By Molly Proffer

There are Eastern philosophies and Western sciences that study the effects of the space we work and live in.

Feng shui is now common terminology. But when we moved our video production company downtown, I learned firsthand what an impact a change of place can have on a business.

At the end of January, Proffer Productions became the new occupant of Griffen House, which is part of the Blossom House Campus, a cluster of historic buildings in Quality Hill that were lovingly restored by Shirley Bush Helzberg. We now work in a two-story, brick structure surrounded by beautiful landscaping and a wrought iron fence. Inside, the ceilings are 12 feet high, and there are original hardwood floors, an elegant staircase, French doors and stained glass. This grand, historic space is definitely in contrast to our high definition cameras and digital editing suites. But they seem to belong together.

We moved downtown from a comfortable office park in a picturesque suburban setting, where our office was primarily functional. It was uninspired and uninspiring; and as a result, we rarely invited clients to our office. We chose to visit them at theirs.

Our new space, on the other hand, has history and personality and speaks volumes about who we are and what we do. It is open and airy and frees the mind and spirit. People love coming here, and we love having them. We have a porch in front, a patio in back and a well-stocked bar for people "working" late. Our office has become a part of our relationship with the people we do business with.

Early on, we noticed that virtually everyone who walked into our office-even the delivery people-made a comment about it, ranging from "Cool!" to "You could live here!" One of my favorites, which we've heard fairly often, is "It must be fun to come to work here." It is.

As impressive as our new location is, and as much as it's spruced up our image to other people, it has made just as big a difference in how we see ourselves.

For whatever reason—maybe the big windows revealing the city around us, or being a part of the downtown renaissance-we feel more confident, more
creative and more appealing as business partners. We've always known how good we are, but now we look the part, and that makes everything seem easier.
Since everyone who works here enjoys being here, we don't feel as if we can't wait to leave at the end of the day. In fact, we spend more time together-casually bouncing around ideas about our business, and our lives.

So if you drive by 1021 Jefferson and see us listening to the trains, watching the planes take off from the downtown airport or waiting for the flock of birds to fly up from the trees across the street, we're really hard at work reinventing ourselves and coming up with the next great idea for our clients.

Molly Proffer is executive vice president of Proffer Productions, Inc. You can reach her at (816) 471-2727 or