Of the many ventures, business, cultural, social and otherwise, that I have been involved with over the years, I have to say that my part in the Queen Street Commons stands out as being the most exciting, innovative and creative.

What is the Queen Street Commons?

The Queen Street Commons is a simple idea. Bring interesting people together to share space, services, and costs. The commons is set up with private work spaces, common rooms, meeting rooms, a kitchen, and an eating area. As a group we can do more and afford more.

Or, the Queen Street Commons, simply put, is a place to work, socialize, collaborate and create while sharing the costs associated to those ends.

My experience(s) as a member and co-founder of the Commons has been life-altering. (At the time of The Commons’ inception, I was working on various writing and production contracts, teaching theatre arts to children, coaching, taking Theatre PEI through a transition and, of course, writing and performing comedy. I did most of my work from a booth at Timothy’s Coffee Shop, at the time. The free wireless made it affordable for me and the space meant a place to meet with people who I needed to meet with. And the coffee…well…that kept me awake!)

Ironically it is at Timothy’s where the initial discussions with Rob Paterson and silverorange first took place. It wasn’t too long before we had a team working on the creation of the “Commons”.

We soon discovered that there were many others who would like a place to work and share services with others. With some elbow grease, a comprehensive proposal and a benevolent landlord…the Queen Street Commons was born.

It’s hard to measure, exactly, how the Commons has influenced its members, as it is difficult to measure how the Queen Street Commons has influenced other people in other cities and towns around the world…but to be sure, this concept has caught on. I know for sure how it has influenced my life and relationships and opened doors where I would never have imagined.

And speaking of imagining…

What if there were other “Commons” across PEI? Who could benefit and how would it change their lives and open up doors? Are there people in O’Leary or Hunter River working from their homes who would be interested in collaborating with others, or having their own space to work without the distractions of home? My guess is YES!

If 40+ people in the Charlottetown area using this kind of environment to grow their business(es), then maybe there are 5 in the Alberton area, or 10 in Souris. Here is the list of Access PEI Centres across PEI. What would it take to modify a small area in these locations to accept a ‘common space’?

I’m looking for input, so please send your thoughts to: cldunsford@gov.pe.ca