Working among so many fashionable shoes and strangers on the 24th floor of a tall building overlooking Manhattan's upper west side was surreal. This is jelly at the Michael Antonio showroom. The environment was a stark contrast to the basement-like quality of "The Change You Want To See" space. The showroom is gorgeous. Lofty, wall-to-wall windows, eclectic adornments like the red felted pool table and the antler chandelier. A chic, modern vibe with a southern twist. However, it was harder to "jel" here. Most people were quite intent on working on their laptops. There was not as much camaraderie here because people were too physically spread out, unlike the Brooklyn jelly session where people were packed together.
I felt nervous walking in and perhaps everyone feels that way initially, but I found opportunities to chat. It was especially nice to meet an old face there. I felt like I instantly connected. I can see why coworking would be much more fulfilling than jellying. In coworking, you can actually keep rapport when you go somewhere daily and see the same people. Relationships can be built this way. It's also important to have a mix of new people into a coworking space as well because it brings fresh perspective and ideas.
Food and drinks usually get people socializing. It was around the water cooler that I had the opportunity to meet other jellyers. Jesús was one such person who I met while making some tea. He is a telecommuter who works most days from home, in his home office. He likes jellying to get him out of his routine. I think most people don't cowork because of the extra cost of renting a space, but jellying, which is free, is nice to try out. You never know who you are going to meet and how they are going to affect you. Speaking with Jesús reinforces the idea that people like to move around to work and wireless internet makes that all possible.As for me, I read a whole book on coworking. I had met Todd, the co-author of a book on coworking at the last jelly session. He was the guy who I described (in my last post) sat next to me, took off his watch, and answered his phone. Yes! He's an expert on coworking and I was reading the e-book version. The last jelly session was quite successful because at the end of the day, everyone started socializing. I honestly think I started the conversations because as I was packing to leave, I mustered up the guts to ask the girl next to me if she was a programmer, which then got the guy next to her (a sculptor) interested and the guy sitting across from him (a graphic designer) also started listening. We then went around and announced who we were and what we were working on. That is how I met Todd.
