The Ground Floor

About

The Ground Floor opened in 2015 with a “Start Somewhere” goal of encouraging a vibrant sharing economy in Aiken, SC. Office/studio space for rent to “creators and makers” plus an event room affectionately called “The Collaboration Room”. The Collaboration Room was designed as a skill share education space, a small 24 seat event space, and a meeting space to begin exploring ideas and innovation for building a more organized collaborative environment in Aiken. The Collaboration Room is available for an affordable $25/hour rate.

Why is your motto “Start Somewhere”?

The Ground Floor is a small, creativity inspiring space in the Union Street area of the most beautiful street in downtown Aiken – Park Avenue. The small size has allowed us to experiment with finding the energy and right partners in Aiken. Our hope has been that this concept would grow and become a real movement in Aiken where creative people inspire other creative people, help each other, and grow jobs in our community.

Since 2015, we have utilized different input methods to generate ideas.  We have experimented with several different types of “creators and makers” and learned who needs a quiet environment and who works best in an active and open enviroment. We brainstormed with a small group and helped implement the #Aiken4Aiken movement in time for Small Business Saturday. We conducted a focus group to create a #MadeinAikenCounty movement which kicked off last year with the unveiling of the winner of a logo contest at the Aiken Center for the Arts annual “A Taste of Wine and Art” event. We learned about the need for a Coaches Council to help herd people toward success and manage the small interpersonal challenges that arise – especially in small towns!

We decided to start small, experiment and determine where it would go.  #Startsomewhere…  We happen to see a perfect storm right now to let it really “GoSomewhere”!

What do you mean by “creators and makers”?

Photographers make products. Artists make products. Metal craftsmen make product. Graphic artists make products. 3D printers make products. Museum designers make product. Web developers make products. Management consultants make products. Sewers make products. We all make innovative products! We are all innovative and can work to create economies of scale where we share resources for growth and JOBS.

“The Sharing Economy is a socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing of human, physical and intellectual resources. It includes the shared creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services by different people and organizations.”