Christian DeBenedetti lives, uh - i mean works in the hive. It has seemed a bit like he was living in the hive as he pushed hard against the deadline to finish a book in recent weeks. What book? The book that makes Christian the envy of most who talk to him for 5 minutes. Christian is a writer, and in the time he’s been at the hive, he’s been writing for National Geographic. About beer. No kidding. For months it has been Christian’s work to travel to microbreweries all over the US and write about that. Amazon now has The Great American Ale Trail: The Craft Beer Lover’s Guide to the Best Watering Holes in the Nation available for pre-order.

I stopped Christian to ask how edits were going the other day. Smoothly, and it’s a good thing since he’s distracted by the overwhelming response to a recent invention. At Leftbank’s holiday party last December, Christian made a friend. Christian was new at Leftbank then, and he stayed for the party to get to know some neighbors. Sharing a beer with a product desiger who was then part of DC202, they hatched a collaboration that led to collaborating with a third person, and culminated in producing The Brauler. It’s like a growler, only better. Uncrate unveiled it this week. Patents are pending, the first round of Braulers haven’t left the factory, and 1000s of people have signed the waiting list for one.

I see two lessons: focus on what you love, and accept party invitations. You never know where authentic focus and meeting new people will take you.

This week we are introducing Greta the German Shorthair Pointer.  At the tender age of 3 1/2, Greta presents herself as a very proud lady, as evidenced from her profile picture.  Greta’s companions are Holly and David from DC202 and Greta comes to work with them every day where she gets to hang out with the rest of the DC202 crew - human and canine alike.  She has lots of canine friends in the DC202 office including Suvi, Sid and Tucker (who we will introduce later in this series).  Tucker provides the local ear cleaning service which Greta seems to love.

Greta receiving Tucker's salon services

...and now for the right ear.

Greta’s favorite place to run is the beach and she makes the journey out to the coast often.  She also loves to roam around the area where she lives and, being as she is a pointer - originally bred for hunting, she loves the game of hide and seek.  David hides a tasty morsel somewhere in the grounds behind their house and Greta loves to go hunting for it.  She is also partial to bones and, if there are none to be had, she can often be found with her favorite toy - a ball.   Greta loves to play fetch and can play for hours in Forest Park.

So, next time you pass Greta in the Leftbank hallways, please stop and say hi.

The members of dc202  have been busy brainstorming ways that we can support each other in healthy living and  actively participate in the community in 2010….

We came up with what we think is a great way to start putting our “collective” New Years resolution into action: the 2010 Shamrock Run on March 14, 2010.

Then we got to thinking…why not see if other Leftbankers want to participate too?

This event is for a good cause (Doernbecher’s Childrens Hospital Foundation) and would also be a fun way to foster relationships within our Leftbank Community and beyond.

….Plus,  can you imagine the cool shirts we could have made?!

Who’s in? If you’re interested in the idea of creating a Leftbank Project team for this event, contact Jaime in suite 202.

**in the essence of full disclosure…Jaime says, “I am not what some would consider a runner, so I’ll be striding”**

Thank you to all who were able to make it to the dc202 Open House on October 22!

We really appreciate the continued support of our families, clients, and friends, and are excited to be part of the growing connectedness and cameraderie that we’re finding here in the Leftbank Community.

upstairs at dc202

hello Leftbank people! we would like to announce the new tag for our design collective in suite 202: dc202, pretty simple to remember. we are a group of modern design based architects, interior designers, furniture/lighting designers and fabrication coordinators. please stop by and see us, we love company! oh yeah, Tucker the PUG works up here with us.