Building a community around working your own way

Grind, a growing network of co-working spaces, began with a single location on Park Ave in NY. But as the membership grew, Grind needed more space in more locations. And as the second NY location and first Chicago location began to take shape, I developed concept and production work to bring the Grind ethos to its new spaces. That work manifested in a few ways. 

First, we carried forward the concept of ‘Work Liquid.’ ‘Work Liquid’ is the mantra and hallmark of the independent Grindist. It’s a term that stands for doing things your own way, on your terms.   We decided that each location should have a unique, signature iconic use of the phrase. In the Lasalle location I designed the wall treatment. The phrase is splashed high against the wall overlapping the window and onto the ceiling. The word itself refuses to obey the limits of the vertical wall. And each day, as the sun sets, ‘Work Liquid’ spills off the wall and across the floor, proving the installation itself to be as independent as the workers who set up shop below it.

Another Grind belief is that it is important to smash the shackles and chains of workers’ past oppression. So in each location the objects and symbols of the way work was are decontextualized, dismantled, and destroyed in new, inspiring ways. For Lasalle, with its huge windows and open space, I designed, in association with RND of Brooklyn NY, a chandelier out of fluorescent lighting defusers, corded telephones, staplers and other desktop accoutrements. The elements were painted white to unify the found objects and make a bold and useful light fixture, turning the dimness of the past into a beacon that lights the way forward.