Our Digs: Décor at VITA HQ

This week we’re inviting you into our “home” to check out where we’re at and what our style is all about. With a massive open-concept layout and stellar wood-beam detailing throughout the building, our somewhat-new office is definitely a step in the right style direction. —Jennifer Scott

occupants. The VITA and Vitadaily.com team, plus staff of many other stellar Glacier Media publications.

interior. A spacious, nicely renovated single-storey office with high wood-beam ceilings, clean finishings and a sweet kitchen.

major selling feature. Its proximity to coffee shops, the seawall and the hustle and bustle of Vancouver’s Olympic Village, as well as lunch saviours like Whole Foods and the retail therapy of Main Street.

the feature we brag about. How new everything is. It’s really a privilege to work in a space designed for what we do.

that one conversation piece. The retro beer-vending machine in the kitchen. It’s a relic that a Glacier staff photographer brought in, which he keeps stocked with craft beer for those late nights at the office—when it works.

the décor. Cubicle chic. Underneath the usual piles of papers, editor Kelsey Klassen (who cleaned up for the photos) keeps a few books for design inspiration, as well as some fun accessories and an ever-changing array of plants and flowers to bring the outside in. (Also on Kelsey’s desk: an “embarrassing” magnet collection that includes places her closest colleagues have visited and a hilarious baby photo of her husband.)

downsides. The neighbourhood has a lot of industrial buildings, so there’s not a lot of green space in the immediate vicinity. Also, the office is so long we have to walk what feels like half a football field to get to the bathrooms! But when you sit at a desk all day, you certainly don’t mind an excuse to stretch your legs.

favourite office activity. One of the biggest pluses of sharing the space with other papers is that we mingle with other writers and editors, and can chit-chat about life and politics and our respective beats each day. Some interesting collaborations have grown out of that, including some fun podcasts on the company’s Press Play network.