January saw the DeskLodge builders starting work on our very popular, one-person pods which are now full with a mix of people using them! We had many successful and busy events including Enterprise Nations Start Up 2017 event and celebrated Chinese New Year with Make it China who moved into our newly built China Town which is now home to our resident's Performance In.
In February we introduced Members Perks for our DeskLodgers with deals and discounts in collaboration with local independent companies local to us from cafes, bike shops to the gym. We also introduced DeskLodger of The Month into our newsletter and social media platforms to celebrate all the great people who join us each week at DeskLodge. Our first ever DeskLodger of the Month was hotdesker Jade Wicks from Doeth Marketing.
March was a busy month and saw the launch of the DeskLodge Instagram profile where you can step into DeskLodge Bristol’s world! We had plenty of events including Festival of Female Entrepreneurs, we also launched the DeskLodge blog featuring the latest DeskLodge adventures and promotes positive vibes for amazing coworking spaces and community.
By April we had a beautiful balloon mural decorating our walls in the Indoor Garden on Floor 5, created by local artist Damien. We celebrated Easter with a fun-filled Easter Egg Hunt with the DeskLodgers and our one-person pods were finally ready to hire!
In May we held the very successful Meet The Journalist event with Enterprise Nation and DeskLodge residents Pure Planet launched their renewable energy app. To add to the excitement Camden Beer arrived and gave all of our thirsty DeskLodgers some free beer which was very well received! The Entrepreneurs Godmother and DeskLodge regular Alison Edgar also joined us with her Easy Peasy Sales workshop, which is always very much enjoyed by the attendees.
In June DeskLodge resident Sarah-Jane Freni held a scrumptious charity cake sale in The Oak Tree promoting Loneliness Awareness Week alongside Marmalade Trust. To keep things healthy, we introduced the weekly Office Pantry Fruit box for all our DeskLodgers to share (which is usually empty within the hour!). The DeskLodge Socials were also starting to become a big event with more and more DeskLodgers networking and socialising each month & had seen many new friendships, collaborations and even relationships grow.
In July UCD BRS joined us with their first monthly meet up and have joined every month for their meetups, ever since and DeskLodge residents Slide celebrated their first birthday! Our VR Greenroom pod was also ready to hire and has been used by YouTubers and DeskLodge residents Performance.IN as a promotional tool The DeskLodge Social found itself in knots at DeskLodger Chris Lock’s alternative games night, a lot of laughter and fun was had by all!
By August the lovely Constance from Women's Tech Hub joined us as our Lodge Host temp and has been recognised as a big personality and colourful lady who lights up the office with her bright clothes and dry wit! DeskLodge were also pleased to be named as one of the Top 10 coworking spaces changing business in the UK by Company Check which was awesome! There was also a very popular quiz night as part of the DeskLodge Social with lucky winners from Blu Wireless coming out on top (which only seems fair as they have attended every DeskLodge social since they joined us two years ago!).
In September we introduced Yoga to our weekly agenda which has been very popular with our DeskLodgers and a great way to take time out, unwind and keep fit. To celebrate the end of the summer we held the DeskLodge End Of Summer Extravaganza where DeskLodgers were encouraged to dress up in Hawaiian shirts and floral garlands and join us for the first ever DeskLodge pub crawl which was a huge success!
By October Pure Planet celebrated a year at DeskLodge and we celebrated Halloween with the Fright Night DeskLodge Halloween Party in The Oak Tree with a guest make-up artist and lots of spooky fun! A very sociable month!
In November we Launched a new DeskLodge in Basingstoke with New York themes and a grand atrium, following the quirky and fun DeskLodge style.
This December DeskLodge Host Sam created a large advent calendar in the DeskLodge reception, each day a lucky DeskLodger got to open a door for festive and fun treats. DeskLodge are also very excited to introduce and welcome our new Host and Assistant Office Manager Siobhan Knight to our growing team! We will end this successful and productive year (and all those Christmas parties) with a mince pies and mulled wine get-together wearing our Christmas jumpers and exchanging Secret Santa gifts to celebrate a year well spent and raise a glass to a brilliant year in 2018!
Thanks DeskLodgers, you have been amazing.
Here's to a productive 2018
Love the DL Bristol Team :)