Post one-year

first inner room with the orange blobs

The Pond has now been here for more than one year, since January 18th! This year has been absolutely bonkers and indescribable in so many ways. We’ve made mistakes and learnt so much about ourselves personally, the queer community, and how to run a bookstore cafe.

We sent out a survey for you all to take, were you could share your feedback, ideas, needs and wants for this space we are so fortunate to have. It was invaluable to see what changes we can make in the space, how we operate and to plan for the future. Mostly there was a flood of overwhelming support, love and gratefulness expressed, and we feel every sentiment deeply. Thank you <3

But what will this all lead to? What have we been thinking about in regards to what is coming next and changes to make?

Implementing the changes will take some time, as we are only two people at the moment –yes, we are looking into how we can involve more people and be better at asking for “help”!– things will just take some time until we get there. We are working on creating a page on our website with things we need help with for easier accessibility and overview. As well as discussing more potential ways we can foster community and growth –like potentially creating some sort of board or event volunteer group. The difficulty is the –annoyingly stupid– fact that The Pond is still a business which creates both governmental and moral complexities with volunteer work. We want to make sure we are doing this thoughtfully with stability, longevity, and care in mind. If you have experience in community building and would like to help us discuss this and share your experience, please reach out.

In the survey we discovered how divisive the seating situation at The Pond is. Our layout is tricky to work with, and most things we wouldn’t have discovered without trying it out first. So we are changing the layout! Nothing major, no need to panic yet. It can always be changed back! We are going to try turning the first inner room –with the orange blobs– into an all lounge, couch and armchair room, and the second inner room –with the white tiles– into more of an office/work space.

second inner room with white tiles

Our hope is that we can encourage people to use the inner inner room during the day to study, work, for focus time, and for events like board game club we have more options to play larger games. Hey, it’s a bit of a gamble, but we want to switch it up, try something new. Along with that…fix the wifi in the back rooms of course… sigh, and get more electrical outlets. Both a bunch of minor changes, and a bunch of medium big changes. We hope you’ll be patient with us.

As always, the ideas and ambitions are endless, and energy and time limited, so we are taking things at a pace that will be sustainable for us. We are incredibly passionate about making so many things happen, it can feel frustrating and demotivating when things take time, but it’s all about longevity. Until then, if you are up for helping us move furniture or have opinions on the layout, talk to us. We will provide more resources and information about volunteer work in the future, but that also needs to be sorted through. Helping with the process of things –like taking the survey (thank you!), talking to us about your thoughts, advice, ideas, sharing your knowledge– is just as valuable, and if not more so, as the physical and work labour needed for the execution.

We want you all to know that we truly view The Pond as a community space for all of us. So please don’t hesitate to reach out to us so we can together shape it into all the things you wish it could be, that’s all we ever wanted.