No boys allowed: Here’s a coworking space designed for women only

The office space can be transformed to a large event venue for social nights.

Located in a renovated shophouse along Joo Chiat Road is a coworking space of a one-woman enterprise named Woolf Works. Founded by Michaela Anchan, Woolf Works is a place inspired by her craving for a quiet place to write somewhere out of the house and away from kids, noise, bills and 'things-to-do'.

“I found it hard to separate myself from domestic life when I worked from home and so I wondered if other women felt the same way,” she said while adding that the cost for renting an office just for herself was quite prohibitive and then she discovered the world of coworking.

Woolf Works main workspace can seat up to 50 people while its upstairs space, called The Den, can accommodate about 25 people sitting theatre-style which claims to be a lovely intimate space for workshops. According to Michaela, they are lucky to have a space which is two shophouses wide but only half the depth so they have avoided the dark and narrow feeling that many have.

“Woolf Works space has lots of natural light in the big communal workspace and we also have a small pantry and a toilet. We have an attic room also, up our lovely spiral staircase, which is used as a function/event space. We have just been open for one month but so far have had photography classes, goal setting workshops, legal talks and have plans for meditation, pilates, accounting and social media for business talks!,” said Michaela.

According to Michaela, a few IKEA trips, and a trawl through the gumtree website furnished their new office space. As she wants to provide a refuge for focused, productive work and also be the base for a community of female freelancers, small business owners and creatives. She knew that the aesthetics of the space would be particularly important to women and she didn't want the space to feel too 'corporate' so avoided laminate worktops and other typical office features.

“I guess the very initial seed of the idea was planted by Virginia Woolf's book 'A Room of One's Own', in which she states that that women must have a space of their own to produce art. I felt that this is especially true for women today trying to perfect the art of business from their home office or living room. Hence the name Woolf Works,” said Michaela.

Woolf Works was designed in collaboration with Barbara Fritschy from Make Room. Michaela said that Barbara helped her with space planning and colours and advised her with furniture choices.

“I furnished the place with a mixture of second hand, new, and made to order - my carpenter made great worktops out of plywood and Barbara found a great company who do boxes and shelving from old pallet boxes. Our gorgeous concrete floor really makes the space too,” said Michaela.

Woolf Works features include The Huddle, a small meeting area to the side of the main work space; The Den, an upstairs meeting space; and The Kitchen, an open pantry.

Michaela added that the large open area downstairs is designed to have a calm, relaxed feel for work-at-home mums who want to escape the craziness of home. She also wanted everything to be movable and flexible so they could adjust the space as needed. All the tables are rollaway and they can use the office space as a large event venue for their monthly social nights.

Calling for newly opened, renovated and/or furnished company offices. Do share with us your story by sending us a message through Lee Anne Babierra at research@charltonmediamail.com