Why the founders of an online travel magazine started a coworking space

Nowhere Magazine is a digital travel magazine run by husband-and-wife team, Porter and Sarah Fox. Mr. Fox edits and Mrs. Fox handles the visuals.

Nowhere gears itself toward more literary travel writing. Both Foxes run the business, which has, intriguingly, evolved somewhat into a coworking space, Nowhere Studios. We spoke to Porter Fox at the new space in Crown Heights last week.

Two of the desks for members with permanent spaces, in the back area. (Photo by Brady Dale)

The magazine launched as a blog in 2009 and quickly had 14,000 readers. The team has since tried basically every possible publishing format. Being mobile responsive was especially tricky for a publication that’s global in scope. “When you’re talking to an international crowd,” Porter Fox said, “they’ve got some weird phones out there.”

That said, HTML5 changed everything for the company. Fox said they used to get flooded with questions every time a new issue came out about how the issue was showing up on different devices. “Going to HTML5 took a lot of weight off our shoulders.” Now, there’s hardly any questions.

The company has also partnered with Flipboard and Publet to help with sharing its content.

The entry area. There will be a green screen and infinity wall for photographers here soon, which will also be available for outside photographers to rent. (Photo by Brady Dale)

The magazine, Fox said, had really been a side project for the two; they funded it largely through events and parties. They were both, also, working from shared studio spaces, which they’ve both used all over Brooklyn for years.

When the Foxes each decided to move once more, they decided to get their own space and build it out for other like-minded creatives. Thus, Nowhere Studios was born. “This space is really focused toward people who work in creative arts,” Fox told us.

Its permanent desks sold out almost immediately.

The space is home to two photographers, four filmmakers, a web developer, a writer, two textile manufacturers and two florists. There’s a waiting list for desks, but Nowhere Studios still has space available for community members, who get 24/7 access and can use any of the space’s common areas, for $150 per month.

Fox said that the operation has about ten regular contributors and a paid staff of four, including both Foxes. Events will remain a part of the business, but more of them will take place at Nowhere Studios, which works well as an event space, Fox says. The couple lives near the space in Bed-Stuy.

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