It was a regular sofa scene during a regular summer night when some time ago we got the long expected Aha-Erlebnis. We grapped a regular post-it and wrote down with a regular pen: "shared office for people working at home". We were thrilled, so thrilled, that we immediately told our friends about it. But they didn't see what we saw... Their interrogation came down to this: "so where will you get the money then and who will pay for this brilliant idea?". OK, we must admit that the financial side of the story has never been our strength. So we went "hmm" and "yyyes..." and burned the post-it. Well, not burned, but we threw it away anyhow. Nevertheless creative agency Avenue L can now say "in your face!" to the nonbelievers. With Bar Buro and boterhammen en boeken they combine both the coworking and pop-up trend and prove that a lot of coworkers are looking for a common office. Surrounded by the SMAK museum setting and comfortably seated on the wooden chairs of Slovenian artist Tobias Putrih, they get in their most productive mood. Time for questions!
ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Are sandwiches and books a perfect combination? What do you expect from this?
FREDO DE SMET: When starting up Bar Buro, we had no clue whether it would work or not. But apparently quite a lot of people in Ghent, such as freelancers, were looking for coworking opportunities. So we wanted to extend it with a new format and location.
Crucial for a coworking spot is that you can eat something along the way and it shouldn't always be spaghetti. So there you have the sandwiches part.
Books are just something I'm interested in. I have very little time for them left at home and we have a lot of coworkers working in the creative sector here, so it's fun to have this fantastic art book collection from SMAK at our disposal. For those who want, they're also for sale.
Books are just something I'm interested in. I have very little time for them left at home and we have a lot of coworkers working in the creative sector here, so it's fun to have this fantastic art book collection from SMAK at our disposal. For those who want, they're also for sale.
ROSIE & THE RABBITS: After nine months of Bar Buro, do you know how long you'll be coworking at SMAK?
FREDO DE SMET (Avenue L): There's no official end date and we've still got plans here. However chances are rather big we will move again soon, but the funny thing is that the coworking community moves along with us. The faces are sometimes identical: people who were coming to Bar Buro on Monday, are here again on Monday. They seem to continue coworking as if nothing has changed. They don't need a lot, are happy with what we offer, enjoy the background music and the atmosphere. Sandwiches fit into that simple and straightforward concept.
ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Do you have any idea why the pop-up phenomenon is so popular?
FREDO DE SMET: (silent, then hesitating) Hmmm no... Well, yes, but I don't want to kill it. Do we really have to do this? I need to write a trends report for 2013 and pop-up is one of them. But I'm in favour of just letting it be without trying to explain it.
ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Are there any plans to have a fixed coworking location in Ghent now things are going so well?
FREDO DE SMET: Well, it's not about what you do but how you do it. It should have enough schwung to surprise people. Bar buro for example was at a rather small location and we only had four tables. When I noticed people were starting to sit on the same chair every time, I moved the tables. It's about sense of humor as well. We have been at that location for nine months but constantly changed the context, the music, etc.
I would like to have a fixed top location in Ghent, yes, but for now I'm very happy with this. Thank you SMAK.
ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Are you looking for pop-up possibilities yourselves or do people invite you?
FREDO DE SMET: Both. Bar Buro for example was on external request, but one of our conditions was to have the second floor included in it as well.
ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Avenue L is the organisation behind these coworking initiatives. Why did you choose Ghent as your setting? Do you have plans in other cities as well?
FREDO DE SMET: We are not doing anything unique which wouldn't work in other cities. So we have plans to try it.
ROSIE & THE RABBITS: In what sense is Avenue L different from other creative agencies?
FREDO DE SMET: I think the future lies in the combination of digital and analogue presence in the city. Avenue L tries to combine these.
ROSIE & THE RABBITS: So why should people come to you then?
FREDO DE SMET: We have a very strong network, in a positive way I mean. Starting from the idea "to share is to care". Networking is seen too often as a verb connected to doing business but there's more behind it. We really try to link people to eachother, in an authentic way. I think we succeed in that thanks to our experience and by constantly confronting things with reality.
ROSIE & THE RABBITS: Do you work here at SMAK yourself?
FREDO DE SMET: I'm here all the time. I cannot expect people to be here if I'm not here myself.
Thanks for this Rosie.
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