The Box Jelly, Coworking, and Hawaii's Creative Rennaissance

As much as I fill my cubicle with personal photos, post-it doodles, and plushies, there’s still something so blah about coming to an office day in and day out. I secretly dream of the day my blog takes off, allowing me to join the ranks of all those cool people you see at Starbucks and Fresh Café, laptop in tow, working on a client’s website design or sealing a business deal via Skype.

Now Honolulu's freelancers, independent contractors, and other mobile-office types have a new workspace to call their own – The Box Jelly, Hawaii’s very first coworking space! If you’re unfamiliar with the coworking movement, the term refers to a new way of working, in which people of different companies/industries work independently, but in a shared physical space. The way it works is that a person pays an hourly, daily, or weekly rate to have use of a temporary workspace.

The Box Jelly’s soft opening was this Monday, and I was determined to pay them a visit to find out first-hand what this whole #HICoworking movement is all about. (Thanks to @johngarcia for opening my eyes!) Upon stepping into Fishcake, where the pop-up coworking space is temporary located for about a month, I was promptly greeted by Hasan, who is The Box Jelly's Community Curator and one of the five Chaminade University-graduates / entrepreneurs behind this initiative.  

After getting the grand tour of the space and hearing more about how The Box Jelly came to be, I had to ask Hasaan, “Why would people come to here do their work, as opposed to, say, a coffeeshop?” He replied that unlike a coffee shop, the Box Jelly caters to your working needs. The space comes complete with your basic office requirements, which includes four shared work tables, a printer/scanner, a whiteboard, and of course COFFEE (or tea, if you prefer).

A little bit into the evening, my friend Jennel came to join me, and not too long after that, Rechung, another one of The Box Jelly owners, dropped by too. And that’s when the magic happened. What stemmed from talking about their business venture led into all sorts of creatively stimulating discussion. We talked about inspiration, logo ideas, Seven Pounds, brain monkeys, personal projects, Talk Story Sessions...and by the time I had to leave for dinner, we culminated in agreement that YES, there is definitely a Creative Renaissance on its way here in Hawaii, and that its growth lies on the shoulders of the creative risk-takers of our generation who believe that there's something more for us out there, should we choose to seize it.

I had left the space feeling great, not only because I had gotten some blog-work done, but also because I was INSPIRED – inspired from meeting new people, hearing new ideas, having good conversation, and feeling that sense of camaraderie among people of different backgrounds, but all who, as Hasan put it, can “see our better selves.”

And in that lies the value of the space. Sure you can get coffee, wi-fi, and a table and chair at coffeeshop. But what a coffeeshop can’t provide you is the opportunity to find your better self through the creative energy and collaboration that The Box Jelly and the Coworking Movement seek to draw out of us.

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The Box Jelly coworking pop-up space is currently located at Fishcake (307 Kamani Street). For more information, visit their webpage, like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.