In just one year, Phoebe Lovatt has set some truly inspiring groundwork with The Working Women’s Club (The WW Club), a co-workspace initiative born from the idea of connecting, inspiring and working with creative women and re-creating her professional “girl gang” in a new city.

Phoebe Lovatt

In the spirit of our 20th Birthday mantra, Be Who You Are, Phoebe is the perfect representation of what we love; a woman daring to do something different and bringing people together in the process.

After moving from London to LA, Phoebe found herself in a spot of professional limbo. “Personally I saw moving to LA as a challenge, but professionally I felt as though it was impeding my progress and motivation, not feeling part of a network as I had been in London.” Being the intuitive creative she is, Phoebe decided to self-publish "The Handbook For Women Who Do Creative Work”, a book filled with advice for women in the same boat as herself, wanting to work and make connections in the creative industry. As it turn out, this advice was extremely valuable and what started as an idea to launch the book, resulted in The WW Club which has now gathered some serious momentum.

The Handbook for Women Who Do Creative Work

I’ve always found conversation really inspiring. When I feel uninspired I seek company, I need that human connection.

Setting up shop in the Eastern Columbia Building in Downtown LA, (an incredible building; if you don’t know it, look it up!) the first WW Club was a powder-pink “subterranean” paradise. “Some of the women who came into the space had big social media followings, they started Instagramming it and from there it looked after itself. It was full every day.”

The Launch Event of the WW Club in LA

Fast-forward 12 months, and Phoebe has hosted a string of events in LA, London and more recently New York where she partnered with Nike women. “The event with Nike was so collaborative, it was in their space but it was about our brands aligning…Nike Women is a brand I had no ambivalence about aligning mine with; A) it’s a women’s brand and B) it’s a women’s brand whose entire message is about strength and empowerment.”

The WW Club x Nike Women in New York

The need for authenticity in the creative industry is almost as important as feeling part of a community, something Phoebe is adamant about keeping at the core of the WW club. "I’ve seen women come to my events and make friends and get work, and that’s why I started it. I'm always searching for inspiration and its nice to produce events that hopefully provide that to other people." It's this philosophy that has women from around the world crying out for the WW Club to pop up in their cities – as well as for a copy of her humble, perpetually sold-out handbook.

The Launch Event of the WW Club in LA

So what’s next for Phoebe and the WW club? Expansion seems obvious, but her desire to learn more about the needs of women in other countries before setting up shop is nothing short of admirable. Whilst she remains somewhat tight-lipped about the expansion of her online platform, she’s adamant that it will be an extension of the real-life events. Stay tuned and in the meantime, check out Phoebe’s new podcast "How I Make it Work”, featuring interviews with some amazing women.

“I’d say what unites the audience is a desire to make something happen, but as I did, needing just a bit of support, advice and a few ideas on how to do it."

Here, here Phoebe! How good is #girlpower?!

#girlboss The Launch of the WW Club in LA

Follow Phoebe and the WW Club on Instagram