by Corey Brown on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
The April Design Group is set!
Here’s the scoop from Mike Ferrell, one of the Group’s organizers:
Last month’s discussion on collaborative work was a good meeting. We had a good turnout and seemed to hit on something that a lot of you are thinking about.
This month, we’re having a Show ‘N Tell. Bring your best work to share with the group. It can be anything from professional design work, to an ingenious technical solution, to your own personal artwork. Don’t be shy—this could be interesting!
Gathering at 5:30, group starts at 6:00pm. We’ll provide light refreshments.
Where: The City Meat Building, 205 N Cameron St, Winchester
When: Tuesday, April 14th. Gather at 5:30 pm, meet at 6:00 pm.
Posted in Events | No Comments »
by Corey Brown on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
We’re happy to be hosting the Design Group meeting on March 10th at Bright Cowork.
Here’s the note from Mike Ferrell, who organized the event:
Hello Everyone!
Thanks to all who came out for the Fears & Beers winter doldrums party last month. We had a good turnout and a good time was had by all.
I want to remind you all that Design Group is coming up next week, Tuesday, March 10.
We’ll be meeting at Bright Cowork, at the Bright Center on the Loudoun St. Mall in downtown Winchester (the very cool big yellow building about halfway down the mall).
Corey Brown of Bright Cowork will be talking about the philosophy behind Bright Cowork, and there will be an open discussion of collaborative work in general.
We’ll be sharing the latest industry news and afterwards head over to Union Jacks for happy hour.
Design Group: Tuesday, March 10
Gathering Time: 5:30 pm
Meeting Start Time: 6:00 pm
Bright Cowork: 15 N. Loudoun Street, Suite 207, Winchester, VA 22601, (703) 967-1738
See you there!
Mike Ferrell
Water Street Design, LLC
Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Posted in Events | No Comments »
by Gannon Beck on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
If you had the chance to get tutored by Albert Einstein in math and physics would you take it? The actual answer to this question says much about how people think and act about opportunity.
Often, we’re so fixated on what we think an opportunity should look like, that we miss the opportunities all around us. To be tutored by the famous Albert Einstein who revolutionized physics would have been a tremendous opportunity. Almost anyone would jump at the chance. To be tutored by an obscure physicist as he waits for a position to open up in a patent office probably doesn’t seem like much to get excited about. Consequently, back in 1902 only one person responded to an ad Albert Einstein ran offering his knowledge. That man was Maurice Solovine. Most people, probably even those interested in physics, didn’t see Einstein’s offer for what it was; it didn’t fit into their preconceived notions of what an opportunity should look like.
As it happens, Einstein and Solovine hit it off immediately and formed a study group. They were later joined by one other — Conrad Habicht — and they jokingly referred to themselves as the Olympia Academy. They studied the works of such Enlightenment thinkers as Ernst Mach, Immanuel Kant, Baruch Spinoza, and David Hume. Meeting several times a week, this learning collaboration helped Einstein herald in the greatest scientific revolution since Isaac Newton, made him internationally famous, and made his name synonymous with genius. At the time he wrote the papers in his “miracle year” though, he was merely a patent clerk who collaborated with his newfound friends to improve their minds.
Imagine what this opportunity looked like in 1902 without the benefit of hindsight. Think of what the opportunity looked like from Maurice Solovine’s perspective. It simply looked like a chance to collaborate with a smart man about subjects that interested him. It was an opportunity to learn.
With that in mind consider what is going on at the Bright Center in Winchester. The Bright Center is a collaborative workspace that is attracting an interesting group of coworkers. Most of the coworkers run successful businesses from different disciplines. Thinking like Maurice Solovine, I’ve decided to join them once a week. During working hours, we get our work done in a great environment. We also bring topics to a round table lunch, discuss the projects we’re working on and receive feedback as well as share and discuss books and blogs we’re reading.
Now I’m not saying that the coworkers at the Bright Center will revolutionize anything. I can’t say we won’t. What I am saying is that THIS is what opportunity looks like.
Stop by if you can.
Posted in General | 4 Comments »
by aldo on Monday, February 16th, 2009
OK…so it’s President’s Day and yes, I’m working…but I’m working in Alexandria today, not Bright Cowork. Which also reminds me of what a great time I had working there this past Friday. Now don’t get me wrong, I really like my Alexandria office as well…but right now I’m having to catch up on paperwork and emails and…well, you get the picture.
So what’s it like at Bright Cowork? Well, it’s not as though you DON’T do the paperwork and emails and everything else that you have to do to run your business or consultancy but it’s all about the value add. And the value add is that at Bright Cowork you get the chance to collaborate with some pretty interesting people. People that have insight into various disciplines, that are smart and creative, and who don’t mind sharing their knowledge and providing guidance.
And this past Friday that’s exactly what the people in the group did…in the form of a brown bag lunch where we got together to discuss the merits of a couple of innovative website ideas. The discussion was lively and the feedback served to clarify the ideas and drill down on some specifics. Besides helping out, I obtained some valuable knowledge during the conversation and also gained some insight into the people sitting around the table…and found out more about their areas of expertise…always a good thing for future exploration.
Can’t wait until the next brainstorm. Who knows, maybe I’ll be the next one to bring a couple of ideas to the table. How about you?
Tags: collaboration, coworking, ideas, networking
Posted in General | No Comments »
by aldo on Monday, February 2nd, 2009
Fridays are now my favorite day of the week. And I don’t mean maybe…or that it happens only once in a while that Fridays are better…or that it’s the end of the work week (TGIF) and therefore the weekend is right around the corner. NOPE! It’s got nothing to do with any of those things. Fridays are now my mostest favoritest day of the week because that’s the day that I get to spend at Bright Cowork…and those days are quickly becoming everything that Corey Brown envisioned for the coworking space at Bright Center.
Collaboration, brainstorming, rapid learning, socializing and networking…these are all aspects of coworking, part and parcel of the kind of participation the space is supposed to foster. But it’s one thing to plan it that way and quite another for it to actually work. Well…I’m here to tell you that it’s working splendiferously!
What’s happening at Bright Cowork is precisely what I envision was happening in the Vienna coffeehouse scene of the late 19th century, where otherwise isolated artists and literary figures would come together to hang out, debate ideas and share each other’s work. The collaboration and sharing of ideas that was a staple of the Viennese cafes, gave birth to some of the most innovative artistic and political thinking in European history. And it’s all because various talents came together to socialize, network and YES, get things done…and just as in Vienna over a century ago, I expect to see a lot of really great projects and ideas emerge out of Bright Cowork over the next few years.
And BTW, Bright Cowork also comes with an ultra futuristic coffee maker that makes an excellent cuppa joe and there’s always the “obligatory glass of cold tap water” (wikipedia) for those who just want to hang out!
Tags: collaboration, coworking, ideas, networking
Posted in General | No Comments »
by Corey Brown on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
Tuesday was a fun day at Bright Cowork.
Gannon Beck and Matt Ortiz were our guests for a day of collaboration, watching Obama’s inauguration via the web, some great Thai food and lots of good work in between.
In other words, the kind of day we hoped for when we planned this space. And we’re not yet three weeks old.
Hope to see you here some time.
Posted in Visitors | 1 Comment »