An extension cord with several wires splayed out across the floor of a downtown Denton loft is hooked up and ready to make connections.

That’s exactly what some people with progressive, entrepreneurial spirits want to do.

DRC/Al Key

Ryan Plesko, left, Tyler Fields, center, and Kristine Gloria converse while using Wi-Fi at the “Jelly” co-working party at 117-A N. Elm St. on Thursday.

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The first Denton-based “Jelly,” or working with others in a casual environment, was held in a loft apartment above First People’s Jewelry off the Square on Thursday.

Instead of going to work, about 30 people — most of them self-employed — brought their work with them or planned their day so they could network with other freelancers.

Newcomers are greeted with a handshake from the organizer, Stormy Shippy of Denton, and are given the password to log on to the wireless network.

“It’s refreshing. You get an opportunity to see what other people are working on,” said Stephen Boudreau, the chief creative officer and co-owner of Asendio, a creative and technology consulting company.

One of Boudreau’s employees, Ryan Plesko, helped form The Creative Space in Bryan.

The Creative Space grew from a group of creative individuals into a permanent space. It is still growing and has about 15 devoted members, Plesko said.

“It’s about bringing the community together with similar interests,” he said. “When you put that many creative people together, good things come out of it.”

The concept started in New York and has spread across the country.

In 2006, Amit Gupta and his friend Luke Crawford were eating jellybeans and brainstorming in New York City when they came up with the idea of getting together outside an office, according to the organization’s Web site.

They called their get-together a Jelly.

“There are many spaces in progress right now,” said Tara Hunt, a co-working guru and founder said. “They all start at different places.”

Hunt, a co-founder of Citizen Space in San Francisco, said to bring a group from the “Jelly phase” to an actual work environment takes a backer or someone who believes in the idea of co-working.

A permanent co-working environment is what Shippy would like to ultimately have happen.

“It doesn’t take long to get something off the ground anymore,” he said. “And if you don’t have those connections, you cannot execute that idea.”

Rumors of potential backers in Denton were already starting to swirl at the Jelly. One of the names mentioned was Harold Strong, the new director of the University of North Texas Discovery Park.

“I just learned about it over lunch,” Strong said Thursday. “It’s not only possible, but it is quite a doable thing.”

Strong said he was excited about an opportunity that could organize Denton’s highly educated workforce.

Meanwhile, the Jelly is still hopping — a kind of nerdy party where everyone is accessorized with “smart” phones and laptops — and a sparse computer desktop is one to be proud of.

Although most people traveled from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Cesar Torres, a co-founder of co-working company Conjunctured, was so excited about the Jelly, he picked up some strawberry jelly for the host on the way from Austin.

Attendees said good things come out of Jellys, such as networking, social interaction and developing new ideas. These, they said, are a rarity for freelancers stuck in their home offices.

“My dog can’t provide the feedback I need,” said Torres.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at ccarlisle@dentonrc.com .