When the cast of MTV’s The Real World: Seattle moved out of its 11,000-square-foot loft in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood last year, Kim Peltola and Amy Nelson moved in. Then they painted the lobby white and placed jars of fresh tulips at reception. Called The Riveter, the coworking space they cofounded borrows its name from the loft’s earlier incarnation as an auto-body shop, one of many that once operated on a strip called Auto Row. Now its walls are stacked with shelves of granola and copies of Grace Bonney’s In the Company of Women.
Seattle is home to almost 30 coworking spaces. Some cater to specific professions like finance or tech; many feature full-service bars. But only The Riveter, which opened in May, is just for women, and Peltola and Nelson envision it as offering more than just a place for female entrepreneurs to build businesses together. Unlike the few other women-focused coworking spaces (like Manhattan’s The Wing), it’s also meant to solve one issue many women feel pressured to let slide in the name of success: Wellness.