Over the years, SquareFoot has placed hundreds of clients in spaces to grow their businesses. We’re kicking off a series of some of the best new offices our clients call their home away from home.

This week, we joined Tim and Elliott, Co-Founders of the Graphic Design Studio WH-O in their new Lower East Side office.

Finding the right space for right now

Like a lot of small businesses in NYC, WH-O originally started in a Co-founder’s basement in Brooklyn. Given the client-facing nature of their business and how quickly they were growing, they knew they needed a space that was fit for creativity, and somewhere they were proud to bring clients.

They quickly realized how time-consuming the process was to stay on top of the market and narrow down spaces that fit their particular needs.

They found a space with their SquareFoot broker that was completely raw, and provided them a clean canvas to make their own.

The build-out

The top priority for WH-O’s new office was a conference room their clients would enjoy meeting in. “Now when we have a client come in we can see the level of ease they have when they walk in and think that our space is interesting,” Tim mentioned. The entire space was designed and custom built in collaboration with furniture maker and designer Asa Pinegree. The goal of the build out was to blend pleasing aesthetics with valuable utility.

The walls feature spacious book shelves with a beautiful sliding door. This lets them open up the space when they want to promote collaboration, but also affords the option of privacy when needed.

The space

The office has plenty of natural lighting and an open floor plan for their growing team. “I think one of the reasons we were interested in this space was because it was a place that we could grow into,” the co-founders stated. Most of WH-O’s current team came on after the move, which speaks to the fact that they’ve found a place that works for their team.

The neighborhood

After both having worked in the Flatiron District for some time prior to starting their business, Tim and Elliott were ready for a change of scenery. They were looking to find a new space in an exciting downtown neighborhood that was reasonably priced and easily accessible for everyone who works there. They landed on the Lower East Side at 158 Ludlow Street, which seemed to be a no brainer.

The variety of food and drink options in the area is also a huge bonus. Whether it’s a casual lunch at Dimes, a quick coffee at Caffè Vita, or a late night dinner at The Flower Shop, there’s always something new to try.

Learnings from the move

Staying on top of the market, space openings, rentals and touring spaces was a lot more time consuming than Tim or Elliott had realized. After attempting to find office space in the city on their own, they realized how convenient and valuable working with a broker was.

After reaching out to SquareFoot, they were placed with Katherine from our Brokerage team. Katherine handled the day-to-day during the space search so Tim and Elliott were able to focus on their growing business.

Once they found the space they wanted, they were surprised by how quickly things moved. They had to figure out wiring for the space, commercial trash pick up, internet and phone set up within a matter of a few weeks.

Overall, they are incredibly happy with their new space and look forward to growing their team there over the next few years!