For a place of work, BizHaus is full of some unusually happy folks. One of the reasons, we believe, is that nobody is “obligated” to be here. Member agreements are month-to-month, and members can come and go as they please. Nobody has to stay at BizHaus unless they’re happy.
Some of our members have been at BizHaus — on a month-to-month basis — for years! Is it the great coffee that makes them stay? Is it the community? We recently caught up with Heather Humpleman and Nathan Carter of Midnight Hour Studios, a member at BizHaus Marina del Rey for 2+ years to find out why coworking works for them.
BH: What is Midnight Hour Studios?
MHS: We are a video production company that specializes in university and institutional storytelling – we have our roots in the traditional cinematic arts and we strive to bring that creativity to everything we do. Essentially, we produce all sorts of communications videos for different places in LA, and we do a lot of it (more than 100 videos a year!)
BH: What first brought you to BizHaus?
MHS: We came to BizHaus because we were tired of meeting at coffee shops (with terrible parking!) all over the city, and it was getting incredibly difficult to work out of our apartments. We were exchanging so much data back and forth on a regular basis that we knew working in an office would dramatically impact the quality of our work, lives, and yes, sanity.
We searched for coworking spaces since we wanted the flexibility of a month-to-month membership, and we didn’t want to deal with any office management tasks, like restocking printer supplies, dealing with the internet company, and spending hours searching for the right hipster, fair-trade, locally sourced, ethically grown coffee!
We officially chose to move into an office over ramen one day in Pasadena, called BizHaus while waiting for our food, spoke to Joe, and drove to Marina del Rey to see the place that afternoon. Once we saw it, we fell in love with everything about the people and the vibe, and took an office almost immediately – and it’s been happily ever after since. When you know, you know!
BH: It’s been over two years since we met you! How’s it been going?
MHS: We’re doing great! A lot of things have changed, from the big to the small. For instance, we’re now officially styled ‘Midnight Hour Studios, Inc’, we’ve doubled our equipment storage and our team, and we’ve moved into a wonderfully gorgeous space at BizHaus. It’s a really exciting time for us that, of course, has its ups and downs; we’re dealing with major growth for the first time, and trying to balance that kind of significant expansion has some challenges. However, we’re immensely proud of what we’ve achieved in the past couple of years, and we ultimately feel that much closer to our goals. Plus, getting to accomplish it all with a best friend by your side makes the entire experience a dream come true – even with the many midnight hours spent working! (See what I did there?)
BH: What do you want to be when you grow up?
MHS: We’ve always wanted to become a Director & DP duo. We’ve both always been passionate about being storytellers, and wanting to do that through making movies was definitely ignited while at USC’s film school. They have a fantastic program that both inspired and cemented a true love of the artform.
We have a great rapport working together, and our interests complement each other’s in all the right ways: Nathan loves gear and gadgets just as much as he loves thinking about lines and lighting, while Heather likes people and problem-solving. We don’t always have exactly the same tastes in movies, but at our core, we both love fairytales, and that kind of imaginative yet truthful, sometimes somber but sincere storytelling. That’s actually how we came up with the name Midnight Hour; in many fairy tales, that’s when the magic happens! Plus, perhaps, more importantly, the domain name was available…
BH: Favorite Thing about Coworking?
MHS: Our favorite thing about coworking is being able to focus on our work, and not having to deal with the myriad little things that come with running what is essentially a second home. Every morning, we can come into a lovely space and dive right into running our business. There’s also a great social element that comes with working in a coworking space, and that actually has a large, if subconscious, impact on the psyche. It’s nice to be surrounded by other friendly faces, and it’s nice to have conversations not related to work when we grab lunch. We’ve also made some friends here and gotten to work with other companies at BizHaus, but I think the real benefits are intangible – comfort, convenience, conversation, and coffee! It makes you think – how can small teams not work in coworking spaces?
BH: How Can People Find You?
MHS: Second star to the right, and straight on ‘til morning!
That sounds like a joke, but actually, Peter Pan would know the way – we’re the office with the large blue Big Ben on the door. It’s kind of our unofficial logo – obviously, it’s a clock which is perfect for a company with ‘hour’ in its name, and frankly, we just love all things British. Heather is a dual citizen, and we dream of opening up a London office one day (BizHaus, get on it!)
An alternative way of finding us: just smell the air for pumpkin spice, and follow your nose to the rather large bowl of Halloween candy we have in our office – right next to the whiskey we keep to toast to finished projects. Chocolate and booze! The perfect start to any friendship.
Learn more about Midnight Hour Studios by visiting their website.