I think someones office space says a lot about their work and their creativity ability - and Adam Nelson of Workhouse Publicity holds this idea firmly. As CEO of Workhouse Publicity (”A Creative Playground for Serious Business”), he runs a “one-stop shop whose value can be found in the creation of publicity, marketing, advertising, design, and special events”. In today’s competitive market, WP provides their spin on customized service, unique thinking, and personalized attention in order to increase their clients public presence.

I spoke to the bright, educated, and exceptionally witty Nelson about why handshakes mean something, transforming The Kit Kat Club into Hotel Lachapelle, and what makes the sweetspot between uptown sophistication and downtown soul.

Check it out…

Tell us a little bit about your educational path? Was PR something you always knew you wanted to tackle?

As the son of a school teacher, I was truly a hopeless student. That kid. The troublemaker in the corner. Each summer you’d find me embarking on yet another semester while the rest of the world was enjoying Disneyland or some beach retreat. I blame it on The Bowery Boys and those kids from Our Gang. I wanted to be just like them. A big shot in short pants. On a goof, I entered a national clown contest and won. That landed me on Jerry Lewis’ annual Telethon. We moved from New York City to Houston, Texas where I enrolled in the High School for Performing & Visual Arts. I got into a lot of fist fights with cowboys. I moved to Philadelphia and attended the University of the Arts where I received my BFA. Spent a summer at Yale and the British American Drama Academy at Oxford University. I moved back to Manhattan determined to make a life in the theater. I became a founding member of Workhouse Theater Company whose members included Adrienne Shelly, Maria Bellow, Gil Bellows and Calista Flockhart. When my girlfriend- now my wife- said she wanted to move in, I realized it was time to give up the ghost. I used my acting credentials to get a job at a PR firm whose clients included top-ranked celebrities. It was meant to be a temporary gig but it didn’t really work out that way.

What’s behind the name Workhouse Publicity?

Workhouse celebrates a history of builders who, once upon a time, went to produce honest work. The very concept of our ‘Workhouse’ is to recount a history of invisible masses, unsung orphans, hotel page boys, secretarial desk clerks and other servants of business. Our humble task is to bring attention to a roster of client’s work unseen. More than just a pretty face, Workhouse is plenty comfortable. The neighborhood is filled with world leaders, real estate power brokers, celebrity chefs, Hollywood royalty, sports figures, top models, congressional representatives, notorious fashion designers, long-lost 80’s celebrities, the homeless, abandoned immigrants, crazy cab drivers and so much more. My kind of town.

Dubbed as “A Creative Playground for Serious Business” - what is the business mentality behind Workhouse Publicity?

The intention is really to create a den of curiosity. Warm wood tones and a jamming soundtrack keeps it all very mod and 21st century, a kind of modern-nostalgia. There’s a definitive, aesthetical vision but there is always some new design that comes along to discover and embellish. Like our corporate culture, my guess is that it will expand forever. The office should be a wonderland inspiring both staff and clients alike, yet promotes a sense of play. That’s the sweet spot between uptown sophistication and downtown soul.

You are a full service Creative Agency - what are some of the recent projects that you have recently worked on?

We are full-service. That’s what wakes me up in the morning. I long to be creative. To not have the same meeting twice. To find a new road.  Recent accomplishments include Workhouse’s selection as A.O.R for iconic institutions like the International Emmy Awards and the Fashion Scholarship Fund. We launched Chopin Vodka’s Unconventional Genius Awards, Sak’s Fifth Avenue’s holiday windows and Robert M. Edsel’s The Monuments Men at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our international clientele has also prospered with the inclusion of Russian fashion designer Marina Makaron, Vienna-based Photographers Limited Edition, Switzerland’s Carl F. Bucherer watches, Paris-based Editions Assouline and Italy’s Rizzoli International Publications, just to name a few.

Your interior space has quite the visual aesthetic - from an Elton John pinball machine to a grass-covered swing. Where do you collect the pieces that make up the interior of your office?

Overall, we’re fortunate to work with an eclectic roster of talent and just by virtue of including their works within our offices we create our own style. But I’m also a bit of pack rat. I scour ebay, MoMa and Moss design stores and embark on flea market finds, commission artwork and create site specific objects. I can’t help it. I’m fascinated by design. From skateboards to taxidermy. From punk to pottery.

Tell us a little bit about your career path. Workhouse Publicity is something that you built from the ground up, starting out by renting a Kitchen as your workspace. What was your original vision?

Desperation. Workhouse only came about because my world caved in. The celebrity agency that employed me had closed it’s doors and I found myself out of work in the middle of an economic depression. Much like today, employment wasn’t an option. No one was hiring. I had $196 in the bank and one client, the photographer David LaChapelle who so very graciously agreed to allow me the honor of continued representation. God bless him. I rented the kitchen of a Soho film outfit and just plain hustled. I pitched new business completely cold, took every client I could  for pennies on the dollar, gathered a group of interns and slowly built it from the ground up. My original vision was simple: I wanted to  eat every day. Not much has changed expect today I’m hungry in a different way. Eventually I was able to rent larger portions of the space and after a few years I took possession of the entire space. My wife, then my Vice President, and I transformed it ourselves through old fashioned elbow grease, paint and tile work. We created a black and white Sam-Spade-detective-style agency replete with a private garden. Six years down the road, we relocated to our current home, a 3,000 square foot Chelsea loft. We’re celebrating our 12th anniversary and trust me, it feels like it.

Who would you count as some of your biggest influences?

Anyone who can turn it on with style and swagger. Those with true grit, real heart and honest integrity.

What are some of your proudest accomplishments?

Just opening our doors every day ranks right up there with the birth of my children.

Who would you count as your role-models?

A lady by the name of Linda Nelson who, as a single mother on welfare, went back to school while raising three kids during the economic depression of the 1970’s. My mother gave us the gift of heart and in the process, rose us all above.

As far as a working atmosphere - take us through a day in your life at Workhouse Publicity? What does an average (if that word even applies) day entail?

Atmospherically, there isn’t the comfort of average. We’re a fortunate lot. We still get to play with toys, swing on a grass covered swing, scratch the right brain and keep our eyes on the prize. Challenge is found within the risk that we create for ourselves. It’s a high bar and we always aim to finish strong.

Where do you see your business in ten years?

Still having the guts. The creative manpower. The stuff. Methodically building, brick by brick. Ten years from now, our hands will still be dirty. Just the way we like it.

What is something about Adam Nelson that we don’t know?

Handshakes mean something. They are moral compasses to better business. “Let’s shake on it” is more than a gesture. It’s the true definition of character. When the stakes are high and the chips are down, my word is my bond. In a world of lip service, I stridently work to remain true to my word.

What is one event in your professional career that denotes a sense of pride and accomplishment? Why?

Before we were fully staffed, I produced Interview Magazine’s 30th Anniversary in two weeks without a budget. This meant aligning massive corporate sponsors over ten working days to even build the thing. A seemingly impossible task given that I was in Paris when we got the assignment. However, David LaChapelle’s incredible vision transformed New York’s Kit Kat Club into Hotel LaChapelle. The room was filled with massive rows of twin beds, night stands bibles & alarm clocks, neon signs, topless Bell boys adorned with nothing more than pasties and suspenders, giant inflatable dolls, cupcakes by Donatella Versace and transsexual Amanda LePore leaping out of a giant birthday cake. Entertainment was provided by Elton John, Lil’ Kim and Groove Armada. A who’s who of arrivals included Julian Schnabel, Liz Hurley, Demi Moore, Mira Sorvino, Olivier Martinez, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Russell Simmons, Iman, Joel Schumacher, Barry Diller, Diane Von Furstenberg, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Christina Ricci, Willem Dafoe, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Todd Oldham, Larry Fink, Graydon Carter, Jon Bon Jovi, Miluccia Prada, Andre Harrell, Helmut Lang, Gus Van Sant, Chole Sevigny, Fran Lebowitz, Moby, Cindy Sherman, Jane Holzer, Gabby Hoffman, Thora Birch, Harmony Korine, Paul Morrissey, Fab Five Freddy, Francesco Clemente and Edward Furlong. It was straight Warhol circa 1999. It was a moment in time. The kind of electric night you couldn’t completely comprehend in a city that never sleeps.