Co-working space Craft + Graft to link San Francisco, Cape Town creatives

Cape Town is set to get a new co-working site, with the expected opening tomorrow of Craft + Graft, which claims to be the city’s first co-working space with a twin site in San Francisco.

The new co-working space, which will be based in Dunkley Square in Gardens, Cape Town, is set to officially open tomorrow evening, during the city’s monthly First Thursday event during an art exhibition to showcase its community programme.

Located at 2 Gordon Square, Craft + Graft offers 51 desks in a newly remodeled building, at a cost of R2100 per seat per month, with uncapped internet, shared kitchen, shower, and coffee service.

Craft + Graft founder Ian Thomson said in a press release today that the new co-working space will “help bridge” the creative and tech communities of Cape Town and San Francisco, as local tenants will have access to The Troll House, a co-working space in San Francisco.

“As a first time business traveller to San Francisco, it was a great, central location for me to work from, especially because I could use it as the business address for my startup’s US bank account and to host business meetings in an otherwise strange city,” says Barry Botha, CEO of Passmarked and founder/chairman of io.co.za, who later became Thomson’s business partner in SA.

‘Craft + Graft will help bridge the creative and tech communities of Cape Town and San Francisco’

Both spaces are owned by Thomson, a businessman who splits time between San Francisco and Cape Town to run TooMuchWifi, a startup that provides affordable Wifi in townships in Cape Town.

He says the Cape Town space aims to “strengthen” communities by bringing people together. “We wanted to create a beautiful space where small teams and individuals could find all they need to grow their business,” he added.

“With our artist-in-residency programme, we support local artists who often struggle to find affordable gallery space in the city centre. Through our new coffee shop and event series, we donate a portion of our proceeds to providing internet access for high schoolers at local townships via TooMuchWifi, one of our anchor tenants,” he said.

Craft + Graft was designed by interior designer Christine Joubert, whose projects include some of Cape Town’s trendiest businesses, including Hoke Poké and the newly remodeled Origin Coffee. She worked with renowned designer Yelda Bayraktar for many years.

The First Thursday Launch Party on December 7 starts at 18:00, at the 2 Gordon Street office location. The first 50 visitors will get a free drink upon arrival.

Featured image: Craft + Graft offices (Supplied)