Inside ClutchPR’s Junction office, with a secret room, a smoothie station and a “good news gong”
What: ClutchPR’s Toronto office
Where: The second floor of a Money Mart building at Dundas and Keele
How big: 3,200 square feet for eight people
Anyone who thinks the world of public relations is stressful needs to step into ClutchPR’s super-peaceful office, where staff meditate every morning and sip on nutritious smoothies. Founder Daniela Kelloway (née Syrovy, one of Toronto Life’s power wives) moved her tiny team into the space in October, and worked with designer Erin Marshall-Turner to make it as zen as possible. “PR gets a bad rap for being gruelling, so I wanted to create a culture where there’s space to unwind,” explains Kelloway.
Clutch used to operate out of a smaller office at Bathurst and Bloor, until Kelloway realized she didn’t have to model her business off other brands. “I love the Junction, and figured I could do things my way,” she says. The decor is a mix of vintage furnishings, a lot of it from local shop Made by Madrigal, and tons of greenery, including homemade terrariums found on Bunz and a living wall named “Gertrude”.
What attracted Kelloway to the space was the kitchen—specifically, the communal table. “It’s the heart of the office,” she says. It’s perfect for parties and the company’s new dinner series that features local chefs. Inspired by a recent Summit at Sea retreat, where there’s a no-phones-allowed policy, Kelloway is all about face-to-face interaction: staff are encouraged to eat lunch together—and to leave their phones at their desks:
Next to the main-floor entrance, Erin Marshall-Turner created this feature wall out of pieces of plywood:
“Gertrude is everything to me,” says Kelloway of the green wall. She wants to eventually grow lettuce to add to the office’s fresh produce and smoothie station:
Staff gather around the couch every morning for a 10-minute guided meditation led by Kelloway. “I find meditation essential, especially since PR is so fast-paced and rejection-filled,” she says. Kelloway bought the textile behind the pink Gus sofa in Panama:
The gong, which was handcrafted in Germany, is rung to celebrate a success or to set an intention. “The gong gives me great pleasure—it was one of the best investments of my life,” Kelloway says:
At the back of the office is an open-concept meeting area:
Part of the bookshelf, which is decorated with some of Kelloway’s old valedictorian trophies, opens to reveal a secret room:
The secret room is actually a cozy lounge space, where staff can work, take phone calls or nap (the reupholstered Ikea couch pulls out). “Sometimes our hours are wild, so it’s nice to have an alternative space where people can relax,” says Kelloway:
Next to the reading nook is one of the posters the Clutch team sourced for the opening of the TIFF Bell Lightbox:
Almost everything in the office has a name, even this spherical lamp from neighbouring vintage shop Door Number Two that Kelloway calls “Globus”:
Most of the terrariums around the space are from a woman Kelloway met on Bunz, who now has her own company called Penny and the Plants. “I think I traded it for some Czech glass that she used to make more terrariums,” she says:
Jars of vegan cookies from the Junction Triangle’s New Moon Kitchen are everywhere:
“I’m here more than I’m at home, so I want to feel incredible when I come in,” explains Kelloway. Everyone who visits the office has to write one thing they’re grateful for on this wall:
 moved her tiny team into the space in October, and worked with designer Erin Marshall-Turner to make it as zen as possible. “PR gets a bad rap for being gruelling, so I wanted to create a culture where there's space to unwind,” explains Kelloway.
Clutch used to operate out of a smaller office at Bathurst and Bloor, until Kelloway realized she didn't have to model her business off other brands. “I love the Junction, and figured I could do things my way,” she says. The decor is a mix of vintage furnishings, a lot of it from local shop Made by Madrigal, and tons of greenery, including homemade terrariums found on Bunz and a living wall named "Gertrude".
What attracted Kelloway to the space was the kitchen—specifically, the communal table. "It's the heart of the office," she says. It's perfect for parties and the company's new dinner series that features local chefs. Inspired by a recent Summit at Sea retreat, where there's a no-phones-allowed policy, Kelloway is all about face-to-face interaction: staff are encouraged to eat lunch together—and to leave their phones at their desks:
Next to the main-floor entrance, Erin Marshall-Turner created this feature wall out of pieces of plywood:
“Gertrude is everything to me,” says Kelloway of the green wall. She wants to eventually grow lettuce to add to the office's fresh produce and smoothie station:
Staff gather around the couch every morning for a 10-minute guided meditation led by Kelloway. “I find meditation essential, especially since PR is so fast-paced and rejection-filled,” she says. Kelloway bought the textile behind the pink Gus sofa in Panama:
The gong, which was handcrafted in Germany, is rung to celebrate a success or to set an intention. “The gong gives me great pleasure—it was one of the best investments of my life,” Kelloway says:
At the back of the office is an open-concept meeting area:
Part of the bookshelf, which is decorated with some of Kelloway's old valedictorian trophies, opens to reveal a secret room:
The secret room is actually a cozy lounge space, where staff can work, take phone calls or nap (the reupholstered Ikea couch pulls out). “Sometimes our hours are wild, so it's nice to have an alternative space where people can relax,” says Kelloway:
Next to the reading nook is one of the posters the Clutch team sourced for the opening of the TIFF Bell Lightbox:
Almost everything in the office has a name, even this spherical lamp from neighbouring vintage shop Door Number Two that Kelloway calls “Globus”:
Most of the terrariums around the space are from a woman Kelloway met on Bunz, who now has her own company called Penny and the Plants. “I think I traded it for some Czech glass that she used to make more terrariums,” she says:
Jars of vegan cookies from the Junction Triangle's New Moon Kitchen are everywhere:
“I'm here more than I'm at home, so I want to feel incredible when I come in,” explains Kelloway. Everyone who visits the office has to write one thing they're grateful for on this wall:
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