So what exactly is Catalyst Ranch? Catalyst Ranch is Chicago’s most creative meeting and event space located in downtown Chicago.

Eva Niewiadomski opened Catalyst Ranch in November 2002.  She had spent 15 years at Quaker Oats in a variety of positions ranging from accountant to financial analyst to brand manager to new product developer.  As a trained facilitator, Eva understood very well how a stimulating, colorful space could add spice and creativity to a group meeting.  Eva had fashioned a couple of “Innovation Hallways” and a “Creativity Room” out of a storage room while at Quaker and the response from co-workers and management had been overwhelmingly positive.  Now Catalyst Ranch is a new version of that “Creativity Room” multiplied a thousand times.

We started with 3 large rooms in a historic downtown loft filled with natural light, wood beam ceilings, colorful painted walls, vintage furniture, ethnic artwork, toys, magazines and much more.  Once the doors were open and the first few meetings took place, the word-of-mouth spread like wildfire.  We grew exponentially, eventually running out of meeting rooms.  In 2005 we expanded, adding another floor and two more rooms.

Catalyst Ranch has carved out a unique niche in the meeting business.  Once clients come through the door, they are hooked.  Client testimonials attest to the fact that they find their meetings to be more effective and productive than they would have been had they held them at a typical hotel conference space.  Clients include many Fortune 500 companies.  The types of meetings run the gamut from ideation sessions, training seminars, strategic planning meetings, teambuilding events, board and staff retreats to sales meetings, marketing planning meetings, management offsites and focus groups.  Everyone can use a little something to ignite the imagination.

That’s why we started this blog. To encourage you to meet, inspire and create. We feel that nothing beats meeting face-to-face and collaborating with others. That’s why we provide tips to help make your meetings more effective and powerful. We also know that it takes inspiration to create something truly amazing and breakthrough. So, we’re sharing ideas, photos, artwork that inspires us, hoping it will inspire you as well. And, creating . . . well, we all like to see what’s possible when given the right inspiration, so we’ll share those cool inventions, products and ideas with you as we find them. We want to be your resource, so please let us know when you need help and feel free to share your discoveries with us.

In the meantime, if you need a little inspiration, check out the website and take a virtual tour: www.catalystranch.com. There’s also an archive of meetings tips for you to delve into.