Welcome to Workantile, a community of freelancers and remote employees.
This handbook will help you integrate into the community. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask any of the maintainers, or any other member, for help.
The company that collects membership dues and pays the rent, insurance, and other costs is called Coworking Society, LLC. Its only purpose is to hold the lease on the space, collect dues, and write the necessary checks. Workantile is the name given to the community. It has three co-owners:
- Tom Brandt: twbrandt@gmail.com
- Dave Nelson: dave@davideriknelcon.com
- Steve Kemsley: stephenkemsley@gmail.com
The maintainers are all full dues-paying members of Workantile who make sure that all the things that need doing get done. They are:
- Tom Brandt: twbrandt@gmail.com
- Steve Kemsley: stephenkemsley@gmail.com
- Dave Nelson: dave@davideriknelcon.com
- Phil Proefrock: architect@cornellbox.com
- Sarah Zettel: szettel@umich.edu
- Anna Schumaker: schumaker.anna@gmail.com
- Chris Salzman: christopher.salzman@gmail.com
- Chris Dzombak: chris@dzombak.com
Maintainers meet as necessary and the meetings are announced on Slack. All members are welcome, encouraged even, to come to the meetings.
The maintainers can all be emailed together via maintainers@workantile.com.
Any member who wants to become a maintainer is welcome to, just ask!
- Treat other members with courtesy and respect.
- Treat the space with respect.
- Keep current with membership dues.
- Contribute work for the good of community, including cleaning, marketing, and other activities that increase the livability of the space and financial viability of the community.
- Be open to suggestions from the Members.
- Keep the space running as long as it is financially viable.
Please see the License Agreement for details on membership levels.
Members are expected to volunteer their time and talents to keep the space clean and functioning. The reasons for this are to keep the cost of membership down, and to help to build community through shared responsibility. Working with others on a task is a great way to get to know other people.
Examples of regular cleaning tasks include:
- Emptying the trash and recycling containers
- Cleaning the fridge, kitchen, and bathroom
- Washing the windows, whiteboards and blackboards, and table tops
Other tasks non-cleaning tasks include:
- Helping with Workantile's marketing committee
- Keeping our snack table and soda fridge stocked
- Organizing social lunches and parties
Please see a maintainer if you're unsure of how you can contribute to the well-being of Workantile.
Full members may reserve conference rooms in advance by marking off the times they need them on the calendar sheets by each door. We ask that members be reasonable and considerate of other members and not use them excessively.
Affiliate members may reserve time in a conference room only on the same day they are at Workantile.
Full members may receive mail and packages at Workantile.
The Workantile calendar of events is here
Workantile has a kitchen area with a refrigerator, microwave, and toaster oven members can use. Snacks and cans of pop cost $1. Coffee is $0.75. Members frequently bring food in to share with other members and which is, of course, free.
Please put any coffee cups, glasses, and utensils you use in the dishwasher.
Generally every week on Wednesday we have a social lunch organized by the Cruise Directors. Sometimes they are potluck, sometimes a member volunteers to make tacos, or sushi, or pick up bbq, or something. The social lunches are a great way to get to know other members. The social lunches are announced in the internal email list.
Workantile has a Slack team where all things Workantile are discussed. Members are invited to Slack when they join the community.
The Workantile twitter account is @workantile.
Generally once a month there is a Game Day at Workantile, where members bring in different board games and other games to play. Some Game Days are kid- friendly, others are aimed at adult gamers. Watch the calendar and Slack for Game Days.
Quite a number of events happen at Workantile, some members-only, others public. For the past two years, Workantile has hosted the Festifools luminary workshops, and the Ann Arbor location of the 48-hour Film Project. We have had TV and film watching parties, and the Mars Curiosity landing watch party. We have had scotch, bourbon and rye tastings. Watch the calendar and Slack for these events.
Full members can host one external (public) event and several internal (members-only) events per month. Please coordinate with any of the maintainers before setting up an event.
In order to minimize disruption to Workantile members, event organizers should arrive at Workantile 30 minutes early to set up the room. If the event requires a complicated setup, such as is the case with the luminary workshops, organizers and hosts should consult with the Maintainers on how to best accomplish this.
Event organizers should include in their meeting notices that attendees should arrive no earlier than 15 minutes prior to the event. Attendees cannot enter the Workantile prior to the event organizer’s arrival. Organizers/hosts MUST arrange for someone to greet and direct guests to their event, please do not expect random members to act as doormen for an event.
After the event, the space should be returned to its prior condition—projector, screen, and chairs put away, tables back to where they were, litter picked up, wastepaper containers emptied, etc.
If there is an admission charge for the event:
- Some Workantile members should be permitted to attend free of charge (with the expectation that they will cover their materials costs, if any).
- Workantile receives 10% of the admission fees.
In the front near the windows you’ll find a bookshelf with books offered by the Members to share with one another. You’re welcome to browse and refer to these, but please treat them with respect and care.
There are several public [parking structures](http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?m sid=212880286127519547306.0004c6c7673b053aeafc9&msa=0&ll=42.281373,-83.746848& spn=0.010192,0.019355) and a couple of public parking lots within walking distance of Workantile. The parking structures and the parking lot at Washington and Ashley charge by the hour. The parking lot at 415 W. Washington is a flat $4 fee, but it generally fills up by mid-morning on weekdays. Structures and lots are free on Sundays and holidays.
Expensive, time-limited, metered street parking is available all over downtown. The meter hours of operation are 8am - 6pm, Monday through Saturday. Half-price 10-hour meters are available on Ashley north of Miller (four blocks north). Metered parking is free on Sundays and holidays.
Free street parking is available in the neighborhoods outside of downtown, but close-in neighborhoods allow street parking only for residents.
Secure bike storage is available in the Washington and Fourth Ave. parking structure and other locations around downtown. Contact Get Downtown for details.
Workantile provides go!pass's to all current members. The go!pass grants unlimited rides on Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority busses. All costs for the go!pass are covered by your Workantile dues. If you'd like one, please see a maintainer. You can read more about the go!pass on getdowntown.org's site. The AAATA website has details on bus routes, schedules, and the location of park-and-ride lots.
Workantile has a Brother printer/scanner/copier located in the loft. You can print to it over the network, but if you can’t find it on the network it has a usb cable you can plug into your laptop. It has the ability to scan to a pdf.
If you can’t figure out how it works, any member will be happy to help you.
In the back on the mail table are the Drawers That have One of Everything, including a Macbook power cord, iPhone charger cables, other random power and usb cables, screwdrivers, packing tape, and general what-have-you.
Workantile has flat screen HDTV mounted on the wall in the lower level. It has a number of different connectors so you should not have a problem connecting it to your computer. Please put all the connectors back when you are done.
The speakers are accessible through Apple AirPlay.
Toilet paper, paper towel, liquid soap, etc. are located in the storage room, which accessible through a door at the back of the loft.
It should be set to 76°F or 77°F. This may seem pretty hot, but it turns out that’s just how it works.
- There is a decently-supplied first aid kit on the shelf in the bathroom.
- Do not touch other people’s blood. There are latex gloves in the first aid kit.
- The mail table is at the bottom of the stairs by the large conference room entrance.
- The Mail Monster sorts mail and stacks non-spam on the table for you to pick up. If you expect to receive mail, make sure the Mail Monster knows the name of your company.
There are a number of restaurants, bars, and takeout places within easy walking distance of Workantile. A thoroughly unthorough list:
- Mark’s Carts, Washington between Ashley and First. Collection of different food carts. Inexpensive. Breakfast occasionally, lunch. Takeout only. Open March - November.
- Le Dog, west side of Main Street between Liberty and William. Excellent soups, hot dogs. Lobster bisque to die for on Thursday and Friday. Inexpensive. Lunch only, takeout only, cash only.
- Back2Roots, three doors down. Moderate. Vegan. Lunch, dinner, eat in or takeout.
- Jerusalem Garden, Liberty between Fifth and Division. Excellent falafel, shawarma, hummus, other Mediterranean dishes. Inexpensive. Lunch, dinner. eat in or takeout.
- Ginger Deli, Liberty between Division and Maynard. Pan-asian. Inexpensive. Lunch only, takeout only.
- Old Town, north side of Liberty between Main and Ashley. Multi-tap bar with good selection of craft and mass-produced brews. Pub food. Lunch, dinner. Inexpensive.
- Arbor Brewing Company, south side of Washington between Main and Fourth Ave. Brewpub, pub food. Lunch, dinner. Moderate.
- Grizzly Peak, north side of Washington between Main and Ashley. Brewpub, pub food. Lunch, dinner, Moderate.
- Sushi Zen Miki, west side of First between Washington and Huron. Japanese. Lunch, dinner. Moderate.
- Sabor Latino, west side of Main between Ann and Miller (two blocks north). Mexican, Latin American. Lunch, dinner. $1 tacos on Tuesdays. Inexpensive
- Raven’s Club, east side of Main between Washington and Liberty. Cocktails, full menu. Dinner only. Expensive.
- Zingerman’s, Zingerman’s Next Door, Detroit at Kingsley (four blocks north). World famous deli. Lunch, dinner. Bring your wallet.
- Lunch Room, Kerrytown. Vegan. Moderate. Lunch, dinner, eat in or takeout.
- Ann Arbor Farmers Market, between Fourth and Fifth Aves at Detroit (four blocks north). Saturdays and Wednesdays, May - December. Saturdays only January - April.
- Peoples Food Co-op, Fourth Ave between Ann and Catherine (three blocks north). Groceries, small cafe. You don’t have to be a co-op member to shop there.
- Kerrytown Market & Shops. Next to the Farmers Market. Collection of shops, restaurants, grocery store, fish monger.
There is a post office branch on the south side of Liberty between Fourth and Fifth Aves (two blocks east).
The main branch of the Ann Arbor District Library is on Fifth Ave at William (three blocks east).
- Kolossos, north side of Liberty at Division (four blocks east). Printing, copying.
- FedEx Kinkos, north side of Liberty between Maynard and State (six blocks east).
There are a number of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and retail stores in downtown Ann Arbor. This list doesn’t even scratch the surface. Do walk around and explore.