Montreal, We're Taking This Offline — I'm Now a Circle Community Lead
Squarespace Circle just went local — and Montreal is in the first cohort. Here's what it means, and how to join us IRL on May 2.
Okay, I have news. The kind you lead with.
Squarespace just named me the Lead Community Partner for Circle Montreal — which means I'm now officially the person responsible for bringing the Circle community to life here in MTL. And this time, in person. With coffee. And snacks. On us (don't skip that part).
If you've been in my corner for a while, you know Circle has been part of my world for years. It's where I've learned, shared, and have occasionally been saved by a colleague when almost breaking down asking myself "why is this code not working?!". Getting to lead a piece of it in my own city is a genuinely fun new chapter — and I'm here for all of it.
So: bonjour, hi, welcome. There's a meetup on May 2 and I'd love to see you there. ☕
Puno and Mindy, from ilovecreatives, and me!
What is Squarespace Circle, anyway?
Quick backstory for anyone new here.
Squarespace Circle is Squarespace's official community for designers, developers, and creative pros who build on the platform. Think of it as the professional layer underneath all the pretty websites — a forum, a support system, and a community of people who actually understand what you do for a living.
Members get early access to new Squarespace features, dedicated support, client discounts, and a forum full of people who've dealt with the same quirky spacing issues you have. There are three tiers — Member, Silver, and Gold/Platinum — based on how many client sites you've launched. The more you build, the more you unlock.
If you're a Squarespace designer and you're not in Circle yet, go sign up. It's free, it's useful, and it makes the solo parts of this job feel a lot less solo.
And what's a Circle Club?
Here's what's new — and what makes this actually exciting.
Squarespace just launched the first cohort of official local Circle communities, with dedicated forum groups and in-person meetups in five cities: NYC, London, Los Angeles, Paris, and Montreal. 🇨🇦
Each city has a Lead Community Partner who serves as the local point person — organizing events, running the forum group, and keeping the community connected between meetups. That's me for Montreal.
The idea is simple: the Circle forum is great, but some things just don't translate through a screen. You can't grab coffee with a forum thread. (Believe me, I've tried. It's cold and it doesn't respond.) Local communities are the bridge between the digital space and actual, face-to-face connection.
When the announcement went live and I saw Montreal listed alongside NYC and London, I did feel a little smug about our city's taste. Justified, I think.
What a lineup! Genuinely honoured and excited to bring Circle to life here in MTL. 🥹
What Circle Montreal actually looks like
Here's what being part of Circle Montreal gets you.
The forum group is our dedicated home base inside the Circle platform — where we share local resources, questions, wins, and the occasional "does anyone know a good photographer in the Plateau" energy. It's already open. Join Circle Montreal here.
The in-person meetups are where things get fun. Events around the city, starting with the one on May 2 (more on that in approximately twelve seconds).
And me — your local lead, the one who will show up to meetups asking too many questions about your current project and giving Squarespace fan-girl. If something Circle-related is happening in Montreal, you'll hear it in our Club first.
This is open to all Circle members in the Montreal area at the Silver level and up. Not sure of your tier? Check your Circle dashboard. Not in Circle yet? Signing up is free and this is a pretty good reason to finally do it.
Come Hang With Us on May 2
Here's the part I really want you to say yes to.
Saturday, May 2 at 12:00 PM ET — Circle Montreal's first meetup.
We're meeting at Bah! Café, a Brazilian coffee shop in the Plateau that feels more like someone's kitchen than a café — in the best way. Pão de queijo (delicious Brazilian cheese bread), strong coffee, colourful furniture, amazing decor, and the kind of warm energy that makes you want to stay way longer than you planned. It's a 4-minute walk from Mont-Royal station (orange line), exit via Rue Berri.
Did I mention coffee and snacks are on us? ☕🍪
Come ready to talk Squarespace, share what you're working on, ask the questions you've been sitting on, and just meet the people in your city who get exactly what you do. No agenda, no slides, no awkward icebreaker games. Just good conversation and Brazilian cheese bread.
Why Getting Off the Screen Actually Matters
I'll keep this part short, because you already know it's true.
A lot of what we do as web designers is inherently solo work. You're in your admin work, in your client's backend, in a Squarespace forum thread. The online community helps a lot, but it has limits.
What Squarespace is building with these local clubs is the missing layer: real professional relationships with people in your own city, who you can actually call when you need a second opinion, a referral, or just someone who laughs at CSS jokes.
Montreal has a strong creative scene. We know it. We just haven't had a dedicated space for the Squarespace corner of it — but now we do!
If you've been meaning to get more involved with Circle, or to meet other designers in the city, May 2 is the move. Come for the cheese bread, stay for the network. (That's my best pun and I'm committing to it.)
And if you want to work together beyond the meetup — check out what I offer or come say hi. I'll probably be the one at the café table with one hundred browser tabs open.
See you there. 🇨🇦
