Office Surfing

Office Surfing 

Yesterday was not a normal working Thursday for me, I piloted the Emporium of Dangerous

Ideas – Office Surfing and surfed at a brewery!

A little background

Office surfing – the dangerous idea …

Spend some time in a different work environment, doing your work or work as a host, welcoming a surfer to experience your working environment.

The host – Drygate Brewery
 
Drygate brewery, the host for my surfing experience is the UK’s first experiential craft brewery. Brewing fearlessly to achieve the exceptional. Their strap line ‘Open Doors, Open Minds, Whatever it Takes’ alongside their incredible marketing and design throughout the brewery, web and social media generates a great buzz and energy.

My Experience
 
Hitting the waves a little later than anticipated (after hitting a ‘shark’ zone by getting lost) the lovely Katie Nimigon, Events Manager at Drygate Brewery welcomed me with open arms to her work space, settling me in with a cuppa from their marvelous coffee machine. 

The differences in working spaces are immediately clear to see. I have the typical workspace set up – desk, computer, telephone, files, calendars etc. At Drygate the office space is certainly not ‘typical’ – there is no office space! No computer, desk or telephone as they move from one space to another with only their laptop to hand. 

What they lack in materials they compensate with in flexibility, multiple work stations, plenty of inspirational images stimulating the mind and regular face-to-face communication.  

Delighted with my new working station I settle in for the morning and learn from Katie a little more about The Vintage at Drygate (the restaurant and hospitality side) and Drygate Brewery. With a small team of only 6 the brewery all pull together and each juggle several roles and long hours. A great example is John – he is the label designer, assistant in the brewery and delivery driver –Drygate staff have a great energy and enthusiasm to attempt new things. 

So, what drives them? – Shared passion for brewing!

How did it feel? – Great, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was taken out of my comfort zone giving my senses a new experience. Smell, chefs cooking up yummy breakfast and a small tinge of beer. Sound, the humming of the brewery and to my delight Red Hot Chili Peppers drumming from the speakers. Taste, delicious coffee and staff are often treated to the kitchen’s treats. Sight, inspirational designs integrated throughout the brewery and positivity of staff. Touch, back to the basics, with very little gadgets to distract me.
 
Overall experience – it has given me so much creative inspiration in terms of marketing and design and proved to me that stripping back to the basics can allow for a productive and enjoyable working environment – I may be rethinking my love for stationary and gadgets. I believe I could adapt to the Drygate work environment, although for some this style of working could be a ‘wipe-out’. Drygate really does ‘open doors, open minds, whatever it takes.’

Your wave is waiting! Contact dawn.brooks@cdn.ac.uk to find out more.