#Shopsmall: Meet CSTM Haus

During the month of November we’re highlighting small business owners in the neighborhood to encourage you to #shopsmall and support local for Small Business Saturday on Saturday, November 28th. For our final series highlight, we’re shouting out CSTM Haus owners Sam and Nathalie. Earlier this year they turned their event and co-working space into a PPE production facility at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York Times wrote about CSTM Haus highlighting their work in an article “That Face Shield Might Have Been Made in a Party Space“. These days, the space has turned back into an intimate gathering event venue and co-working space with many of the current staff hired from the previous face shield production team. We’re proud to have CSTM Haus owners Sam and Nathalie as part of the Meatpacking community.

Share with us how CSTM Haus came to exist.

CSTM HAUS was born to be a home for Consortium, our retail tech company. After years of operating out of everything from retail environments to sterile coworking spaces, we realized that nothing would bring the brands and potential clients to us better than our own space. Once we came across the loft in the little flatiron building, we fell in love and knew we’d found our first HAUS.

Brittainy Newman/The New York Times

During March, you became a production facility for face shields. How did you come about the decision to turn the space into a production facility? 

Although CSTM HAUS had been open for coworking on a small scale since December 2019, we launched our event space on March 10th. 3 days later – COVID-19 flipped everybody’s world upside down. We wanted to support our beloved NYC, and also try to keep our business afloat – so we put in a bid to produce PPE for NYC EDC. Within only a few days, we had an approved prototype, a signed contract, and the start of what would become 5-months of face shield production with our incredible team of over 50 members (we call them the HAUSbuilders)!

Photo: Jim Fryer / BrakeThrough Media | brakethroughmedia.com

How many face shields did you end up creating?

We hand-produced 1.6 million face shields for the city of New York.

Since being turned into a production facility, what’s been happening at CSTM Haus?

We wrapped face shield production over Labor Day weekend, and were rather quickly back into the swing of private events, helping people celebrate special moments in a cozy but COVID-safe environment. Right now, we are most excited to be launching our membership club which takes CSTM HAUS from daytime coworking to evening speakeasy vibes. These days, nothing makes us feel more alive than being able to safely enjoy the company of others – and keeping a tight group is really the only way to do that. Plus, the perks are off the charts: think private transportation and a network of vacation homes beyond compare…

Tell us about some of your favorite events you’ve hosted. What made them so special?

That’s a tough one. The first client always has a special place in a business owner’s heart, so that first private dinner was pretty special. But we also hosted a “Thanksgiving Dinner” for our HAUSbuilders in June, after completing the first half of our order from the city. New York was still quiet in a lot of ways and it was so special to celebrate our collective accomplishment with such an exceptional group of people.

What type of events are you currently hosting?

We’ve really seen a wide variety. This year has been hard in more ways than one, and people are definitely ready to get out and catch up on celebrating with their loved ones. We’ve hosted intimate weddings, private chef dinners, brand showcases – but truthfully you’d be shocked at how many inquiries we’ve had to turn down  over the last few months. If it’s not safe, it’s not happening in our HAUS!

Photo: Jim Fryer / BrakeThrough Media | brakethroughmedia.com

What is your process for creating an event space during this time? 

The cozy-elegant hybrid of the loft really makes it the perfect setting for anything a client is planning, and our job is to set the stage so they can relax and enjoy their special moment. We always schedule a walk-thru with prospective clients to understand what they’re looking for in terms of layout and design, and with current COVID protocols we’re following a strict cleaning schedule and keeping everyone masked as they move around the space. Clear boundaries allow for greater creativity, so we’re having a lot of fun helping people brainstorm how to host their event in the current climate.

CSTM Haus is also a co-working space, what do you offer that’s better than a Work from Home office? 

Bright, wraparound windows overlooking a timelapse-worthy view, gigabit speed WiFi to support a tech build (like our own!), a meticulous HAUSkeeper who cleans up after every guest…need I say more?

What are some of your favorite places in Meatpacking?

Many of our HAUSbuilders work at Pastis, so that’s definitely at the top of the list! We love being so close to the High Line sunsets, and I’m partial to The Whitney Museum. But nobody frames water views quite like the suites at the Gansevoort Hotel!