Office Needed: Seeking Joy and Light

When we launched Tomorrow in 2019, our vision was to be a production company that seeks and embraces change. We wanted to seize the opportunity to do something different in an industry that we love. This kind of mission is incredibly freeing but also a bit daunting. Being intentional about our decision-making process and not settling for the well-worn path meant that every choice we make would need to be considered through this lens of change: how can we do this better, smarter, more creatively, more collaboratively, more compassionately? 

One of the areas where this philosophy felt most challenging to fulfill was in our search for an office space. In our early start-up days, we operated out of a WeWork space to cut down on overhead. We loved working out of WeWork - we did our first 14 jobs there - but as we staffed up and had more and more clients visiting us there, we realised its limitations. It wasn’t sustainable - something needed to change.

We knew that our new office needed to be a place that was open and expansive and fostered an atmosphere of collaboration between our team and the people we are lucky to work with. So, when we found our space in November 2019, it was almost too good to be true. It’s perched above the vibrant hustle of Rose Avenue, so we could feel the energy of the best block on one of the best streets in Venice Beach, California. We knew the space was going to be a game-changer, unifying us and allowing us to establish a new flow in a way that was previously impossible. 

Then 2020 came along and change found us all in a major way. Just as we were getting settled into our new space, COVID hit. Suddenly we were looking through another lens to consider what a space meant to us and how it would function - or if it even could! Not only were there health and safety considerations, but there was also the question of how we could be true to our values while evolving the way that we work. This was our chance to slow down and reimagine what our workspace meant to us. The path forward was to take stock and determine what was really needed and what was just taking up space. 

When we let our values and our culture lead the way, one word kept popping up: Joy. Loving all the best parts of what we do and wanting to bring that feeling to the forefront of our days, our processes, our culture, and our relationships. This realisation ignited the conversation around what was important to us about the space and what would best serve our needs at this unique moment in time. Now more than ever, a production company can be whatever it wants to be. There are as many ways to do it as there are combinations of producers and directors. In other words, limitless.

We quickly established that ours was not going to be an office with imposing conference rooms or impersonal enclosed offices. Ours was going to be an office that is airy and open, light-filled, and brimming with thriving plants. One with a killer chef’s kitchen, comfortable furniture for gathering, and long communal tables for meetings and delicious dinners.

With the help of our friend and talented interior designer, Naomi Krumins, we transformed the space to fit our needs. With moveable walls of glass facing west and south, the office is open to the outside, providing fresh air workspace and a sun-filled creative environment. It’s a modestly sized space - and will never be a place to pack in talent to do wardrobe fittings - but with a vintage record player, a rooftop deck with breezes off the ocean, and two fire pits as trade-offs, everyone at Tomorrow is smiling. Sometimes at the end of a long work day, we don’t want to leave. A glass of wine and a game of Bananagrams is often in the cards....

Our place has warmth and style, but it allows the light and the air to be the stars. If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that being social is one thing that is impossible to do remotely. We’re excited about safely coming together after so much time spent apart. We’re cherishing every chance to gather even more, and embracing the spirit of joy that made this space possible. While we all figure out how to shape our daily work lives in this new “after,” let’s lean into the parts of what we do that are wonderful.