Not all tax spending is necessarily wasteful tax spending. ”Spending is also an investment. (Kitchener) Council needs to take the long view and support investment that leads to current and future prosperity,” says our very own Rebecca Short, MFX’s Operations Director, in her letter to the editor in today’s Record.

Believing in this community and the vision that investment will lead to further growth and employment, Rebecca and husband John recently made a serious investment, moving two businesses, MFX and 17Muscles to Kitchener’s Tannery and Digital Media HUB.

So what is your take? Do you believe that spending our tax dollars on the development of Kitchener is an investment in the future reputation and economic growth of our fair city? Have your say, weigh in on the issue now.

Well, the boxes are unpacked, the Internet is up and running, and the ‘Home Sweet Home’ sign is on the door. And amid all the chaos there was only one minor breakdown when the coffee machine wasn’t hooked up on Monday (sorry guys, I need my AM caffeine or I get a little cranky).

MFX has officially moved into the Tannery!

In our last post, where you can find our new mailing address, we hinted at “some very exciting news” to come this week. Well don’t get too excited just yet because, as our Lead Designer and friend James Bisch would say, “It needs to marinade in awesome sauce juuuuuuust a bit longer.”

So in other words, we’re making you wait until Friday.

But that’s OK, because Friday is not only the day where we dust off and spin tracks like ‘The Final Countdown’ and ‘Funky Cold Medina’ in the MFX house. We’ll also be spinning some MFX news that will change the world as we know it, for the better of course, ’cause that’s the way we roll.

It’s a fantastic freaking world (in my books) when good people get recognized for the great work they do. So when we got advanced copies of Waterloo Region’s 40 Under 40, an issue that shines a well-deserved spotlight on 40 outstanding young people who are making a difference in our region—well, I feel that humanity is doing just fine.

The greatest thing about Waterloo Region’s 40 Under 40 is that one of our most favorite people in the whole wide world is featured (among some other extraordinary friends of MFX).

Who, you might ask?

Well you’d best pick up a copy of tomorrow’s Record to find out

If you’ve been to any community events in Kitchener-Waterloo lately, you’ve probably crossed paths with an MFXer. The thing I love so much about working for MFX is that we’re always out at local events, meeting new people and learning about what they do.

Take the Communitech Art and Networking event at the Tannery a few weeks back. I had the pleasure of meeting a bunch of new faces, and soon-to-be neighbors. It struck me last week, when meeting many new folks from the small biz and non-profit community, I often find myself asking them, “Have you heard about Design Changes?”

If you haven’t heard, Design Changes is a special MFX project that focuses on providing graphic design, writing and web design services specifically to the Waterloo Region’s small business and non-profit community. The Design Changes studio has occupied a small space in the Princess Twin building, located near the delectable Princess Café, since 2009. But because MFX is moving to our big, brand new, beautiful office in the Tannery, well it just seemed logical to reunite the whole dang family in one office space.

So to be clear, Design Changes is an MFX-funded program that offers professional design services to small businesses (in their first year of business) and non-profit outfits—that otherwise wouldn’t necessarily be able to afford the same services from a large, professional agency. And because Design Changes is fully backed by MFX, we can offer our small biz and not-for-profit clients the expertise of a large and diverse design and communication firm with global experience and a full mix of services and resources.

So if you’re a small or non-profit business owner looking for professional design services you can afford, Design Changes hasn’t abandoned you, it’s just moved to Kitchener like Google. Lead Designer, Lesley Drago will happily quote your project and work with you to maximize your budget and show you how vital design can be to the success and potential growth of your business. Call Lesley at 519-588-4358 or email lesley@designchanges.ca.

Keep checking back for updates!

So we’ve been sharing a little bit more information on our new space over at the Tannery in recent blog posts. We are not only psyched to move in because the space is absolutely gorgeous with loads of potential; the Tannery is also a good example of sustainable design, which as you know is right up our alley.

So why did we choose the Tannery as our new workspace?

The project transformed the defunct 480,000-square-foot Tannery into the heart of this region’s bustling tech sector. It’s an attractive mix of smart, leading edge office tenants—including Communitech, Google, Desire2Learn and US! Plus, it offers the right balance of commercial tenants—a health clinic, Balzacs Coffee Roasters, a salon, and even a workspace for local artisans.

But the most inspiring thing about the Tannery is that it bridges the gap between Kitchener’s industrial heritage and its new reputation as Ontario’s high-tech hub. Toronto-based architectural firm, RAWdesign, worked consciously to preserve the masonry shell, industrial heritage and the original steel structure, brickwork and rough-hewn wooden floors. And they topped it all off by creating an even flow throughout the building, streamlining all buildings together as one by removing the Tannery’s smaller structures and creating pathways of harmony throughout the block.

How perfect will it be to work in and be inspired by such a great example of sustainable design?

We announced in yesterday’s post that we’re anticipating our move the Kitchener’s Tannery at the end of this month. Well, we’d like to tell you more about our totally awesome new space!

Offering just under 5,000 square feet of fabulousness (considering we’re used to a cramped 3,000 square foot space currently), MFX took the design of our new space very seriously. That’s why we collaborated with local design superstar, Lorelie Ratz and the owner/designer of this mind-blowing Straw Bale Home featured in Grand Magazine.

Lorelie worked with us to design a space that would match a group of lithe and spontaneous folks (that’s us) whose daily activities can range from writing a barrage of ideas on the wall after playing with Lego for an hour—to catering to an audience of 20 for one of our Design Thinking workshops, complete with coffee and City Café’s most scrumptious and butteriest croissants.

That’s why Lorelie helped us open our eyes to the potential of a flexible space, outfitted with modular glass panels and furniture that could be easily shifted to match whatever workshop, brainstorm, or group or lone activity our staff needed at the time. Seriously, the office furniture rocks! It’s a mix of rounded and angled tables that can suit one large boardroom, or with the easy shift of a glass divider, provide the space for two smaller work or meeting spaces, and we can move the tables to create smaller round, rectangle, u-shaped and square work areas.

We can’t wait to move in so we can have you over to show it off!