Coworking studios give creative entrepreneurs a space of their own
Steel City Studios offers clients a space to work, create and network
Nadine Ubl and Jennifer Donaldson hope their clients eventually leave them.
The spouses and business partners are the co-founders of Steel City Studios, a coworking space geared toward creative entrepreneurs. Their goal is to help their clients leave day jobs to pursue a creative career fulltime — and eventually, leave the Studios.
“Our whole intention is that you should not be here forever. We hope that people outgrow us,” says Donaldson, an interior designer.
Ubl and Donaldson are part of a new wave of coworking spaces in Hamilton — collective offices that allow freelancers and burgeoning entrepreneurs to rent workspaces. The movement has a range of benefits, from saving money on office space to the networking and collaboration opportunities of a traditional office.
Steel City Studios, located on King Street East near Wellington Street, is specifically geared toward creative entrepreneurs. Members include painters, a goldsmith, a children’s book author, a life coach, a potter, and a range of other artists and creators.
The pair opened the studio in December 2016 as a passion project, until they both met with unexpected changes in their professional lives. Both women were focusing on their other jobs — Ubl was the executive director at the Hamilton Tool Library and Donaldson was manager of operations at Co-Build, an industrial coworking space — until, in September 2017, the tool library and CoBuild both shut down.
The women decided to make the Studios their first professional priority. “We were like, ‘It’s sink or swim time; let’s make this thing work,’” said Ubl.
Their efforts have paid off. The studios now have anywhere from 25 to 30 members, each of whom pay a monthly fee of either $149 for a basic membership or $349 for a premium one; this includes a dedicated work space, storage for materials and equipment, and 24-7 access to the building.
The studios are bright, chicly decorated spaces that are almost invisible from the sidewalk. The workspaces, on the second and third floors of a century building on King Street East, are only marked at street level by a discreet awning above a metal door.
The main floor feels more like a traditional office space, with a large desk for coworking and individual offices, while the upper floor is earmarked for more creative, hands-on work. The studios are equipped with screen-printing equipment, a pottery kiln, and a “sharing shelf” of artistic supplies that are available for any member to use.
“It’s just nice to be surrounded by creative people who are pursuing their own goals,” said illustrator Laura Konyndyk, who runs a stationery company called Loose Leaves Paper Goods from the Studios. “It’s really inspiring.”
Part of Ubl and Donaldson’s mission is to equip artists with the practical skills they need to be successful entrepreneurs, including bookkeeping, financial planning, and strategies to help them take their business to the next level.
“It’s terrifying for most of our members,” said Ubl. “You’re connecting with the other side of your brain trying to figure out how to do what you love.”
For more information, visit www.steelcitystudio.com.
‘‘ Our whole intention is that you should not be here forever. We hope that people outgrow us. JENNIFER DONALDSON
Steel City Studios co-founder