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Scenes from Shopify HQ, Part 4: The Big Room

Shopify Lounge, as seen from above

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In addition to new office space, Shopify also occupies what used to be the Capital Music Hall. While the office space is largely complete (there are still a couple of rooms that are still getting furnished), the big room — I believe it will eventually be called “The Lounge” — is still undergoing renovation. It was far along enough for us to have an end-of-week all-hands meeting at the end of Friday afternoon.

The photo above shows a view of the north side of the room, as seen from the balcony. The photo below was taken from the same vantage point, but southward:

Shopify Lounge, as seen from above

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Here’s a view from the ground floor, looking northward:

Shopify Lounge, as seen on ground level

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The all-hands meeting took place yesterday afternoon as work wound down. We grabbed a beer or two from the kitchen fridge (Friday afternoon beer is one of the many perks of working at Shopify) and made our way to the Lounge…

Shopify employees watching an all-hands presentation

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…where Daniel Weinand, Shopify’s Chief Design Officer and Chief Culture Officer, addressed the troops:

Daniel Weinand leads the all-hands

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None of the announcements were earth-shaking, but now that the company’s grown to a hundred people spread over two floors in Ottawa as well as people working from Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg, all on many different projects, it helps to have a gathering where we can all get together.

Shopify employees watching an all-hands presentation

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As I write this, I’m back in my home office in Accordion City. While I do like living in Toronto, I’m a big fan of travel and enjoy coming up to Ottawa and visiting Shopify HQ. It’s a great place, made even better by the people with whom I work: a smart, fun bunch.

And then there are these guys 😉 :

Edward Ocampo-Gooding, Daniel Beauchamp and Willem van Bergen

Shopifolks Edward Ocampo-Gooding, Daniel Beauchamp and Willem van Bergen.
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Previous Shopify HQ Entries

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