Jen Cole of the Metro Nashville Arts Commission speaks with members of The Skillery coworking space in Nashville, TNMost work environments these days leave a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to meeting new and interesting people. In the IT world we tend to stay locked behind our access controlled doors and guard our information as if someone is about to bust down the door and demand the FTP password to our client's cupcake bar website.

In the past few years we've been looking for a more open and collaborative environment in which to work. A place with energy to it while remaining conducive to creative work. We have found just that in The Skillery, a new take on communal office space, that opened in Nashville in 2014.

The Skillery started out as a facilitator for small group classes on topics ranging from photography to letterpress printing to square foot gardening and has evolved into a crossroads of all things creative and interesting in Nashville including a weekly "Office Hours" roundtable discussion with someone from the Nashville business or creative world. How many places can you work that bring in interesting people to talk to you? Not many.

This week's installment of Office Hours at The Skillery brought Jen Cole, Executive Director of the Metro Nashville Arts Commission. Jen spoke with members and outside guests about the efforts of the Arts Commission to expand the cultural opportunities for locals and visitors to Music City. One of the discussions that took place was with Skillery member Paolo Amarena, of Tencom Digital Marketing, where he wondered if the worlds of art and sport might collide in unique ways. Paolo talked about how climbing demonstrations in his native Italy were held in urban environments utilizing the sides of very old buildings with walls suitable for climbing. A convergence of art and architecture and sport.

So this is how it goes at our Nashville "Office," if you can call it that. Its more of a space than an office. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that we also have the folks from Steadfast coffee in the space as well pulling awesome shots of espresso goodness. Could Friday be any better?

For more information on The Skillery, visit their website and www.theskillery.com. They have a full lineup of classes and events and information about the coworking space.

Tencom is a Managed IT and Web Development services company with offices in Dyersburg, TN and Nashville at The Skillery. Read more about our services at www.tencom.net.