Day in the Life at OfficeTribe: Leonie Wharton, Graphic Designer, Illustrator & Artis

Leonie Wharton is a graphic designer, illustrator and artist who has been a member of OfficeTribe for several years. Working across a range of creative disciplines, her days are varied, balancing client projects with her own artistic practice.

We caught up with Leonie to find out what a typical day looks like and what she enjoys most about being part of the OfficeTribe community.

• What do you do?
  I am a graphic designer, commercial illustrator and watercolour artist. This mixture of work keeps me on my toes, projects are varied and there is never a dull moment! I can work from my computer, always connect to a second screen and paint from my desk too. 
  

• Why you joined OfficeTribe
  I was looking for somewhere that felt like a second home, a community, like minded people, local friends, people to collaborate with, new clients and company, I found all of this at office tribe. People are friendly, you bump into people in the kitchen, and its always interesting to meet new faces and hear about the projects people are involved in.
  

• Your usual routine here
  On the way into work I WhatsApp the people in my room and see if anyone wants a coffee from the coffee shop round the corner. We take turns to do this, a caffeine hit is always a good start to the day. After a brief morning catch up it's down to business. My room is great, we all take calls from time to time, but not long ones, and they are sporadic so it never feels like it interrupts work. For lunch I go alone or grab and Office Tribe pal and head up to the common for a stroll, I have a few routes I enjoy, the birds in the woodland just over the road are wonderful, Jays and wagtails, you can feel out in nature for a restorative break almost immediately. 
  

• Favourite part of the space or community
  For me it is all about the people, so as a hot desker, and someone who likes to be around others, if one room is empty, I will find another room that has people in, so I can work and also have friendly conversation with others. As a community, if someone has a problem for example how to structure an important email, a technical difficulty, how to respond to a client request, there is always someone to run through your thoughts with. There are regular events where you can meet people from both of the Office Tribe locations, this is great for networking too. 
  

• How coworking fits into your life/work balance
  I have an office space at home, but find I am more productive when I am around others who are working too. It is also a good separation, so that home is for rest and relaxation and the office is for work. I live just 10 minutes away so it is an easy walk through the park to get to work. Many of my friends live in London and freelance too, on several occasions they have come to visit for a week or so and booked a desk at Office Tribe too, so it makes working and then socialising at lunch and after work seamless

We love having Leonie as part of our Tribe community and we look forward to being part of her journey for many years to come.