniture and accessories to professionals who stage homes before a sale. Nancy’s business is run mostly out of a warehouse full of furniture – so by setting up a vignette in the 3rd Place Pop-Up, she created a satellite showroom where real estate agents, home sellers, and developers can visit and see what she offers. She also provided all the desks and office furniture for our new space, in essence, creating a co-working pop-up within a pop-up. The concept is catching on and expanding!
The 3rd Place is a Professional Pop-Up. It’s a new kind of workspace that is designed to foster creativity and interaction, where you can work alongside familiar faces and new colleagues. Like a home office away from home – but better! We are designing for conversation and collaboration. As we work together, we elevate all our respective businesses.
We now offer co-working opportunities and event space. We opened our doors at the end of August by inviting a few small businesses to “test” the pop-up concept. The first pop-up event we hosted featured Anya Thompson of Elie Mak (clothing/accessories), The Family Jones (whiskey), Helena Cappon of 45 Ivy (professional cakes and desserts), and Amy Norton of Better Wall (reclaimed museum and theatre banners). The evening was a success!
Our journey has just begun. We are here to work, to ideate, to create, and to collaborate. Please come by for a visit any time at 2000 W. 30th Avenue, Denver, CO 80211 in the Little Man Ice Cream Plaza.
While I absolutely love being an entrepreneur, there’s no doubt that the life of a business owner can get lonely. To combat that isolation, I’ve built a network of colleagues who have valuable insight and can serve as great sounding boards when challenges arise. I also like to think that my perspective can prove helpful when my fellow entrepreneurs find themselves struggling with a public relations or marketing issue.
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