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There has always been something special about Common Desk. The magic could be felt in the room at the January 30 grand opening of Trammell Crow Center's Common Desk, a space two years in the making.
The popular coworking spaces are hotbeds for creativity and collaboration, as artists and entrepreneurs across Dallas seek spaces to meet up and pursue their passions. This makes Common Desk the perfect partner for Artist Uprising. We teamed up with the coworking space to make their new location in Downtown Dallas a reflection of the vibrant community it calls home.
Here’s how we did that:
Courtesy of Common Desk
Common Desk - Downtown Dallas is nestled in the Dallas Arts District. Given Dallas’ sterling reputation as a home of great museums and visionary artists, our task was two-fold: create a space that is sophisticated and timeless. We enlisted local artists like Michael Shellis, Seth Damm, Madgiel Lopez and Haylee Ryan who, in tandem with Common Desk designers and friends, created pieces honoring Dallas’ storied past while projecting a vision for the future.
Home Sweet Home
We lined the walls of the elevator gallery with a wide array of abstracts and illustrations. The effect is both alluring and comforting: As soon as you set foot off the elevator, you feel like you’re stepping inside your very own mini art gallery.
"It feels like you are stepping into someone's private home," said a guest at the January 30 soiree.
Portrait of Trammell Crow
The space includes pieces like the Trammell Crow Portrait, created by Ryan as an homage to the patron of Dallas arts. Ryan included Crow's building projects in the background as a shoutout to his enduring legacy.
A Hallway, but Make it Fashion
Our city is well-regarded as a site where fantastic fashion is created. Common Desk’s Head of Design, Austin Gauley, created these minimalist fashion block prints to pay tribute to that side of Dallas.
Beauty of the Brush
Like Gauley’s fashion prints, Michael Shellis’ subtle brush strokes add a flourish to some of the new hallways in the new Common Desk. These brush strokes are reminiscent of the Asian calligraphy Trammell Crow admired.
A Minimalist Mural
Shellis and Gauley teamed up for this mural of minimalist shapes. The mural surrounds some of the space’s desks, creating a welcoming, relaxed environment to enhance your productivity.
Honoring Audubon
This vibrant artwork by Magdiel Lopez reimagines some of the famous bird illustrations created by painter John James Audubon.
Neon Zinn
Seth Damm of Neon Zinn used textile-wrapped jewelry to create a timeless set that taps into a global aesthetic. Artist Uprising envisioned mounting these tribal pieces into a framed art formation.
Macrame Tapestries
Like Damm, artist Shaylee Southerland created a colorful tapestry of global textiles.
All of these artists came together to create a one-of-a-kind space, a place where art meets productivity. They created these stellar pieces with Dallas in mind, but they had an even bigger goal than honoring their city: creating the best space for you to flourish.
All of this brilliant artwork is now on display at the newly opened Trammell Crow Center Common Desk, a space that pays tribute to creative collaborations of the past, while looking ahead to Dallas' bright future. We'll see you there!
