WELCOME TO CENTRL STATION

Welcome to the April Edition of C/O Digest!

This month we have upcoming events at our Portland and Lake Oswego locations, a spotlight featuring much-loved West End member Madelyn Veith of Marove Agency, a free gif, and more.

We're also sharing a recent essay by Rebecca Solnit that's stuck with us over the last couple of months. Her message, at its core: real connection with each other and the world around us is irreplaceable, and worth protecting. It felt like the right note for a community like ours.

Let us know what you'd love to see in future editions. We're always listening.

From our workspace to yours,

SEEN RECENTLY

Brackets, basketballs, and good company brought our DTLA community together for March Madness and some friendly competition.

Have a picture you'd like to be included in an upcoming newsletter? You can send one along to work@centrloffice.com.

HAPPENINGS @ CENTRL

Here's a look at what’s on the calendar this month at our Portland and Lake Oswego locations.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN PORTLAND

Here are some links to events happening around town this month that we think are worth your time.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Madelyn Veith has been a valued CENTRL member since October 2024, where she's been based out of our West End location. As Founder of Marove Agency, she brings a Nancy Drew-inspired approach to digital marketing, solving problems with both strategy and heart.

A solopreneur who champions the small businesses that anchor our communities, Madelyn learned her craft through apprenticeship and now helps fellow entrepreneurs tell their stories and grow.

What's Marove Agency all about?

Marove Agency is all about digital marketing for small- to mid-sized businesses. I help them connect with their audience so they can keep growing and building.

What's the mission?

My mission is to help tell the story of the small- to mid-sized businesses that form the backbone of our economy. These are the folks with the courage to bear the risk of owning a business, and I want to help them connect with their audience so they can keep growing and building.

How did you get into your line of work?

I met a woman who owned a small business and she brought me on board as a generalist, and I basically "apprenticed" with her to learn the basics of digital marketing.

What about CENTRL works for you?

Since I'm a solopreneur, it's so energizing to come into the office and be around other people who are also working and doing their own thing. It keeps me from being lonely at home!

Are there any books or media that have inspired your work?

My whole brand is inspired by my childhood love for the Nancy Drew series. Nancy always found her way to a solution without compromising on her compassion and values, and I want to do the same.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Support your local and small businesses! They move heaven and earth to make our community the vibrant place it is.

Follow Marove Agency online:

IG: @maroveagency 

LinkedIn: Marove Agency

Website: maroveagency.com

WORKING BETTER

Published in The Guardian this past January, Rebecca Solnit's essay has stuck with us over the last couple of months, and for good reason. In it, Solnit axrgues that Silicon Valley hasn't just changed how we live, it's quietly eroded the things that make life worth living.

From AI companions to chatbot-assisted dates to love letters written by algorithms, Solnit sees a pattern: we're being sold substitutes for the real thing, and slowly forgetting what we've given up. Her essay is a call to reclaim not just our attention, but our capacity for intimacy, solitude, and presence. And a reminder that the antidote to loneliness isn't a better app. It's each other.

Read her full essay here.

REFER A FRIEND

Love CENTRL? Tell your friends! Refer a friend and they'll get a free week trial of our FLEX Plus membership and you'll get a referral credit for your introduction!

Please send any questions or referrals to work@centrloffice.com.

THAT'S A WRAP!

That's a wrap on the April edition! 

As always, hit reply with thoughts, feedback, or just to say hello. We're grateful you're part of this community and we'll see you around the space.

We appreciate you!