Launching the Realm
(6 min read)
Wednesday, Nov 5 12:53pm
I’m sitting in the back patio at Cafe International. I’ve been meaning to visit for years. I used to live a few blocks away at San Francisco Zen Center (stories for another time) and have heard of their legendary open mic jazz jam seshes.
The mural in the outdoor patio at Cafe International at 508 Haight Street, painted in 1994 by artist Kemit Amenophis. Photo credit: Teresa Hammerl, SF Heritage.
An oat cappuccino and a cup of lentil soup, surrounded by plants and a wall mural brimming with color and celebrations of many cultures. Tucked away just off the bustling Haight Street in the Lower Haight, the counterculture home of many icons in grunge, rock and roll, and the punk scene.
I am one week into launching Third Realm: your neighborhood coworking, art & community space in the Inner Sunset.
And people ask me: who are your competitors? I put my MBA hat on (granted one from an arts school in Design Strategy), and I say something like: we’re between a WeWork and your local cafe.
But really, we’re for anyone who is sick of working from home in isolation.
I like frameworks, so here’s some more insight into the intention behind Third Realm:
On the spectrum of Corporate to Community, Third Realm is much more community:
Other Corporate examples:
Your Traditional Office (lol remember those?)
Conference / Convention Center
Business Hotel Lobby (where you frantically squeeze in work between conference and customer meetings)
The corporate office is dead because it makes us feel dead inside. Photo credit: Shauna Summers, Death to Stock (they make better-than-stock photos)
Other Community examples:
The Public Library (remember those??)
The Park
The Bar
The School / Dorm Common Rooms / University Dining Hall
On Public Transit (hah!)
You may think of more examples, please chime in! These are just some of the many places I’ve personally worked, often balancing a laptop on a tiny surface, trying to take a call in a place where I really shouldn’t be taking a call, on spotty internet or a hotspot, apologizing to both the people around me and the ones on my screen. (Apologizing is maybe a strong term, really I’m just smiling sheepishly, feeling very bad inside for disturbing the peace.)
Especially at the community spaces. We call some of these “third spaces” now—not home, not work, but somewhere else. Where people can hang out, socialize, read or make art, sit and chill, maybe with food or drinks but even that is not required (eg: The Public Library). Maybe you stop here on your way home from work. A lot of times, they’re free!
Here’s another spectrum…
On the spectrum of Cozy to Bougie:
My goal is for Third Realm to feel like you’re stepping into the apartment of your friend with good taste, but who isn’t pretentious about it. Yes, most of the furniture is second hand mid-century modern—shoutout Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.
Fun fact: Craigslist once had their office in our space!
We still have some of their wires in the attic—come see the relics.
The art on the walls are all by local artists, and we host gallery nights and open mics. The furniture is mid-century modern, and we have commercial-grade electric sit stand desks. We serve first-harvest matcha whisked in handmade pottery (by me aka Sereneware), brew coffee out of a Chemex, and aspire to have an espresso machine one day soon. (I joke that really I just wanted to open a cafe after my stint being a barista at Bean Bag Cafe during my grad school days.)
It’s office meets living room. Form meets function. Productivity meets play. Focus meets flow meets good conversation. Good natural light during the day meets cozy warm lamps in the evening. The lighting truly makes all the difference.
I’ve found in my own work, burnout, recovery, and redefining of work, there’s three modes in life: work, play, and rest. This could apply to our careers, our relationships, our hobbies, our homes—really anything.
If you work too hard at anything (yes, even your relationships) you’ll find yourself starved of play and rest, lightness and fun, laughter and flow, dreams and ideas. I’ll explore this more in another post maybe. But I mention it now because I’ve taken this insight and brought it intentionally to the design of Third Realm: the space, the events, and the community. It’s even featured in a triple Venn diagram on our homepage that I whipped up myself. Work, play, rest—and the ongoing endeavor to healthfully balance the three in all realms of life.
Third Realm is a place where you can be your best self.
This might be in your day job, in your creative pursuits, in trying something new. It is a space for intentional work, play, and rest. Bring your whole self to Third Realm (see the Lumon badges I handed out on Halloween). And be among others also seeking the same.
Whether you’re sick of yet another wfh day in your pjs, or just need the positive peer pressure of body doubling with others also working around you, I get it. I need this too. This is why I’m making this space, as much for you as for myself.
Why create Third Realm?
Researchers understand what people need.
Designers build what people want.
Artists create what they themselves need.
I’m a mix of the three, maybe you are as well. Or some combination of two. Or maybe you don’t think you’re any of the above, yet. My hope is we might all come to see the innate artists hidden within each of us. Yes, I am currently reading and working through The Artist’ Way. I invite you to join me in one of our upcoming circles.
I have heard too many people groan about the pit of despair they’ve found themselves in. Feeling isolated working alone at home, starved for meaningful connection, yearning for community but not knowing where to start.
Another stock image from Death to Stock, photo credit: Julien Tell. But yes there were lots of brainstorm / pen and paper sketches / Sharpie & post-its / MVP prototypes / and scrappy spreadsheet models involved in coming up with Third Realm.
It all started with me and a few friends all losing our minds working from home.
We wanted to have a space where we could not only work together but also create time and space for the other things we love like making art, dinners, open mics, and gatherings. We wanted it to feel like an extension of our living room but not actually be our home.
At home, we would get distracted by pets, snacks, naps, and chores. At home, it’s too easy to be horizontal, to stay inside, to self-isolate even in a big city.
At Third Realm, we can dive into deep focus side by side but also have lunch together and chat while waiting for the coffee to brew. We can check in on each other’s goals for the day and celebrate all the little and big wins together.
At Third Realm, we can surround ourselves with beautiful things that inspire creativity unlike the soulless corporate offices and coworking spaces downtown. We can enjoy our walk or bike commutes through the park and have someplace to show up rather than being stuck at home all day.
I have been building and iterating on versions of something like this for over ten years now.
Only ever on nights and weekends, for fun on the side. Even in college, inviting people into my living room, my garage, my backyard for open mic kickbacks and potlucks. Then later, hosting Supper Clubs and Nopa Cafe in my various SF apartments. Seeking out open mics across the city, filling my soul with stories and music and art, being in the company of other artists and writers. And after the pandemic, inviting friends over to cowork for a Friday afternoon around my dining table.
I make this for me and I make this for all of you.
Maybe this helps us reimagine work. Maybe this helps you try something new, make a new friend, make a mess on craft night but find your way to play again. If any of that happens, then it will be more than a success.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
― Howard Thurman
Taken a week after our launch party in October. Photo credit: my dear friend Ziv Ming Li—photographer, dharma friend, and mahjong teacher. Find his photography on Instagram @little.cabinet.
Here’s to creating something nourishing together,
Serena
Founder & Chief Experience Officer at Third Realm
