At the time of writing this blog, we are in the final weeks of our lease at our main offices in Manchester Industrial Park. This has been a location that has served us well for the last two years and we are grateful for the amazing relationships we have built with all of our neighbours.
With the success of our merger in the spring of 2019 and a steadily growing client base, we made the decision in late 2019 to look for a new office that could better accommodate our expanding operations and service offering.
The location and free parking at our old office were fantastic, but working in a space with a lot of walls didn't invite collaboration as much as we'd like. We were also quite simply running out of space. We had turned our board room into a desk area and the lack of proper video editing space was starting to hold up projects. Not to mention the challenges of trying to store our video gear, which was split between our office and a freezing cold shipping container.
With all that in mind, we created a giant wishlist and headed out into Calgary’s lowest vacancy commercial real estate market in decades. All those “For Lease” signs meant we could pretty much pick any building and any floor. This is super awesome as a prospective tenant, but also worrisome when you think of what it means for the larger Calgary economy.
Our search took us across the city and each location had its own set of pros and cons. Through this process, it became clear that it would be best to split up our production storage and working office space as we were struggling to find something that could offer the best of both worlds.
When we finally found a space, it was clear to both Logan and I that this was the perfect new home for Maven. The space needed some work but could be renovated to fit the unique needs of a video-focused marketing agency. We also found a great new production warehouse around the same time, but that new space deserves a blog post of its own.
When it came to designing the office, we wanted to do something that was purpose-built and designed for the modern marketing agency. Our unique service offering demands a layout that encourages team collaboration, but that is also optimized for video post-production. As a small unit in a protected heritage building, we also had to work with the confines of the overall structure.
Despite these challenges, we had a very clear vision from day one, and the layout and design are a true reflection of everything Logan and I have learned from working with a creative team. The new space features 12 work stations, two soundproof edit suites, a bright and sunny boardroom, a kitchen and lounge, and dedicated storage and server space.
Here are some behind the scenes photos from the renovation process so far! Aside from the initial planning we’ve decided to leave this one to the pros.
Like many small businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unimaginable impact on our revenues and overall operations. We are still continuing with the move and renovation, but the crisis has forced us to put many other aspects of our plan on hold. We feel fortunate to be in a position to weather out the storm and we are optimistic that things will come together in the long run. In times like these, we are reminded about how important it is to act quickly, be well-diversified, and always have a plan A, B and C.
Special thanks to Manchester Properties for helping with our search as well as Choice Specialty Services for helping us with the renovation process.
Stay tuned for the follow-up blog when we finally have all the pieces together!
