Caroline Collective » Press

Caroline Collective shoutout on Great Day Houston!

Geoff — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:50:39 +0000

Our friend JR Cohen (of YMKM and SLGT notoriety) went on Great Day Houston this week to talk about free and low-cost public internet. You might notice the kind words about Caroline Collective!

JR has made supporting the local businesses and community into a Houston-based grass roots movement with #SLGT (Support Local Grow Together), and we couldn’t be more excited about it.

Thanks, JR!

Happy Hour Follow Up and “What Houston Needs”

ned — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:56:23 +0000

First off, we would like to say a giant thanks to all those that made the Impromptu Happy Hour happen last week. In particular, Marc Nathan of StartupHouston.com and the Houston Technology Center and Aziz Gilani of DFJ Mercury really pushed the event into reality. Thanks, guys.

We would also like to point out the “teaching moment” the event created before it passes. It seems our gathering of like-minded individuals spurred a bit of debate (started here, going here, here, and here) on the Houston tech blogosphere about “What Houston Needs” to become a premier startup city like Austin, Boston, or San Francisco. To us, this is a prime example of the value of coworking.

Before we can even begin to debate how to move Houston forward as a “startup city,” first everyone must be in the same room. Coworking provides that.

In a little over a year here, we have seen the proof that working together is working smarter. Every one of our members can point to a time when he or she got a little help from a coworking neighbor with an idea, production, or network. (Just this week Stephen Freeman showed us a thing or two about fixing a fritzed shredder!)

So next time you feel like you’re running against a wall creatively, or need someone off which to bounce ideas, or even need a break from working solitary, drop by for some of that magic coworking juice. You might even find yourself involved with Houston’s next hottest startup, and then maybe we can put this debate to rest.

So what do we think Houston really needs? More coworking, of course.

This is also a great lead-in to this week’s C2 Creative talk given by Anjuan Simmons. Anjuan will provide yet another perspective on what Houston needs to regain its place as the tech center that launched WordPress, Compaq, and BMC Software. Attend this talk to further the conversation started last week with the entrepreneur and startup community of Houston.

ned — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:35:09 +0000

Mark “Rzzn” Hopkins does a roundup of which coworking spaces are making waves in the great state of Texas. ¬† Despite being pretty new to the scene (remember our anniversary party June 6th!), Caroline Collective comes out pretty well:

Caroline Collective seems to be the most popular and Web 2.0-friendly of the lot [in San Antonio and Houston]. Drop-ins are welcomed in free of charge, though at some point repeat visitors are encouraged to look at monthly plans ranging between $75/month to $300/month.

Your officemates there will include folks of the marketing, musical, blogging, designer, and app developer varieties. The location also seems to play host to community tech events on a seemingly bi-weekly basis.

And guess what? Desk members now get the low, low rate of $150 a month. ¬†Hot dog. ¬†Read more about Texas coworking at Rzzn’s blog here.

Nancy Wozny Interviews Heather Pray of HYPA

Matthew Wettergreen — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:33:46 +0000

Arts and health writer Nancy Wozny recently discussed Houston’s Young People for the Arts with the founder, Heather Pray. Heather mentioned her new blog design, designed over the summer by a couple Caroline members, Evan O’Neil and Ranjani Sheshadri:

NW: Tell us about your blog Houston Arts, and any other savvy ways people can find out what to do.

HP: Houstonarts is a tool HYPA uses to let people know about things we aren‚Äôt able to include into the free, bi-weekly newsletter. We also try to do a summary of things going on during the weekend, so if you‚Äôre home and bored, you can just look at it and see what is going on. We also try to focus on free or inexpensive events. It also has a snazzy new look to it thanks to a partnership with the folks at Caroline Collective. Other places to find out what‚Äôs going on include Artshound, Glasstire, Fresh Arts, Spacetaker, and Twitter.

Read more about Nancy Wozny on her blog Dancehunter.

Check out some of the events that Heather Pray covers at her blog Houston Arts or HYPA.

Caroline’s Economic Stimulus Plan

ned — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:47:24 +0000

In keeping with this month’s theme of STARTING ANEW, we have a goal of both seeing more people at Caroline regularly and seeing more interactions between the community as a result of this increased presence at Caroline. To stimulate this interaction between community on a daily basis we’re making it easier to work out of Caroline regularly. For the month of January, we are offering a special three month deal to join Caroline at the Laptop Nomad level. If you join Caroline in January, instead of paying $125, the price is merely $48.20 per month.

By joining Caroline at the Laptop Nomad you get the following things:

Priority usage of desks and workspaces
The ability to work out of our newly renovated South Building coworking space (wood floors, collaborative design room, individual desks)
Access to space rental for events
Office perks (food, libations, snacks)
printer, whiteboard, projector
Access to the conference room

Why would you want to be a member of Caroline? First, being a member means that you can come into Caroline every day and not feel like you’re abusing either our time or our services. Second, your financial contribution helps maintain great programming (business classes, happy hours, salons, our upcoming initiatives) and the things you use for free in stock (water, coffee, office supplies, snacks). Third, your membership demonstrates a commitment to community that others recognize.

What do you get out of being a member of Caroline? You get the opportunity to work with your community, learn new things, combat loneliness, get motivated, have a reason to change out of your pajamas before dinner time, get to know the community that you are already a part of. These are just a few of the reasons. Over the remaining days of January we’ll be highlighting other great reasons to work out of Caroline and why coworking is a great solution on the whole.

What have others gotten out of coworking and being a member of Caroline? We have someone who was laid off, came to work at Caroline and was flush with contracts inside of two weeks. We have one company formed from relationships created at Caroline and several others still in the works. We have had people come in to work, have been frustrated with their inability to find a particular service and have immediately met someone at Caroline who can provide that service.

Why not join Caroline and your community for the next three months. Purchase a Laptop Nomad membership below or contact Caroline Collective for more details.

ArtStorm is Houston’s Best New Gallery

ned — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:05:08 +0000

Caroline Collective is proud to announce that ArtStorm gallery has been chosen as the Best New Gallery in The Houston Press Best of Houston: 2008. Here’s what Houston Press had to say about ArtStorm:

Artstorm took the city by, well, storm. Houston was hit with a wealth of paintings, sculpture, photography and more from some of the city’s and the country’s most exciting up-and-coming artists. This is thanks to the brainchildren behind the gallery ‚Äî a mix of young artists and art enthusiasts who are quickly steering Artstorm toward the epicenter of all-things-hip in Houston. The gallery’s openings are a crossroad where area artists, writers, musicians and see-and-be-seeners meet to mix and mingle. Artstorm has proven to be the latest place to feel the pulse of local culture ‚Äî an atmosphere full of mutual admiration and potential collaborations √† la ’70s New York.

Congratulations to ArtStorm! Check out more about ArtStorm at its website, or stop in on Saturdays and Sundays to see the latest exhibit, Lo-Fi No-Brow Folk Show, which opened on September 27th.

IKE Update

ned — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:16:24 +0000

Update: Caroline has just received power to the North building (office wing and coworking space). Internet is still down as is power to the South Building (Artstorm and Ecor Rouge).

Caroline Collective has weathered Hurricane Ike with flying colors. It was a harrowing night (as we’re sure it was for most of y’all) but we’ve pulled through. Even the red swing is still standing. We have a few branches down on the property and some of the flashing and gutters were pulled off, but for the most part we suffered the same small leaks that we’ve always suffered. We are still currently without power but have fairly good use of utilities otherwise. We will keep our community posted as things come back online. As of now we assume to remain closed to the general public through Monday, Sept. 15th.

We know we were lucky and hope that all of our friends and supporters were just as if not more so. Keep in touch and be safe!

Ned and Matthew

Caroline Collective one Houston’s Wi-Fi spots

Matthew Wettergreen — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:54:26 +0000

As mentioned in the Houstonist by reporter¬†Katharine Shilcutt Gleave, Caroline Collective is one of the city’s free Wi-Fi spots. Also listed are

The Teahouse, Westheimer and Shepherd
The Bull and Bear Pub, Westheimer and Kirkwood
Krafts’men Baking, Montrose and West Main
Agora, Westheimer and Park
Ziggy’s Healthy Grill, West Alabama and Revere
Red Lion Pub, Shepherd and Fairview
Memorial City Mall (by the ice rink and gigantic fireplace), Gessner and I-10
The Daily Grind, Washington and Bonner
any Panera Bread location

And if you’re feeling like checking out Houston’s Downtown, stop by the following locations to read your Twitter feed.

Harris County Civil Courthouse and the District Courthouse
Bayou Place
Discovery Green
Tranquility Park
Sam Houston Park
Jones Plaza
Central Library Plaza
UHD’s outdoor seating areas
Minute Maid Park
METRORail Stations at Bell and the Transit Center

Check out the cool interactive map at the Houston WiFi site.

ArtStorm covered in Austin Business Journal

Matthew Wettergreen — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:07:53 +0000

Austin Business Journal contributing writer Thora Qaddum talks to Megan Whitenton of ArtStorm about their contributionns to Caroline Collective’s art focus:

“As a space showcasing contemporary art, we’re bringing the cool factor to the outwardly unassuming, corporate-office-park Caroline Collective building,” Whitenton says. “We’re artists, so we have plenty of creative insight into everything from the flower beds to the track lighting to the raw finish of the concrete floors. And we really want this new space to reflect our expanding vision of ArtStorm as a gallery.”

Read the entire article here.

Houstoned – Slideshow: Lebowski Bash at Caroline Collective

Matthew Wettergreen — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:29:33 +0000

Keith Plocek, Jeff Balke, and Mark C. Austin strike again, this time covering Houston’s Lebowski Bash, held at Caroline Collective. Check out the full slideshow from the Houston Press.