Difficult to believe that it has now been two months since relocating to the new building. Here are a few observations since moving in…
Reminiscing
It seemed strange to see our Oak Tree House office empty but for a few fixtures and fittings, like those moments of reminiscing and nostalgic recollection in films when a character is stood in an empty house they once frequented and the scene is overlaid with the faint overlapping voices of those who, over time, have wandered through its rooms and corridors. A bit like that, but with perhaps more colourful language. For example, when a massive spider was discovered on the ceiling above our heads, and then, almost as if it knew it had been noticed, it dropped on John’s (Designer) shoulder! Panic and hysteria ensued, as the spider made a break for it, with the office divided into three factions – those who cowered in the corner of the room screaming and crying, those who laughed at those who were cowered in the corner of the room screaming and those who were trying to help the situation by locating the eight-legged fugitive in order to liberate it!
The Screaming and Crying at Spider faction was hoping that the new office had been spider-proofed, however, after much scrutiny, gaps were discovered where the creatures are able to gain access and no amount of “…But they get rid of pests…!” is going to appease those who are not members of the spider fan club.
Co-ordinating
Whereas desks and chairs were a bit of a mixture in our old office, Solinear’s new office and meeting room now have matching furniture and a more neutral, contemporary hue complimented by modern spotlights. There are some industrial touches with steel supports for the sloping corrugated roof which give the new Solinear HQ an appropriately quirky character rather than being your average, uninspiring set of walls and ceiling tiles.
We have even purchased colour co-ordinated ceramic plant pots for our real plants! The plants will, of course, need watering and maintaining but we’re determined not to have fabric, or even worse, plastic plants. Real plants are very beneficial to an office environment as mentioned in our blog post: www.solinear.co.uk/sick-building-syndrome-and-the-importance-of-ventilation-louvres/, they help to purify the air and are aesthetically pleasing too.
Co-habiting
Sometimes certain behaviour and habits are only revealed when moving in with a partner and now that the office and the factory are in one unit a few of us have discovered things about each other we never knew before; Some good, some bad!
The factory team like their music and they like it loud! They have eclectic tastes which include AC/DC, Orbital, The Jam, Aerosmith, Faithless, Joan Jett, Nirvana, Prince, The Beatles, Camelphat, Bob Marley and even the fabulous Stevie Nicks’ ‘Edge of Seventeen’ has popped up a few times and the office, which is ordinarily quiet, is rather enjoying the variety.
It has been discovered recently that there are crumpet thieves in our midst with the office firmly suspecting the factory. Assuming it’s more than one person otherwise someone has managed to eat seven crumpets in one day! Until the culprit(s) confess, people will be randomly inspected for crumbs to identify the Crumpet Bandit(s).
Since Crumpet-gate it’s now a ‘them and us’ situation with steely glares exchanged between the two factions – The Office and The Factory.
The Office and The Factory share a kitchen which includes many kettles, a water cooler and a fridge, as well as the microwave. We try to form an orderly queue for the microwave but, since Crumpet-gate, things could become heated…much like the crumpets!
Those of us who make up The Office are looked upon by The Factory as reptilian, seeking warmth wherever it can be found, whereas those in The Factory are a significantly hardier bunch. Much like Solinear’s louvres, they can withstand the harshest of UK weather conditions.
The Factory must have used all the cups that The Office staff brought with them as there is now a cup shortage – The Office without its morning brew is not a good place to be and The Office team is now clinging onto their precious cups as if their sanity depended on it!
It’ll be interesting to see The Office v The Factory in a Solinear pool tournament!
We’ll keep you posted with further developments from The Office/The Factory.
Update: We all received our own beautifully wrapped, lovely personalised Solinear cups at Christmas, complete with gorgeous flavoured teas, coffees and hot chocolate…and we are very grateful! There can be no doubting whose cup belongs to who now! Thank you, Shauna!
Enjoying
It’s now difficult to imagine how we managed to accommodate the ever increasing Solinear team and cram so much into the space we had and, crumpets aside, we’re settling in nicely and enjoying our new premises. The Solinear team is all set for 2020 – looking forward to a very busy and successful year ahead so let us know if you need our services by giving us a call on 01347 879 046 or emailing Ryan or Andrew: mail@solinear.co.uk
