The former Watershed School building on the western edge of Boulder has a new owner and soon will have a new tenant.
Burgeoning creative agency Made Movement -- a marketing agency that ballooned from three people to nearly 30 employees since it launched at the end of March -- plans to convert the 8,250-square-foot building at 205 Canyon Blvd. into professional offices.
The property has been vacant since the summer of 2011, when the experiential learning private school moved to a larger space at 1680 Balsam Ave.
In a separate, but partially related move, advertising industry veteran Alex Bogusky bought Made Movement's future home for $1.335 million, according to a Boulder County property deed recorded last week. Bogusky, under the entity Ivory Cottage LLC acquired the three-story building from Ed-Ventures LLC.
Bogusky joined Made Movement earlier this year as an adviser, investor and partner, when his non-compete agreement with Crispin Porter + Bogusky expired. Made Movement, which plans to move early next year, will lease the building from Bogusky.
"I think this was a way for Alex to have his investment and dovetail that with helping out some friends," said Dave Schiff, a Made Movement co-founder.
For Made Movement, the new digs will give the growing firm some breathing room and also serve as a picturesque tool for recruitment of potential employees and clients, Schiff said.
Currently, Made Movement is "stuffed to the gills" at 2116C Pearl St., Schiff said.
"We didn't expect to outgrow the space we have now as quickly as we did," he said. " ... It's a good problem to have, but one we didn't expect to encounter at this point."
Made Movement was founded to support a resurgence in American manufacturing -- through both providing creative services for brands and operating an e-commerce store of American-made products.
Most recently, the agency partnered with Esquire on the magazine's "completely interactive" December issue that allows readers to save and share articles and buy items displayed on the pages. The issue features the "Great American Things Collection" of American-made gifts.
"Everything that gets sold through the magazine will fulfill through the Made website," Schiff said.
Since its launch this spring, the company has landed the likes of New Belgium and Seventh Generation as clients.
"We're starting to work with bigger clients and there is a need to have them confident in our solidity," he said.
Contact Camera Business Writer Alicia Wallace at 303-473-1332 or wallacea@dailycamera.com. ___
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