The summer open house is going to ROCK! Please join us this Thursday, July 8th from 6-9pm for an evening of photography, info on sharing resources in Capitol Hill, and all the usual shenanigans you find during our quarterly celebrations. RSVP here and let us know you’re coming! Here are all the details on the fun:

• New art! We are incredibly pleased to welcome Youth In Focus to the office walls for the next several months. Youth In Focus is a fantastic Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering urban teens, through photography, to experience their world in new ways and make positive changes in their lives.  As part of the Blitz! Capitol Hill Art Walk, we’re incredibly excited to host this new round of art!  You can read more about the featured show by clicking over to our Featured Artist page.
• Zipcar in the House! We’re not the only ones in town who think that sharing resources (like offices) is a great idea. We’ve teamed up with Zipcar to offer great discounts to our members, and hope to step forward even more to inspire our Capitol Hill neighbors to share with one another. Sharing resources like cars and offices means that we can each make less of an impact on the planet as an individual. Come and chat with the good folks at Zipcar at our event to learn more about what they’re doing in Seattle and in other great cities across the country!
• Coworking Seattle Meetup! If you’re interested in joining in for a great pre-event, please join us for the Coworking Seattle July meetup. Our group will be talking about great opportunities to share marketing costs, and how our little organization can help to promote coworking throughout our great city. You can RSVP via the Facebook Event if you’re up for joining us!

That’s about it!  If you’d like to join us, you can RSVP to let us know you’re coming (and help us determine how big the keg will be!).  All are most welcome, so bring a few friends along and make us a part of your summer Thursday night.

**Important PS: We’ve got A/C, so if you’re out there sweltering in the new-found Seattle heat, come on in for some relief and a cool refreshing drink.

After receiving helpful feedback from our members and wider community, Office Nomads is proud to introduce some new membership levels! You can see full descriptions on our updated Memberships and Pricing page! Quickly, here’s what monthly membership now looks like at ON:

• Basic: 3 days/month – $50
• Part-Time: 5-15 days/month – $75-225
• Resident: 24/7 access – $475 + deposit

We hope that these new levels allow even more flexibility to potential members who are looking to be in the office on a regular basis.  As always, we know there is incredible value in a space that keeps its focus on the people, not on the pricing plans. We try to keep our membership plans simple, and designed to keep you focused on getting work done, not on whether you can afford to have another cup of coffee.

If you’ve been meaning to swing by and check out the office, now’s a great time!  Come on in for a tour of the space and we can chat you up about the new price points!

Kevin Moore

Website: www.kevinmooreconsulting.com

Member Since: January 2010

Type of Member: Resident

When most people are nine, they are mastering the early squiggles of cursive writing and are confident that their urges to eat paste are well gone in their past. At the wee age of nine, Kevin Moore was already tapping away at a keyboard in the early stages of his programming career.  By the time he was in high school he was doing professional web development. A visit to a career fair in college led to an internship at Microsoft, which blossomed to a career, which was a step along the way to his current freelance software consulting.  He was lucky enough to figure out what he liked doing early on and has been able to make a career out of it.

Kevin is a new addition to Office Nomads and he is fitting in perfectly. He became familiar with ON after participating in Green Drinks and Sustainable Capitol Hill. Every entrance and exit he makes in the space involves a fist pound with other Nomads. He’s a positive addition to the space, sharing his James Brown with everyone and enthusiastically joining in on the fun when we’ve gone to Happy Hour or had other events.  There are rumors that he has a singing and music background and we are eagerly anticipating the day when he decided to share that with us.

Like many other Nomads, Kevin is a bit of a world traveler.   This summer he is off to explore Argentina and Peru.  Lucky for him, his business is mobile so in between the tango dancing and exploration of ruins he can continue his freelance software consulting business, Kevin Moore Consulting.  We all are eagerly anticipating his reports on eating cuy (guinea pig) and drinking chicha (corn beer).

We are thrilled to have Kevin at Office Nomads.  Not just because he has the magically ability of fixing our computers just by looking at them, but because he is a pretty stellar individual.

It’s January so that means it’s time for our January Open House!  Fitting, right?  Well, we are really excited for this month’s open house on January 14th from 6 PM to 9 PM when we’ll open our doors to the wholecommunity to celebrate art, coworking and each other.

What: January Open House

When: Thursday, January 14th from 6 PM-9 PM

Where: Office Nomads- 1617 Boylston Ave, Second Floor

Food and Drink: We’ve got the goods, just bring your pint glass!

We are proud to be part of Capitol Hill Art Walk again this month and are featuring the beautiful photography of Mychal Richardson of Lost Photography.  His show, “Faces of Washington” was created for the ACLU and includes seventeen 36″ by 36″ black and white portraits of courageous individuals from all across Washington State who fought for their rights and the rights of others.  It is an inspiring show and one not to be missed.

Something we are very excited about is the opportunity to be part of the art!  Andy Aupperlee of Explosion 5000 will be here taking photos of you and your New Years Resolutions.  Andy is really excited to have some fun with these photography so bring a big smile and your creativity to be expressed in the photobooth.  At the same time, we have partnered with a couple local businesses in an effort to tempt you away from some of those New Years Resolutions. Ice cream from Bluebird Ice Cream and beer from Elysian Brewing always are incredibly delicious and will both be here.  Make sure your bring a sweet tooth and your pint glass!

The only thing that could make the Open House any greater would be you!  We hope you can join us and bring along your great friends and family.  What better way to celebrate winter, photography and the neighborhood than with our community?  We look forward to seeing you!

It seems to be a hot week for community input here in Seattle.  Throughout the week, we’ve seen community input being gathered at venues such as design review sessions on Capitol Hill, the open-source transition process for Mayor-Elect Mike McGinn, and even here at Office Nomads with Tuesday’s “State of the Nomads” meeting.

What each of these opportunities provides is a chance for members of a community to weigh in and help guide the direction of the community they are a part of.  As opposed to more traditional business models which try to anticipate the needs or desires of a market, community input enables a business, a nonprofit, a governmental body, or any other organization to truly map their offerings to what the community desires.

This was the second time we held a State of the Nomads gathering at Office Nomads, and it was another success for our community.  Members had a chance to hear how Office Nomads was doing as a business, what initiatives we were currently working on, and then weigh in their opinions and concerns on all aspects of Nomadic life.  This is a critical aspect to how we want Office Nomads to continue growing and thriving – with the community instead of in front of it.

Community input is more than just watching activity on a blog or a Facebook page.  It requires time.  Patience.  Solid listening skills. It is, as Tara Hunt would say, about turning the bullhorn around.  Community input is the cornerstone of building anything that is meant to serve a community need.  Whether for a building, a service, or an entire government office, community input allows for the voices of the community to be heard.  But as Steve, one of our Office Nomads members said at State of the Nomads, “you have to participate in what is made available to you.” Couldn’t have said it better myself, Steve.

So get out there in your community and start letting your voice be heard.  You might be surprised at how receptive those your speaking to are to your needs.

(Thanks to Flickr User Audin for providing this photo “Holy Feedback!” as part of the Creative Commons license.)

Susan Cope Evans

Website: http://www.officenomads.com

Member Since: The Start of Time

Type of Member: She wears the pants.

Tacked up to the wall by the phone booth, there are two large pieces of paper covered pen and pencils scribbles.  Together the smattering of sentences and half thoughts are the foundations of Office Nomads.  The headings are “Who We Are”, “What We Do”, and “What We Stand For”.  Susan and Jacob put that together over two years ago and, following our 2^nd Birthday Party, it’s still there and ringing true.

Susan spends her days at Office Nomads encouraging the space to grow into what she and Jacob had hoped it could become. Sitting there, she enjoys watching how ideas tossed out by members then get feedback from others, including diverse points of view from an urban planner, a couple of web designers, a publisher and others.  “The way we view things is very different, unique.  I don’t think I knew how powerful that could be or how rewarding.”

She set out to create a “platform on which a coworking community could grow” and can’t believe how well it has taken off, especially in the personal relationships people have grown.  “I hoped we would all get along and members would like each other.  I didn’t expect them to go to each other’s weddings and help each other move. “

“It just knocks me over sometimes,” Susan admits. “Holy crap! It’s buzzing way more than it used to.  [The atmosphere] has gotten warmer.”  From here she has her sights set on encouraging other coworking spaces in Seattle. She wants to help them get off the ground and be a support system for whomever is creating a new collaborative space, be it offices, kitchens, workshops, etc.  “I want to see more of these spaces around the city.  They are vital to urban sustainability, as far as I’m concerned.”

Mike Jones

Website: http://www.morganclaypool.com/

Member Since: January 2008

Type of Member: Resident

Mike Jones is another one of Office Nomads’ world travelers though he’s not from out of the country, he just seems to go there quite a lot. Mike works for Morgan & Claypool Publishers as Director of Marketing. According to him, that means he travels the world charming the pants off librarians. In fact, he sent us the biographical details we used to write this while sitting in a convention hall filled with 1,000 librarians. How he kept his mind on his email in such a place we will never know.

Mike spent three years working out of his kitchen before he discovered Office Nomads. It was not a good experience.”No one should have to work from my kitchen,” he says. “Nobody ever goes in there, there’s no food, I don’t cook, etc. In fact I think President Obama has strictly forbidden working from my kitchen.” Now, he says, he can’t imagine working anywhere other than Office Nomads. Not even the library.

After working in out of his decidedly depressing sounding kitchen, it’s no surprise that Mike settled himself squarely into the center of the main room. It’s a perfect vantage point for Mike, giving him ample access to procrastinating conversations with Jacob, opportunities to tease Nomad Suzi about her diet and to toss various objects at Erik, Robyn and whomever else presents themselves. A word to the wise: Mike is a sharpshooter with the Nerf projectiles, so be on the lookout.

Robyn Welch

Website: http://www.burgis.com/

Member Since: August 2008

Type of Member: Resident

When Robyn moved to Seattle a year and a half ago, she was trying to get a handle on the whole telecommuting thing.  She had moved from New York where she had worked for four years as an urban planner with Burgis Associates.  She had thought that the move across the country would be an end to that but Burgis loved her so much that they wanted her to try telecommuting for the New Jersey-based business.  As luck would have it, she saw a sign pointing her towards Office Nomads and has not left us since.

As an urban planner, Robyn works with private firms and municipalities that are too small to have their own department for planning.  “Basically, we write master plans and development ordinances to implement the plans.”  Projects include affordable housing, open spaces, historic preservation plans, and much more.  Her projects have been known to keep her here until 11:30 PM, which is what prompted her to become a resident here at Office Nomads.

Robyn is a great, positive addition in the space.  When not working, she is usually laughing with one of the other folks sitting near her. “I was so isolated when I never left the house.  I come here and everyone is great.  I’ve made great friends.  Office Nomads has given me a good social network,” she says with a smile.  It also gives her the opportunity to live vicariously through the pet owners in the space.  With Cortez the Killer across the way and fellow nomadic pooches Chuey and Sadie taking turns sitting to her left, Robyn gets a regular quota of quality dog time. Whether it’s the people or the dogs keeping her here, Office Nomads is incredibly lucky to have Robyn on board – not only does her laughter light up the space, but her welcoming attitude has made others feel at home here on their first days as Nomads.

Paul Pham

Website: http://pulse-programmer.org/

Member Since: June 2009

Type of Member: Resident

Paul Pham is an inventor.  How cool is that?  He might just say that he is an electronics designer but then he will explain his job and it’s clear that he is an inventor, like we all dreamed we wanted to be at some point.  Paul designs electronics for scientific instrumentation, like physics experimentation.  This is something that grew out of his graduate school work and has taken off to be his full-time job.  At his desk in the Green Room here at Office Nomads he adjusts his designs per requests of clients from as far off as Germany.

Paul is a huge fan of shared spaces like Office Nomads.  He had been working in his apartment and in coffee shops but he found that isolating and discouraging.  Now he has his hand in two shared spaces, here at Office Nomads and at a workshop space in SoDo.  In the workshop is where he solders together his pulse programmers.  We get him most of the time, luckily, when he has put down the soldering gun and is tapping at his keyboard. “I left Amazon to work here full time.  It has helped me focus on this project, which I’ve been working on for a while.  I thought I should get serious about it and now it can be my main focus and this space lets me concentrate on it.”

Paul is a constant and positive presence in the space.  Whenever there’s a Brown Bag Lunch or any events with the Nomads gathering, he is sure to be found.  He wows us with his brightly colored hair and willingness to help out.  If he’s not at his desk, he can be found mingling around.  “I enjoy going around and seeing what other people are working on.  We’ll have game nights sometimes.  Last week three of us went out and saw a movie during the day.  If you can’t watch a movie in the middle of the day, why be your own boss?”  Excellent question.

Nancy Ward

Website: http://www.worldjusticeproject.org

Member Since: June 2009

Type of Member: Basic

Nancy says she’s not a superhero, but listening to the mission of her work one might be able to argue that she just about is.  No, she doesn’t put on tights and fight crime or run into burning buildings to save people. Instead her subtle hero work involves getting people from 90 different countries together who work every day to strengthen the rule of law. These are people who work “to make societies safe, lift people from poverty and build economic prosperity, reduce corruption, improve public health and enhance education”.  Any person who makes that collaboration possible is a hero.

Nancy is the Event Manager for the World Justice Forum, which is part of the World Justice Project.  The forum will be in Vienna this November and Nancy is behind inviting all the participants, agenda development, logistical arrangements, and program materials.   At the World Justice Forum the participants will work to create new projects to strengthen the rule of law globally.  Nancy is “facilitating their ability to impact change.”

“[The World Justice Forum] is like Office Nomads.  ON creates a space for people to come in and do their best work.  It creates a community that can learn from each other and encourage each other.  I see ON as a community like I see the World Justice Project as a community.  They are getting people from different backgrounds and fields together to effect change.”

Nancy signed up as a Basic member in June 2009 and we saw her once a week but she has become a more frequent presence as the World Justice Forum nears. “As an event planner, I ramp up to an intensity as I near my event date,” she says. “Having an office as flexible as my schedule is helpful.  It doesn’t make sense for me to have a permanent office because I don’t know how my contracts will go.  This works with my contracts.”

When asked why she loves Office Nomads, she has much to say.  “It’s near Molly Moon’s.  It’s easy to get here by bike or bus. I love that they play KEXP all day.  I love the music.  I also like the tea varieties.” Oh, and she finds it to be a great place to get work done, too.