We spent a day at Colony Fabrica, New Islington’s radical new co-working space

On Mon 15 Jan, we headed down to Colony Fabrica, Colony Co’s latest dynamically creative co-working hub in the heart of New Islington, for their free ‘Blue Monday’ co-working and wellness open day, a refreshing burst of positivity held in defiance of the bleakest day of the calendar year.

Upon arrival at Colony’s sumptuous new venue, we were given a full tour of the sprawling 24,000sqft work hub. Across its three enormous floors, we passed by an astonishingly diverse array of sleek, state-of-the-art professional areas, from hot desks and individual booths to presentation spaces. There’s even a full office occupied by a rapidly expanding fashion company – and growing businesses at Fabrica can rent out an entire floor.

Following the tour, we settled into the calm, sun-drenched and elegantly appointed communal work and kitchen space, locking in for a few hours of remarkably smooth, focused work powered by free premium coffee, super-fast WiFi and complimentary lemonade, as other members sat down for collaborative sessions in the elegant sheltered booths.

At 11am, we made the brief journey down the hall into the blissfully tranquil Presentation Space for a morning wellness, stretching and journalling session led by yoga teacher Emma Thorlby, with unrivalled atmospheric comfort provided by her delightful whippet, Dottie.

We found our seats in the padded amphitheatre setup, flanked by swaying plants and pebble arrangements, and enjoyed 45 minutes of unbroken serenity, stretching out our kinks and releasing our new year’s hang-ups as soothing incensed lingered in the air. Alongside regular wellness and meditation sessions, The Presentation Space is available to hire for panel discussions, awards nights, business showcases and more.

After another hour or so of effortless remote work in the communal area, it was time for lunch. On this occasion, the team from Bondi Bowls were on hand to serve members and guests a free, restorative and irresistible selection of poke bowls. We opted for the Korean bowl, a bright and zesty helping of chicken, rice, kimchi and gochujang, accompanied by a kaleidoscopic assortment of colourful superfood vegetables.

Energised and well-nourished, we breezed through the rest of the afternoon in a painless flow state, pausing only to help ourselves to more premium coffee from the high-tech taps or enjoy the breathtaking city views. Before the end of the day, members and guests gathered for an hour of social networking in which Manchester’s growing cohort of freelance creatives, entrepreneurs and innovative companies gathered to meet, chat and exchange ideas.

Whether you’re an established business looking for a versatile, perfectly equipped new office space or an individual freelancer searching for the ideal working environment amongst like-minded peers, Colony Fabrica provides a welcome alternative to the conventional co-working experience with a thriving, collaborative professional hub built on teamwork, wellness and free-flowing ideas.

The next Colony Cowork open day invites creatives around the city to convene for a day of co-working, networking and social drinks to celebrate the end of January at Flint Glassworks on Thu 25 Jan. While this event is sold out, you can email events@colonyco.work to register your interest for the door list, as spaces fill up quickly for all open days.

From weekly sunrise yoga sessions to live music nights and more, Colony hosts a regular programme of events for members to enjoy at every site. Check out their schedule here.

Check out Colony’s choice of flexible membership across all six venues here.