Caledonia-based Catch-22 Creative plans to move to the Walker’s Point neighborhood of Milwaukee.
The marking and communications firm has leased 2,386 square feet at the Timbers Building of The Tannery complex, 700 W. Virginia St.
Catch-22 has been leasing space at Design North Inc., 8007 Douglas Ave. since the agency was launched in 2003. Principal Don Schauf said it’s time for the agency to have its own space in an urban area.
“We’re growing and adding staff and it has been very difficult to recruit the best creative staff being located where we are,” Schauf said. “Everyone is very excited to be going to the Fifth Ward.”
Catch-22 is the latest of several companies that are moving their offices from outlying areas to the downtown Milwaukee area.
RFP Commercial’s Jeanine Sweeney represented Catch-22 and Ned Purtell represented the landlord, SARA Investment Real Estate, in brokering the lease.
Catch-22 was launched because recent college graduates couldn’t get work without experience, but they couldn’t get experience without work – hence the “catch-22” situation.
Over the years, the agency went from a job shop to an agency of record, Schauf said. Workloads increased and Schauf wanted to keep his talented designers and writers on staff. And add more people.
“We still want to hire talented recent grads, but we also want to develop and retain our staff,” he said.
Catch-22 currently has five employees. Schauf wants to hire two more people “as quickly as possible,” and possibly more in the future.
The company will move to the Tannery Nov. 1.