An open house with a talk.
At the first open house, Peter invited Squamish in to work, look around, and hear futurist Nikolas Badminton speak. It was a workday that kept going into an evening together.
Work together.
Grow together.
Peter opened The Common so people in Squamish could get out of the home office, do good work, and meet one another.
Why Peter opened The Common.
Peter Buchholz opened The Common in an original 1970s building on Cleveland Avenue. He knew the pull of working remotely, and the part it could leave out: a conversation over lunch, someone to ask for a second opinion, a reason to leave the house.
He made room for both sides of the day. There are desks where you can focus, and a kitchen, communal tables, and a courtyard where you can get to know the people sharing the space.
In his first update to members, Peter admitted that building the room was only the beginning. He wanted to spend more time bringing the people in it together. That thought still guides The Common.
The first weeks at The Common
Come in, get settled, get something done.
Take a desk by the front windows or tuck into the main room. Make your lunch in the kitchen. Step outside for a break, then come back to the thing you were working on.
Some people come in for an hour. Some are here most days. Either way, you don't have to work alone.
Try a day here
A place to work, and people to work alongside.
Peter's original site put the people first. Coders, lawyers, students, engineers, green tech founders, local business owners, and people working remotely all found their way here.
The work is different. The lunch table, the garden, and the conversations between meetings are shared. That's what keeps The Common feeling like Squamish.
How The Common began