Creatives are a messy bunch. As anybody who’s spent time around an agency or design studio will tell you, there’s very little that’s clean about the creative process. In fact, this copy of Wabster’s Dictionary that we bought from a street vendor in New York defines a “creative” as “a person who leaves empty soda cans, food scraps and other assorted garbage strewn about the office while trying to meet a deadline.”

And for many years, Urban Influence fell right in line with other agencies in this regard. Sure, we had the decency to push our assorted filth into the corner – in a Sarah-Cynthia-Sylvia-Stout kinda way – every time a client stopped by. How do you think we’ve stayed in business for over a decade? But true cleanliness was elusive.

Until Travis arrived.

Travis joined the Urban Influence squad as the office manager just before the end of last year, and immediately set about making his mark. Like some sort of fabulous FEMA worker, he restored order in a land of chaos. Layers of dust and dirt were removed; petrified lunches were discovered, excavated, examined and disposed of; the stickiest bar on Capitol Hill was rendered leanable; the inside of the coffee carafe, previously believed to be black, is now gleaming aluminum.

So, Travis, everyone here at Urban Influence raises a (clean) glass as a toast to you. Your hard work means our workplace can now be described as both stylish and sanitary. To make your job easier, we’ll even try to pick up after ourselves. Hopefully this newfound hygiene won’t hurt our creativity.