Profile: Eva Schweber and David Kominsky, CubeSpace
The Eva and David Show
Eva Schweber and David Kominsky have elevated the concept of collaboration to a new plateau: they are the married couple who co-own Portland’s first co-working space, CubeSpace. I chatted with them about the past, present, and future of CubeSpace over scones, coffee, and socks David was knitting.
Both Eva and David are East Coasters transplanted to Portland in the 1980s via Reed College. After post-college number-crunching jobs – Eva as management analyst for Portland Parks and Recreation, David as a market researcher – they returned to their geographical roots. David’s pursuit of divinity at the only reconstructionist (read politically progressive and community-centric) rabbinical school in the world landed him in Philadelphia, while Eva launched her consulting practice doing evaluation, facilitation and strategic training.
Eva’s job took her on frequent business trips around the country, so in addition to working from home, work on the road in the era before cafes with free wi-fi meant laboring in strange locations and often in contortionist body positions. Most sole proprietors working remotely she’d meet had the same problem. Having recently learned about a shared workspace for writers in Brooklyn, Eva and David spotted an opportunity.
Back in Portland in 2005, they started researching the market (techies, creatives, digital nomads, business travelers) and after a protracted location search launched CubeSpace in October 2006.
CubeSpace offers a slightly different model than a typical co-working space, which tends to be small. With its larger size, more facilities, and a variety of auxiliary services it’s an integration of co-working space and executive suites, preserving, according to Eva, “the funkiness of former and avoiding the stuffiness of latter. Put another way, we have Wii.” CubeSpace targets professionals who need a place to work as well as meet with clients, offering a “workplace and community hub with resources of larger companies without the commitment (and expense) of an office lease”.
In addition to attracting some of the city’s freelance creatives and shoestring nonprofits, CubeSpace has become a hub of Portland’s tech community. Regular events include user groups for bloggers, programmers, and coders; unconferences like BarCamp and From Side Project to Startup; and various DYI meetups (knitting, chicken, fermentation). CubeSpace also conducts a range of educational events for local businesses and entrepreneurs, such as its Entrepreneurial Series events or social media trainings.
The latest offering has been the addition of back office services for programmers and other members who need help with contract and client management or billing. Of the new service portfolio, David said, “We like to help people run their business better.”
In addition to building community, CubeSpace also implements environmentally sustainable practices in its operations: cubicles were bought used, carpets are from recycled materials, and most everything else is used or refurbished. CubeSpace participates in the City of Portland’s commercial composting program, and uses environmentally friendly cleaning and all other supplies.
When not tending to CubeSpace, David is a rabbi sub and conducts funerals and weddings for the unaffiliated; Eva is active on the Portland Small Business Advisory Council.
(March 2009)
Update July 2009: CubeSpace closed its doors on June 12, 2009. We have not identified any connection between that and this profile.
