Our coworkers report

The first edition of the creative industry coworking started in January 2020 - and unfortunately ended prematurely due to Covid-19. Not all creatives were able to take advantage of the spaces reserved for them between January and June in LA, London, Copenhagen and Tel Aviv.

However, we are planning a new edition of the project for 2021, which we are implementing together with AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT AUSTRIA in order to support the internationalisation and innovations of the domestic creative industries. Would you like to participate, benefit from the comprehensive know-how of our respective foreign trade centres and gather new contacts and inspiration abroad?

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date - and read here about the experiences of our first coworkers:

London - a tough cookie

As a 10 million metropolis, London is considered a Mecca of creativity, originality and diversity. What is particularly characteristic for London is its openness to new ways of thinking despite the preservation of traditions, to which the multicultural population also contributes an important part. All this and also the fact that London, only two hours by plane from Austria, is so uniquely colourful, diverse, inspiring and at the same time home to many advertising and communication agencies as well as a large music scene, were sufficient reasons for me to go to London to gain new experiences, refine my language skills and above all to expand my professional network.

An excellent "CoWorking-Basiscamp" was "The Ministry": Industrial aesthetics paired with modern office comfort, simultaneously equipped with its own fitness studio, cinema, yoga and event rooms, cafeteria, bar and direct link to the internationally renowned "Ministry of Sound" club in the immediate vicinity. Heart, what more do you want!

In this rather large space with around 550 tenants, colourful networking events and a special innovative Ministry App offered numerous networking opportunities (such as a DIY Valentine's Card Workshop or Electronic Music Meditation Classes, to name but a few).

Where there is much light, there is always shadow, which is why I would like to mention the following three points:

1.) London is expensive. Irrespective of the fact that everyone knows this, the concrete result in everyday life is that many creative people, artists and EPUs have to spend a large part of their time to be able to afford life in London. This proves to be more difficult than expected, especially in combination with ...

2.) ... polite disinterest at first contact. Unfortunately the person opposite is "too busy" and "really sorry". Alternatively, one is passed around via contacts until one gets back to the original person, because unfortunately, although one would like to, one just can't help.

3.) London lies on an island. And yes: Englishmen are much closer to the English than to other Europeans. In order to build up joint business relationships, you need staying power to avoid that contact is limited to the exchange of business cards.

To my great regret, due to Corona's premature cancellation of the coworking program, neither the MusicTech Learning Journey planned by Renate Schnutt of the Austrian Foreign Trade Center nor the Evening Reception at "The Ministry" could take place - both events from which I would have hoped for further contacts and networking impulses. At this point I would like to thank Renate Schnutt very much, who really took good care of me during my stay in London, was there with advice and support and gave me many insights in a short time.

Web designer Engelbert Eichner worked in London from February to mid March 2020.

Tel Aviv: a paradise for start-ups and creative people - and for everyone!

Tel Aviv is a city of extreme contrasts, not only in its cityscape but also in the people who live here peacefully together. Origin, gender, age, social status, religion, sexual orientation etc. do not seem to play a major role here - in Tel Aviv, tolerance is lived.

Walking through the streets of the city, buildings in need of renovation stand out next to modern skyscrapers like works of art from another time. Street art, urban cafés, palm trees and stray cats characterise the cityscape and make Tel Aviv a cosmopolitan hipster stronghold.

No matter where you go, people meet you with openness. Whether shopping at the market or walking on the beach, people here love to chat casually with strangers, which of course made me particularly happy as a newcomer.

At the numerous free business events, you get to know many self-employed people, can make good contacts and even experience company bosses of important companies such as Mercedes and Warner Bros. live in an interview. The motto of the start-ups here is "Good is good enough" - perfectionism in the start-up phase is a success killer. I have the feeling that a little of this "just-do-it" mentality would also do us Central Europeans good in between times.

The Coworking-Space damndesign is the perfect meeting place for creative people from different areas and offers a great working atmosphere with inspiring people who have already achieved great things.

I enjoyed the sea air and the fresh wind, the liveliness of the city, the great food, the entrepreneurial spirit of the people, the sun on my skin and the sand between my toes.

Illustrator Sabrina Hassler was in Tel Aviv in February 2020.

Copenhagen - stopped by Corona, what remains?

It all started wonderfully and cosy when I landed in Copenhagen at the beginning of March and moved into my apartment in the up-and-coming Nørrebro. Copenhagen also makes it very easy to feel comfortable immediately. Nice and relaxed people, lots of water, great architecture and beautiful design is omnipresent. Timeless, simple, functional, high quality materials - everything that we as a company at vielö try to live by - has been happening there for years and decades without it being pushed to the fore or appearing artificial.

Even for us as a company, it has become clear within this unfortunately so short time, which was only given to us due to the sudden deterioration of the Corona crisis, that there is definitely potential for our sustainably produced and certified organic skin and body care products, designed and made in Austria, in Denmark. The first meetings were very successful and first cooperations were agreed upon. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, we are now on hold.

But we have felt that we definitely have a good chance on the Danish market and that we do not have to be afraid of the established Danish competition. On the contrary, this is mainly because - apart from design and marketing, which many Nordic brands have mastered excellently, as we know - the actual product quality is fortunately becoming increasingly important again. Consumers are becoming more critical, are starting to ask questions, use codecheck & co, question industry standards and ingredients as well as various seals and that is good and suits us very well. For us as a certified organic label, the more critical, the better. Greenwashing, exaggerated advertising promises, misleading, playing with images of nature, all this is unfortunately also very common in the Danish and Nordic labels in the cosmetics industry, but at the same time there is also the chance if you, like us, are convinced that you are combining "the best of both worlds". Namely the highest, honest and authentic organic quality with a beautiful lifestyle and design.

When you talk about design, what I particularly liked about Copenhagen was that design is so elegantly integrated everywhere in everyday life. Whether in restaurants, cafés, public places, schools or in modern architecture, which is of course influenced by superstars like Bjarke Ingels & Co, everywhere you go you are surrounded by beautiful design. It is simply part of everyday life, part of the culture, the DNA and you can feel it and it feels great. It shows what positive effects good design also has on people's well-being, because it can't be the weather that makes the Danes so successful in various World Happiness Reports every year, just like their Nordic "neighbours" Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway ;).

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the team of the Creative Industries Austria in Vienna, but also Cosima Steiner and her team from the Foreign Trade Center . All of them have given us wonderful support since we were accepted. The Nomad team was also extremely keen to make the start in Copenhagen as good as possible. Nomad does indeed offer a quality of a coworking space and such a creative environment that, apart from the café and the nice colleagues, there are no excuses left for not being able to work productively ;)

I had 24/7 access and on the weekend you had the Nomad all to yourself, so it was a classic Danish "work-life-balance", because from Friday early afternoon the Danes start the weekend with their design bikes. There is also no other city where you can enjoy cycling as much as in Copenhagen, and it would be nice if you could achieve something similar in Austrian cities.

Corona has brutally shortened our stay, but we will be there again for a new edition of the program, so that we can also successfully gain a foothold as an Austrian label in Denmark. Just like the various Danish labels that are successfully represented in Austria show us, we want to go the other way round, because we think it shouldn't be a one-way street ;).

Christian Pauzenberger from vielö had to break off his stay in Copenhagen due to Corona - but will - if arranged - take part in coworking again in 2021.

Copenhagen: Visual feasts for the eyes at every corner

I immediately felt at home in Copenhagen. On every corner you walk into visual feasts for the eyes from design stores to street art - and every café tries to be really "hygge" (cosy). That helps a lot, of course, if you like sitting in coffee houses for hours on end, drawing and finding ideas. Cosima Steiner and her team from the Foreign Trade Center gave me a very warm welcome, provided me with opportunities to connect and network and helped me to find my way around.

In my experience, people in Copenhagen are very open-minded and take their time to meet you at a café or invite you for a tour of their studio. So in the month of my coworking I was able to make new contacts and gain insights.

The Nomad is an excellent place to be creative: very chic and comfortably furnished, in a hip area of Copenhagen. There are many sofas and colourful corners around the house, so you don't have to sit at your desk all the time, but have several good retreats for collecting ideas. You can feel the energy of all these active and motivated people who come together here and fill the place with life.

Especially for me, the Nomad is perfectly located, because there are some illustration studios in the neighbourhood, where I was allowed to spend some afternoons to meet local illustrators and artists. Of course, the best time for this is on Friday afternoon, as from approximately 3 p.m., the Danes start the weekend together, with a beer or a glass of wine.

Even though February in Copenhagen was terribly grey and rainy, I had a wonderful time, made new friends, made many contacts and come back to Vienna full of inspiration and motivation!

Illustrator Sonja Stangl was in Copenhagen in February 2020.

Los Angeles: The right place to make contacts as a singer and songwriter

L.A. is one of the most creative and vibrant cities in the world and for my profession as a singer and songwriter it is the perfect place to make contacts.

The PHASE TWO Co-Working Space offers everything your heart desires and more. I can withdraw here in peace and quiet and take care of the administrative part of my work while making new and interesting contacts. One focus here is on start-ups working in the field of artificial intelligence, so it is a more technology-oriented working space. The climate is very pleasant, the furnishings are modern and stylish and the staff make you feel welcome and are always available to answer any questions. PHASE TWO is only a few minutes walk from Culver City, a very nice part of the city, where there are good restaurants and many shops.

In addition, Laura Miller, my contact person from AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT AUSTRIA on site, is incredibly warm and very competent in networking and communication. I was even allowed to spend a day with her at the famous NAMM trade fair(National Association of Music Merchants), where she showed me all the important locations and connected me with the most important people. In summary: I am very happy to be here!

Singer, songwriter and producer Nathan Trent was in LA in January 2020.

"Shalom, Tel Aviv, paradoxical mecca of creativity.

"Karma + Pitch has arrived in the Mecca of creativity and that in every respect. Starting with Israeli cuisine, which - composed of over 150 culinary influences - goes far beyond the oriental classics Hummus, Sabich & Co. and is a true paradise for all 'foodistas' of this world.
Each neighborhood tells its own story, from the art galleries in medieval Jaffa, which might as well be a 'Game of Thrones' setting, to the Bauhaus style in the heart of Tel Aviv, to the street art works in Florentine. A dream for any Instagram feed.
The muezzin calls for prayer, the Jewish shops close on the Sabbath, and yet the city lives in a constant rhythm between a bustling start-up mentality and the art of 'living in the day'.
And right in the middle damndesign, a co-working space for creative people, architects & designers, from where not only the next buildings of the Tel Aviv skyline are designed, but also the online magazine Telavivian spreads its stories. A place of inspiration which, thanks to the KAT project, we can call our agency home for the next few weeks".

Raphael Mikl from the advertising agency Karma + Pitch was accompanied by co-founder Monika Jungwirth to Tel Aviv in January 2020.

London: "New ideas just fly at you"

"London has welcomed me with open arms and I am deeply impressed, a little overwhelmed by the many impressions and grateful to be here. I couldn't wish for a better coworking experience during my time here: the rooms at The Ministry are beautiful, well located, and I'm surrounded by other creative people. In general, Londoners are very open-minded and it is easy to make new contacts.
As hoped for, there is a lot of inspiration and new ideas fly at you - I am curious what will happen in the coming weeks. Coming here was the best decision for 2020 - big THANKS to the KAT team and the really wonderful support on site, which provided me with plenty of contacts and opportunities to make new contacts and gave me the feeling that I was not on my own.

Illustrator and designer Lana Lauren spent January 2020 in London.

Denmark: "Thinking outside the box - always practical, beautiful and sustainable".

"The Creative Industries Coworking in Copenhagen offers the ideal framework for my HR & Innovation 'Future of Work' trend scouting for Austrian companies. Nomad Workspace is an inspiring workplace in the middle of hip Norrebro - surrounded by focused, established creatives and innovation managers in elegant Danish design. The team of the Foreign Trade Center Copenhagen around Cosima Steiner is simply great.
A wonderful time to deepen my cooperation with innovative Danish companies. Denmark has its finger on the pulse of the times, the future is being shaped and innovation is being lived here: Thinking outside the box, but always practical, beautiful and sustainable. Sustainabilty is the keyword of the hour. An incredibly exciting time full of mind-provoking impulses. The ideal place for me to initiate new projects, develop trend reports and future trips for companies that are driving forward the cultural change in Austria.

New Work Expert Lena Marie Glaser, Basically Innovative, worked and researched in Copenhagen in January 2020.

Photos: provided by our coworkers.

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