The Best Thing About Local Coworking? Everything on Your Doorstep, with Melissa Richards
The story of a founder who turned a vision into a living, breathing workspace that mirrors her creative spirit.
When Melissa Richards was craving more than kitchen-table isolation and uninspiring office options, she set out to build a workspace that worked for her. Buick Mackane, based in Newbury, Berkshire, was founded four and a half years ago, as an extension of Melissa’s personality and creative spirit.
What began with just one member has since grown into two locations, with Melissa opening a second site in January dedicated to longer-term offices and meeting rooms just a few steps away from the original space. Both coworking spaces are housed in historic buildings infused with a bold, creative touch and brought to life by a vibrant community of local professionals – plus Rey, Melissa’s much-loved dog, and Buick’s official mascot.
In this interview, Melissa reflects on her coworking journey, the inspiration behind Buick Mackane’s distinctive branding (any guesses where the name comes from?), and what Melissa believes is the best part about coworking.
1. What led you to found Buick Mackane, and what has that journey been like?
Melissa: In many ways, it feels like I’ve been here forever, but I only founded Buick Mackane four and a half years ago.
At the time, I was working as a freelancer to provide market insight for food manufacturers and interrogate supermarket data recommendations. I don’t have any background in coworking other than being a user of coworking spaces before founding my own. But despite trying a few different places for a number of months or years, I couldn’t find anywhere in Newbury that I really wanted to spend my time in.
I saved some money to do something with it, and thought I’d give it a go myself. That was it, really. I found a space and created a community of people who were ready to start using it. On the first day, there was only me and one other lady – that was the beginning of Buick.
Earlier this year, I opened the second space, which is primarily designed around long-term private offices (we only have one in the original location at West Mills). We found people were leaving because their company was growing and wanted their own dedicated space, but I couldn’t offer that. So, I took on the lease on the second building in January.
Now, we have 11 different-sized offices for long-term rental, along with a couple of meeting spaces.
Ironically, the ‘new’ space is older than the first – a Tudor building around 500 years old with beams that come from dismantled old ships. Our original coworking space is about 150 years old.
Having two spaces is relatively new, exciting, and challenging. Luckily, they’re located only a few minutes walk apart, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to manage it. Most days, I’ll go between the two spaces with Rey, the dog. She’s a big part of Buick. She’s here every day and is one of the reasons why people love coming here.
2. From the name itself to the vibrant murals in the coworking space, your branding is bold and distinctive. What was the inspiration behind Buick Mackane’s creative identity?
Melissa: Lots of people assume that I did something creative for work. There’s always been something creative in me, and founding the coworking space has allowed me to manifest that.
At Buick Mackane, I’ve created a space that I want to work in – a bright, colorful, energetic, dynamic space, quite different from where most of us live. Whether that was right or wrong, I don’t know. It felt bright and bold.
The fishman mural, which I now use across my branding, was created by a fantastic artist and book illustrator who lives in Scotland. I gave her a very loose brief around where the name came from, and she came up with this mural, which inspired much of the rest of the building.
Buick Mackane is not a very well-known T Rex song; however, I really struggled with coming up with a name for a new business that’s unique and catchy. Obviously, most coworking spaces are based around work and studying, but I wanted Buick to be something different, fun, and not necessarily about work, as it extends beyond a nine-to-five workplace.
Buick Mackane fitted in with me the way I am, and how I’d like the space to be perceived and used.
3. Working alone can be especially isolating for freelancers. Why do you think it’s important they have a dedicated space like Buick Mackane, and how do you support them?
Melissa: From my experience of working as a freelancer, I could be working from home all day, not having spoken to anybody other than the dog, which is unfulfilling.
What’s really important about coworking is that you have a chance to make connections with people, however small they are, whether that’s just saying ‘hello’ to the same person on your walk to work, or coming in and seeing somebody you know at the desk. Those small interactions with people really make a difference to how you feel on that day – I think coworking makes us all feel a bit better.
So, coming to a place like this, or even just getting out of the house, does make a big difference to how you feel and your productivity. When you go home at night, you feel great because you’ve been somewhere else all day, whereas if you’re sitting at home working, there are no boundaries as you’re surrounded by your work, or your laptop is next to you, and you can’t switch off.
Newbury is quite a small, rural community made up of people of different ages and backgrounds. At Buick Mackane, we have freelancers, but certainly not all freelancers, by any stretch – some people are employed, whose employers now pay for them to use the space. That seems to be a legacy of COVID.
Nowadays, as many local businesses don’t have their own dedicated space or don’t have enough space to host meetings, they come to us. Some people have started their own businesses, but don’t want to work at home alone. For example, we’ve got a husband and wife here who work together as architects, but they don’t want to be sitting at home together.
4. Buick Mackane is rooted in Newbury. How do you collaborate with and support local businesses?
Melissa: Newbury is a small place, so everybody knows everybody here.
We have craft-based businesses coming in to host evening workshops, and we give the space to a couple of local charities, such as a support group for families with very sick children and their siblings, who meet here once a month. Another group provides support for women in coercive relationships, so they come into this lounge space for a chat together. Our local Pride organisation comes to Buick for monthly meetings.
Our lounge space is very popular, because it’s quite casual. It’s not like an office space, more like a home from home, which appeals to different groups. It works really well for the sibling support group, who wouldn’t fit in another space.
Occasionally, people come in who aren’t based in Newbury, as the town is quite central between places like Bath and London. But primarily, it’s local businesses and people using our space.
5. How does Buick Mackane put “everything people need” right on their doorstep, in terms of services and amenities?
Melissa: What we’re trying to do here is provide everything on your doorstep. It’s things like spreading the word that we have an in-house accountant. Someone else here has just started working with the accountant and asked another member for legal assistance, as we’ve also got a paralegal in the building.
Coworking is about making everybody aware of all the skill sets within the building, and the benefits of having a professional to talk with face-to-face about whatever it is – your accounting, legal issues, or speaking with an architect.
For instance, I mentioned to some of our members that my other half wanted a guitar for his birthday, and one of them recommended a great guitar shop in Farnham. It was this amazing shop! Another member recommended that we should try a fantastic restaurant there, too. So, within the space of a couple of minutes, I’d got a great guitar shop recommendation and somewhere to go for dinner afterwards.
I keep saying it, but Newbury is a small place. In most small towns, you’re surprised at the skill set in the area. The best thing about this place is that it brings people together, and local people work with each other, rather than working online or with somebody that you’ll never meet.
About People Make Coworking
Celebrating the people who make up the fabric of the global coworking movement, People Make Coworking interviews coworking founders who share their journeys of building communities and workspaces.
Edition #16 of People Make Coworking interviews Melissa Richards, founder of Buick Mackane, a shared flexible workspace in Newbury, Berkshire.
If you’d like to share your story in ‘co’, please get in touch. I’d love to speak with you for a future feature.