jelly sponsor :: vital climbing gym

the people. the space. the vibe.

you just feel it: energy. freedom. fun. it just oozes out of the roll-up garage door. we love everything about vital climbing gym. co-owner, david sacher, was fully on board when we proposed the business idea of coworking in their vibrant, inspiring space. the exposed natural materials (wood, concrete, steel); the low, modern couches; the loft. all of these touches are beautifully and simply done to make way for the stars of the show: the climbing walls and the people on them.

shoe rental: 2 bucks. 

coffee and snacks: a buck. 

wifi: free. 

the steel framed signs not only tell you the what's what; they also convey the culture and values of the company. vital climbing gym does something unique - they give you their trust. open 24/7 to their members, you have the freedom to explore and have fun day or night. more importantly, their honor system nudges you to think bigger than yourself -- to be accountable, to "be cool." 

want to be a part of their community? ladies' nite on mondays, a bouldering clinic, movie nite. vital climbing gym mixes it up and keeps it fresh. yup even for the little kids! friend them on facebook, stay in the loop and check them out for a little inspiration - business or pleasure!

monday's workspace inspiration :: hocoa

today's workspace inspiration comes from gravy member, sam at hocoa. 

"My father was a pilot growing up, so my brother and I grew up around airplanes. We always wanted to fly. My dad thought it would be a good idea to buy a salvaged airplane and park in front of the house.  I was 5 years old when we got it. All of the neighborhood kids loved it, we had more adventures in that plane. Oh yeah, we also crash landed it 90% of the time! I have that picture hanging in my office to always remind me of the good times and to always think outside of the norm.  Whoever would have thought to have a salvaged airplane instead of a tree house?"

thanks for the inspiration, sam!

rethinking gravy

pop-up office : literally out-of-the-box

gravy's been simmering for a good while with our core ingredients: inspiring spaces, a wealth of community exchange and most importantly, friendly folks! thank you all for being the flavorful ingredients in our gravy! but, hold on, our recipe’s not done yet - it's time to spice things up!

inspired by coworking communities all over the world, including colleagues on tap, we began to rethink: how gravy can more actively support and inspire out-of-the-box, creative thinking? here’s what we’ve come up with:

1.   increase frequency. by popular demand, gravy coworking jellys will now be appearing the 2nd and 4th fridays of each month.

2.   get outa town! why not use our nomadic status to our advantage? as a "pop-up office," we can go anywhere. by hosting our jellys at cool spots around north county san diego, we hope to engage individuals and businesses across communities.

3.   keep it free. our challenge is to find spaces at no cost or for mutual exchange, actively participating in the world of collaborative consumption we now live in. want to get involved? help us find and promote the next spot!

4.   play around. inspired by google, we’ll be actively promoting 20pc time at our jellys to stimulate creativity and just plain fun!

gravy’s changing. growing. large scale, our goal is to connect independent working communities in north county; small scale, we’re determined to find creative ways to inspire and support each other. but we’re not done yet. we need you! we hope you’ll continue to participate as our coworking community takes shape!

first “pop-up” stop: work and play at vital climbing gym! 

work + play survey results

Who is gravy? What do they do? What do they like?


Being creative outside of work can also extend to being creative at work. In addition to polling our coworkers about what they want to learn more about in business, we asked them what interests them when they're not working. Here are the results.

Top 3 Work Interests:

1. Blogging
2. Social Media, Email Newsletters, Marketing, SEO
3. Bartering/Time Dollars

Runner-up topics include Small Business Strategies, Startups, Mac Workshop, Public Speaking & Web Design.

Top 3 Play Interests:

1. Wine Appreciation/Pairing
2. Gardening, Paddle Boarding
3. Yoga

Runner-up topics include Cooking/Baking, Photography, Fashion, Walking & Swimming. 

Time to use this collective creative energy in work and in play! Want to contribute/participate/join in? Take our survey!

Now. Who's up for some Paddle Boarding?