Before the health crisis, co-working spaces were all the rage. Not only were they spaces conducive for crafting various pursuits, but they’ve also been known to actively build an organic community for freelancers, creatives, and entrepreneurs. Upon first coming across Make Space Today, I thought it was a pretty interesting addition to the sprouting line-up of co-working solutions in the country. But I could never be more wrong.
Co-owned by eight dynamic creatives — sisters Roma and Maan Agsalud of Common Room and PopJunkLove, Andrea Arancon of Craft Carrot, illustrator-designer June Digan, Alessa Lanot of Life After Breakfast, Catherine Limson of Bedazzled and Luna Maia, AJ Pangilinan of Sunday Paper Co., and Mikko Sumulong of Mix Fonts and I Try DIY — Make Space Today is a fruit of passion and collaboration. The owners didn’t really know each other from the get-go, but the world of creatives revolves in small circles, and it was just a matter of time before they all got together. “We were just really in orbit. Some of us collaborated on different projects, some of us were booth-mates at bazaars and some of us were already friends. Alessa and I noticed that we tend to co-work, and it’s not necessarily that we’re working on the same project together. We thought it would just be nice to have a community where we work alongside other people,” says Mikko.
More importantly, it’s not just your regular co-working space. Their space is specific to makers where specific tools to various pursuits, like button making and sewing, are made available. Here, you can also find a generous trove of design and business books — many of which are from the owners’ own collections.
What’s unique to the space is how members can also schedule one-to-one mentorship sessions with any of the partners, who each have their own expertise. Short courses are on hand with different tracks and modules that blend the practical with the technical, complete with workbooks and actionable items. Each class also has a personal touch. For instance, with Cat’s visual merchandising class, she makes sure to study the students’ brands and makes a rundown of possible displays that would be suitable. They even have ‘pulse checks’ to check in with how each member’s business or creative pursuit is doing, where self-discovery is also encouraged. Cat shares, “With our pulse checks, we also get real with them if a certain product or concept of theirs is not working. We also help them define what they want, how to get there, and help address even the hard decisions that need to be made.”
With one aspect of their business model focused on guiding the creative and hosting a space where they can gather to get down to business, a retail shop is another crucial DNA of Make Space Today. While it functions as an incubator for start-ups who are just keen on testing out the market, the more experienced local brands that support a certain craft are welcome too. Those who want to be part of their shop’s line-up submit their portfolio online for review. The owners then ensure that the products in their shop are not competing with each other in a sense. While it could be the same item, each brand should come in different mediums and styles, so as not to directly clash with each other.
Its home base in Malingap may have been closed for a while now, but they have reinvented themselves a couple of times since. For instance, they’ve opened a pop-up version of their space in Uptown Mall BGC sometime in February, after a successful stint in SM Aura late last year. However, they were forced to close down due to the enhanced community quarantine our nation was placed under in mid-March.
After putting all their efforts momentarily online, they have since reopened their Uptown space on July 1st upon the easing of lockdown restrictions. “Make Space Today is a business that supports creatives and small businesses, so when we had to shut down operations and decide to hold off on immediately reopening, that also meant being unable to provide a space for our own makers. We instead had to make strides in providing them with the support they need virtually,” says Mikko. With virtual as the ‘new normal’, they have since innovated to holding creative roundtable webinars and e-pulse checks, and are continually exploring ways on how to support their members from a distance.
Creatives thrive in the company of like-minded individuals in a sacred space where they can bounce ideas off each other freely. After all, it’s not so much about the physical places where creatives can gather. Rather, it’s the people, the community of makers at the heart of co-making. Cat is confident that creating leeway to migrate this aspect online is highly feasible and a necessity at that, since the need to connect has become more apparent. She shares, “It’s heartwarming to be able to see makers in kindred spirits and just building ties.”
Pandemic or not, this has always been Make Space Today’s battlecry, and it looks like it’s here to stay.
