We’ve been part of the North Side for almost 4 years, first in Chateau later we found a shared space with our friends from HOAX. But with a growing team and all Covid problematics behind us it was time to move on to a brand new office, and say goodbye to our beloved place in Amsterdam North. Big thank you to all places like EuroPizza, SkateCafe and Garage Noord for the endless nights.
Old office
As said we’ve been part of the north Side for almost 4 years, we started off with a small team of just 6 people trying to find our spot in Amsterdam. First on Rokin, in the middle of the tourist area, afterwards the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat and later at Chateau Amsterdam, where we met our roomies to be from HOAX.
During Covid we moved to a smaller office, since everybody was working from home and no office space was needed.
As we slowly crawled out of the Covid pandemic it was clear that our shared space was too small, it could only accommodate 10 people at a time and the team had grown to 23. We therefore spent a lot of time in our second office MOK Amsterdam and began the search for a new place.
De Hunkerbunker
After quite some months of searching for the perfect place, we came across a hidden gem just outside of the city center in the popular neighborhood ‘the Baarsjes’. Next to the Kostverlorenvaart, in the Korte Geuzenstraat is a building formerly known as the Hunkerbunker. We immediately fell in love with the place and signed the contract and received the keys on December 20th 2022.
Fun fact, Hunkerbunker was a spotting name for a building where primarily single women lived in the 50’s and 60’s. A Hunkerbunker was not only found in Amsterdam, but also in some other bigger cities like Rotterdam and Utrecht
Moving in
After receiving the keys, we went into action, first and foremost the old carpet had to be removed and replaced with a modern and concrete floor. As time was limited, and we set the challenging moving date on january 13th, contractors already fully booked for the next year, and Christmas around the corner, we took on the job ourselves. Eventually the floor was finished on january 12th, just in time for the move one day later, talking about a tight schedule.
The move itself went as smooth as a move can be. We started moving at 9 AM and by 2 PM the internet connection was installed and the first laptops flipped open. In the days after everything got its place. But we realized that there was still limited space to call or focus when the rest of the office was buzzing.
With the space divided up into one small room, two bigger rooms and the main office space, no dedicated calling booths were available and it was still a search to find a quiet space when checking in with clients. We made a fast sketch in SketchUp and started working. Work is at this point still in progress, but we can share the 3D Mockup we made, stay tuned for finals.
By now our friends at Toolstation must know us by heart, and maybe they even laughed a bit every time I arrived on my bike to pick up a new sort of screw, sometimes even 3 times a day.
Kitchen
Lunch is a time to enjoy and share together, so it should stand out from the rest of the office to really make you feel like you’re having a break. That’s why we want to make a comfortable space with lots of greenery and benches to relax while eating the perfect ‘tosti’, Hide and Seekers all time favorite. (thanks Heinz.nl for sponsoring this message ;)) This is still a work in progress though.
Coming soon…
Finding a home for diversely-skilled people and a continuously growing team wasn’t easy. But this place is a perfect fit and we can make the place our own.
And it’s a work in progress. There are still minor tweaks needed and major works in the pipeline. Soon the lunch area will get a total overhaul and as summer is arriving also our little shared garden needs a fixup. And as we’re adding new people constantly, some spaces will surely take on new meaning as we move forward.
Hide and Seek is an online advertising agency. We are knowledgeable, personal, strategic and different.
