I joined a few of your early Socialhaus meetups/experiments (?) in San Francisco back in 2019. Eventually life got busy and I couldn't join as often. Then next thing I knew, it, and you, were gone. I've wondered what happened to you! So I'm glad I saw this post though I don't remember ever subscribing lol. I also wonder if I was that engineer in that glass room? It's hard to remember, or perhaps it's hubris on my part; I guess it could've been any techie in SF. :)
I don't consider myself a community-builder, much less a brand-builder. But I thought I'd say hi. I still have that stack of question cards you made (and sold to me at a BART station).
(I originally saw this post from a Substack email, which I replied to. But I'm not sure if it went through.)
Hi Victor!! Thank you for this comment, it makes me happy knowing that you remembered and that at some point you sought to check where it went :) glad you liked this post. Haha had to dig into my memories on the Bart station, hopefully you and your friends enjoyed those questions on the camping trip!
(And thanks for bringing up the email reply - totally didn’t get it let me look into why)
Hi Coco, After reading your article for a second time (now that the whirl of WoP is over) I am remembering a hotel I stayed in Stockholm recently. It is called Ett Hem and it is designed by Ilsa Crawford. She designs for the comforts and delights that you speak of. It truly is a wonderful place and I did not want to leave, just like your guests in the glass room. There is a skill in creating something comfortable, tranquil and inviting. I look forward to reading more of your work.
Just looked up Ett Hem and it’s absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing just bookmarked it on google maps haha. And I resonate with your sentiment on “not wanting to leave” - I feel Copenhagen is one of those cities where, the city was designed in such a comfortable way that I just didn’t want to leave.
Coco this is great. As someone who has enjoyed a fair share of globe-trotting, I really recognize strange longing to somehow blend the inquisitive and exploratory nature of connecting with people of all kinds with the longing for a place of warmth and familiarity. It's one of the reasons I love slow travel so much: you get a feel for how a place really is, and actually get to connect with locals over just indulging in tourism that cheapens the spirit of a place.
Finding that balance is a hard line to toe and I haven't fully done it yet myself. I'm someone who's lucky to feel welcome most anywhere yet don't feel like I truly belong anywhere. That's something I realized in WoP, and I wonder if our writing might serve as a way to create that space, when someone reading thinks, "Yes! That's exactly it!"
I wonder if you've considered opening a coffee shop or some such place? One where tech is discouraged or outright disallowed. One that can be all cozy and hygge in the winter and airy and refreshing in the summer. Or maybe urban planning is in your future? I have a feeling of kindredship with your mission to create better spaces like this, so let's talk more about it!
So glad that you resonate, and love slow travel as well and I like to call it “taking sojourns”. I feel that perhaps because we’ve traveled a lot, the need for such a place and the consistency is so important. And your “Yes! That’s exactly it!” is perhaps the biggest compliment I can get for this piece of writing!
And yes on opening such a place :) Look forward to connecting.
I loved how you took the example of the glass room and made us think about how to mindfully design third spaces. It makes me think of how Starbucks has become more sterile and less "conversation friendly," and it is because it is presenting an aesthetic counter to what you shared.
I loved this piece and I want to learn more about what you learned while working on Socialhaus; sounds really interesting!
Love the idea of slow spaces and I also wish I had access to these whenever I wanted. The closest thing I’ve been able to create myself are Sunday Salons we run here in Mexico City and which have now spread to Lisbon. They happen in different people’s living rooms (whoever is hosting) and this post inspired/reminded me to not overlook the space itself as a key component (we have a playbook thats meant to be open-source, and I realize it mostly talks about how to facilitate and plan, but not as much, or maybe even enough, about how to organize the space and environment to allow for slow conversations to flow. Thanks for the reminder!
Oo Sunday Salons sound very nice! – and especially amazing that it spread to another city. Yess, glad it helped in thinking more on the space and to add the environment component to the playbook. Also seems we have a lot in common on the space we care about given the topic of your last essay :)
I'm not sure if you'll read this reply. I also forgot why I subscribed to your Substack. My name is Owen Zhang, and you can call me Owen. My wife and I currently reside in Kunming. Last year, I spent almost half a year living in the NCC Digital Nomad Community in Dali, Yunnan. I agree with what you said about how a person's behavior and thinking are shaped by their surroundings.
I hope you have the chance to visit Kunming and Dali to experience the sense of community and public life here. The climate is pleasant, and the sunlight is good, making it very suitable for outdoor activities.
Looking forward to the opportunity for you to come to Yunnan.
Hi Owen! Thank you for the note and it’s great to meet you :) Whoa, I actually just went to Kunming and Dali this summer (haha Dali is prob one of those places every Chinese need to visit at least once), would’ve been so wonderful to have met you if I had known! I heard there is a large community there and it sounds amazing. Would love to visit again to see the community it’s a beautiful place! I go back to Beijing every year, hope to see you there, in Dali, or let me know if you ever visit NYC!
Looking forward to your next time visit to Kunming and Dali. I can show you around the local communities in both cities. Recently, I've been reading books about homestays民宿, and I'm also looking for a designer partner. This is because I have a long-term plan to create a youth hostels in Kunming that includes a community space where people can share their stories and initiate interesting activities, rather than just providing hotel-style accommodation. I'm not very satisfied with the existing youth hostels in Kunming, and perhaps this nascent idea might pique your interest. Maybe someday when the time is right, we can discuss this further.
That’s be amazing! Very cool, totally have a passion in the realm of well-designed + community driven 民宿. Happy to help brainstorm any time can always do a call! 🙂
Fascinating: To have consistently deep and engaging conversations, we need consistently well-designed spaces: slower spaces with warm drinks, comfortable seating, and soft textures such as cushions and blankets. If we want to get technical, the 2700 Kelvin ambient lighting is the sweet spot—the temperature of sunsets, candles, and wood burning in a fire.
I joined a few of your early Socialhaus meetups/experiments (?) in San Francisco back in 2019. Eventually life got busy and I couldn't join as often. Then next thing I knew, it, and you, were gone. I've wondered what happened to you! So I'm glad I saw this post though I don't remember ever subscribing lol. I also wonder if I was that engineer in that glass room? It's hard to remember, or perhaps it's hubris on my part; I guess it could've been any techie in SF. :)
I don't consider myself a community-builder, much less a brand-builder. But I thought I'd say hi. I still have that stack of question cards you made (and sold to me at a BART station).
(I originally saw this post from a Substack email, which I replied to. But I'm not sure if it went through.)
Hi Victor!! Thank you for this comment, it makes me happy knowing that you remembered and that at some point you sought to check where it went :) glad you liked this post. Haha had to dig into my memories on the Bart station, hopefully you and your friends enjoyed those questions on the camping trip!
(And thanks for bringing up the email reply - totally didn’t get it let me look into why)
Hi Coco, After reading your article for a second time (now that the whirl of WoP is over) I am remembering a hotel I stayed in Stockholm recently. It is called Ett Hem and it is designed by Ilsa Crawford. She designs for the comforts and delights that you speak of. It truly is a wonderful place and I did not want to leave, just like your guests in the glass room. There is a skill in creating something comfortable, tranquil and inviting. I look forward to reading more of your work.
Just looked up Ett Hem and it’s absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing just bookmarked it on google maps haha. And I resonate with your sentiment on “not wanting to leave” - I feel Copenhagen is one of those cities where, the city was designed in such a comfortable way that I just didn’t want to leave.
Coco this is great. As someone who has enjoyed a fair share of globe-trotting, I really recognize strange longing to somehow blend the inquisitive and exploratory nature of connecting with people of all kinds with the longing for a place of warmth and familiarity. It's one of the reasons I love slow travel so much: you get a feel for how a place really is, and actually get to connect with locals over just indulging in tourism that cheapens the spirit of a place.
Finding that balance is a hard line to toe and I haven't fully done it yet myself. I'm someone who's lucky to feel welcome most anywhere yet don't feel like I truly belong anywhere. That's something I realized in WoP, and I wonder if our writing might serve as a way to create that space, when someone reading thinks, "Yes! That's exactly it!"
I wonder if you've considered opening a coffee shop or some such place? One where tech is discouraged or outright disallowed. One that can be all cozy and hygge in the winter and airy and refreshing in the summer. Or maybe urban planning is in your future? I have a feeling of kindredship with your mission to create better spaces like this, so let's talk more about it!
So glad that you resonate, and love slow travel as well and I like to call it “taking sojourns”. I feel that perhaps because we’ve traveled a lot, the need for such a place and the consistency is so important. And your “Yes! That’s exactly it!” is perhaps the biggest compliment I can get for this piece of writing!
And yes on opening such a place :) Look forward to connecting.
I loved how you took the example of the glass room and made us think about how to mindfully design third spaces. It makes me think of how Starbucks has become more sterile and less "conversation friendly," and it is because it is presenting an aesthetic counter to what you shared.
I loved this piece and I want to learn more about what you learned while working on Socialhaus; sounds really interesting!
Thank you so much :) will definitely share more on it as I build the next iteration!
Love the idea of slow spaces and I also wish I had access to these whenever I wanted. The closest thing I’ve been able to create myself are Sunday Salons we run here in Mexico City and which have now spread to Lisbon. They happen in different people’s living rooms (whoever is hosting) and this post inspired/reminded me to not overlook the space itself as a key component (we have a playbook thats meant to be open-source, and I realize it mostly talks about how to facilitate and plan, but not as much, or maybe even enough, about how to organize the space and environment to allow for slow conversations to flow. Thanks for the reminder!
Oo Sunday Salons sound very nice! – and especially amazing that it spread to another city. Yess, glad it helped in thinking more on the space and to add the environment component to the playbook. Also seems we have a lot in common on the space we care about given the topic of your last essay :)
Hello Coco,
I'm not sure if you'll read this reply. I also forgot why I subscribed to your Substack. My name is Owen Zhang, and you can call me Owen. My wife and I currently reside in Kunming. Last year, I spent almost half a year living in the NCC Digital Nomad Community in Dali, Yunnan. I agree with what you said about how a person's behavior and thinking are shaped by their surroundings.
I hope you have the chance to visit Kunming and Dali to experience the sense of community and public life here. The climate is pleasant, and the sunlight is good, making it very suitable for outdoor activities.
Looking forward to the opportunity for you to come to Yunnan.
Haha I was also in NCC earlier this year.
Hi Owen! Thank you for the note and it’s great to meet you :) Whoa, I actually just went to Kunming and Dali this summer (haha Dali is prob one of those places every Chinese need to visit at least once), would’ve been so wonderful to have met you if I had known! I heard there is a large community there and it sounds amazing. Would love to visit again to see the community it’s a beautiful place! I go back to Beijing every year, hope to see you there, in Dali, or let me know if you ever visit NYC!
Hi Coco!
Looking forward to your next time visit to Kunming and Dali. I can show you around the local communities in both cities. Recently, I've been reading books about homestays民宿, and I'm also looking for a designer partner. This is because I have a long-term plan to create a youth hostels in Kunming that includes a community space where people can share their stories and initiate interesting activities, rather than just providing hotel-style accommodation. I'm not very satisfied with the existing youth hostels in Kunming, and perhaps this nascent idea might pique your interest. Maybe someday when the time is right, we can discuss this further.
That’s be amazing! Very cool, totally have a passion in the realm of well-designed + community driven 民宿. Happy to help brainstorm any time can always do a call! 🙂
Fascinating: To have consistently deep and engaging conversations, we need consistently well-designed spaces: slower spaces with warm drinks, comfortable seating, and soft textures such as cushions and blankets. If we want to get technical, the 2700 Kelvin ambient lighting is the sweet spot—the temperature of sunsets, candles, and wood burning in a fire.
Nice post! ~fellow WOPer
Thank you for reading :)