Creative Colony is the coworking space where creative people work. We've built a supportive community where people can grow their businesses independently, but not alone.
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED
The coworking movement picked up steam and fast, with many major franchises and chains opening spaces all across the country and globe. But Creative Colony isn't a big chain or franchise. It's a coworking space that was started by a small, local brand consultancy.
As the firm was poised to graduate from a county incubator, the owner, Shala Graham, began searching for office space when she stumbled upon coworking. The concept was wonderful! As a designer with a decade of experience, Shala understood the challenges of running a business from home, developing a team, and building an arsenal of creative tools and resources. With a mission to serve those who are serving others, starting a coworking space where the brand consultancy could share their space and resources with fellow creative entrepreneurs was a great way to live out their mission.
Our Core Values
Our core values make up the spirit of Creative Colony that people count on and embody. They are the ideals from which we make decisions each day to strengthen our coworking space. If you share our values, we would love to have you apply to join our space.
GROWTH
Together, we all grow. Our members learn from and inspire each other to become better entrepreneurs and professionals.
SUPPORT
We support our members and our members support each other. Sharing knowledge, collaborating and caring about one another creates a positives energy that motivates us to succeed.
PURSUING PASSIONS
Deep in the core of each member is an active pursuit of their individual passions, which is what brings us together to cowork. And whether it manifests in our members' character or their careers, creativity and artistic pursuits are of high value to our community.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
We believe that because Creative Colony exists, our local Silver Spring community should be better. We look for ways to both create and promote opportunities for our members and the larger community to participate in all our city has to offer.
Meet the Owner
Shala Wilson Graham
I've been a full-time entrepreneur since 2005. I've owned and operated several businesses at the same time (because I'm either really ambitious or really crazy), starting with a branding and design firm, then Creative Colony, and now a personal branding photography business. As a certified branding expert who has helped brand hundreds of organizations, I’m passionate about capturing personal branding photos for professional women. I’m also eager to help fellow entrepreneurs succeed!
“Our staff grew 34% during the time we’ve been at Creative Colony. Prior to Creative Colony, our business was based in Washington, DC for more than 20 years. At present, 100% of our staff live in Maryland, 67% of whom live in MoCo. The move to Silver Spring and the flexility of an option like Creative Colony has also been particularly profound for those of us (67%) who have young children as it has created a trickle effect whereby our children are now attending daycare centers located in MoCo (rather than DC). By living—and working—in MoCo, it’s enabled all of us working parents to have more time with our children while still being productive employees. As such, it’s not only helped our organization grow and bring revenue to MoCo but, in turn, brought additional business (via daycare engagements) in MoCo for us working parents. ”
