There is something special about creating in a communal space with friends, knowing you are all there in pursuit of a relative desire to make something with your hands, share a meaningful piece of art with each other, or just exchange a conversation about something you’re inspired about. I find I am most empowered in spaces like this, and even more so when it gives me the opportunity to collaborate on ideas for the sole purpose of creativity and nothing else. For the last two years, I have been grateful to be a part of a space for this common creative cause, and we call it Working Room.

Working Room is exactly what the name sounds like. A studio room, shared by a collective of six friends, all working with our own individual interests, hobbies, and professional crafts, ranging from sewing, ceramics, candle-making, and perfumery, to music, movies, and graphic design. It’s a cozy box, the floor covered in a carpet patchwork, the walls lined with a hodge-podge of desks and tables, often scattered with some smattering of brainstormed sketches, wax, pens, scent samples, clay or scraps of fabric. It’s comforting and motivating, the thought of sitting down at your workspace with a blank slate of possibilities on some quiet evening.

My personal uses of the studio involves a sewing machine or a musical instrument, my synth or bass guitar. It serves as a separate sanctuary from my home, dedicated to giving myself time away from the daily tasks and chores of life. Music on, fabric dyed, pillow sewn or dress altered; maybe even an embroidered gift for a friend. If I turn around I might see Matt, dipping candles, or Amanda, pinching a new pot. It’s enough to spark me with a constant love for the arts, and send me on my way down a new rabbit hole of making.

Particularly special, Working Room exists beyond our own distinctive creations when we open the doors, welcoming studio friends, new and old. Each month, Liza organizes a community-curated series of film screenings with once-a-week showings; a range of life-long favorites, unknown, international, cult classic and independent. It’s extra special when we potluck, dance, or meet for silent mediation; a single candle always lit.

I could keep writing the list of all the reasons Working Room is soul soothing and holds an important spot in my life. What I know is that anyone can build a refuge for creativity and make it, name it whatever you want. It’s what I’ve found to be the thing that almost makes the most sense in what we can do while we have the chance on this earth! Find your community and breathe into it your biggest ideas together; it will be a source for good.