New Women Space (188 Woodpoint Road, 1A) is an amazing new event space in Williamsburg created for women to connect with other women and build community. Founded by two women intrigued by collaboration and community—Melissa Wong of Up Speak, and Sandra Hong of Girl Party—New Women Space currently has a variety of offerings, and will be evolving to include even more.
“New Women Space is a response to the idea that women are asking for things. Women are amplifying their voices in the workplace and at their dinner tables,” says co-founder Melissa.
Back in January, Melissa and Sandra met at an event at Greenpoint’s New Love City, and at coffee a few weeks later, they discovered that they had mutual ideas about having a brick and mortar space. They valued events and in-person gatherings, and decided the next step would be to explore a one-month pop-up.
Then they somehow ended up signing a lease for an amazing new space. Not just a pop-up, but a lease.
And New Women Space was born!
They were introduced into what was the perfect space on Woodpoint Road, and they agreed that they needed to take it. The first floor houses a large room and a small patio, and below, a big basement room. With lots of light, plants, comfortable areas, and a rotating art gallery, it feels like a great space to learn, hang out, and build a community—things that precisely match Melissa and Sandra’s goals.
It wasn’t simple opening the space, but they did plan. Melissa and Sandra had prepped with three feedback sessions, figuring out what women might want in a space of their own, asking for ideas on design, offerings, and services. A successful Kickstarter raised over $17,000 to open New Women Center.
“Sandra and I have been in lots of different types of jobs—dogwalking, digital strategy marketing, food prep—but this is pushing us and stretching us in all of the right ways,” Melissa said.
And those who host workshops are also pushing in new ways. “We want to encourage new ideas, so people can test out different ideas for workshops. We want to be here for any woman, not just one type,” Sandra explained. She explained they don’t want to create a monoculture, and it seems like New Women Space is far from becoming that.
“We want to be a community space, and we want people to come back—women who might not be getting a sense of camaraderie in work, home, even studio—we’ve consciously designed it so that you come here and leave meeting new people,” Melissa shared.
Instructor-designed workshops have a certain level of facilitation with lots of interaction. Melissa remembered many speaker panels she attended where, “I came, I sat, I listened, and I left—I felt like I was being talked about.” New Women Space is about creating a warm and welcoming environment, with less distance between the people on the stage and those in the audience.
There are regular donation-based yoga classes, and some upcoming workshops including How to Fall in Love (with Online Dating), What Are Your Superpowers, Embrace Your Goddess, and more on their constantly growing list.
Co-Lab is a unique project unique to New Women Space. “It’s in response to women freelancers, those who are starting businesses, those who left the corporate workplace. Some of these women wish they had a more collaborative community. This program will address these women who are missing that community with a four-week program with structured and unstructured time.”
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New Women Space | 188 Woodpoint Road, 1A | Williamsburg