Year Two

From Card Tables to Comfort (With Caffeine Along the Way)

As we kicked off Year Two in our new studio space, it was time to truly make it our own. In classic resourceful design start-up fashion, this meant refined touches—like repurposing a discarded piece of ductwork into a pedestal for the espresso machine. It was a small gesture, but it spoke volumes about who we were: sustainably minded, creatively scrappy, and heavily caffeinated.

Our early days on Donald Street were defined by creative innovation. Lunches stayed cold thanks to brisk Winnipeg winters and a conveniently deep window ledge. Our “desks”? A pair of folding card tables, where Shane, Steve, and Evan huddled together, designing community halls for Grise Fiord and Igloolik, Nunavut.

Though the furnishings were sparse, the dreams weren’t. Ergonomic comfort was aspirational—until April 1, 2011, when our first official desking system arrived. It may have been April Fool’s Day, but this was no joke. Life at Republic got a lot more comfortable (at least physically). The espresso machine still stood proudly atop its industrial perch, but the new desks signaled real progress.

Other highlights from Year Two:

• Retreat #2 took us to Toronto, ON—keeping it Canadian while continuing our tradition of exploration, learning, and team-building.
• In Nunavut, our ongoing work led us deeper into community engagement. We facilitated public consultations and visioning sessions with local residents and Elders. A local translator was essential—not just for bridging languages, but for fostering genuine cultural understanding and trust between our team and the communities we were honoured to serve.

By the end of Year Two, we had 28 projects in our repertoire—and a growing sense of momentum. We couldn’t wait to see where this adventure would take us next.

L-R: Donald Street (the early days), Engagement in Nunavut, Igloolik