Erinn Farrell - Casting a Spell

Erinn Farrell, Co-founder of The Coven. Photo by Tracy Nordstrom

Hard to miss the hot pink floor when one walks into The Coven. It’s language: Declarative. No: Exclamatory. A marking on a sentence that says:  I’m here!  I’m ready!  I’m thinking out loud! 

The extroverts in this place – like Erinn Farrell, exuberant co-founder of The Coven – are saying those words with gusto. The introverts, likely, are forming them with their “inside voices” but they are expressing them, too, in their way. The invitation of this place is undeniable; it states, no, shouts:  You are here!  We are here!  Let’s get busy!

The Coven’s Hot Pink Floor Complements Art, Furniture and Women Working. Photo by Tracy Nordstrom

The Coven is a female-centric co-working and community space in St. Paul’s Cathedral Hill neighborhood. Erinn and her co-conspirators - Alex West Steinman, Bethany Iverson, and Liz Giel – have crafted a space that meets the needs of women who work. Think: Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own” with high-speed internet and a coffee bar.

Women here will tell you: The Coven willfully exists outside the patriarchy. As a subscription workspace, The Coven behaves (on the surface anyway) like other co-working spaces, yet sets itself apart by holding space for, and prioritizing, the creativity and self-determination of women. There are quiet spaces and ample tables over which to collaborate; private rooms for conference calls and presentation prep; cozy seating for study or conversation; places for prayer and nursing a baby; iconography of kick-ass females like Frida Kahlo, Josephine Baker, Winona LaDuke, and Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson on the walls; and on-site, reservable childcare so women can work without distraction. Ms. Woolf would be delighted.     

When Erinn Farrell enters The Coven, she does so with a flair equal to that hot pink floor: her stature is robust and stately in a “hockey-player-from-the-Ivy-League” kind of way, and she sports an energetic blonde-brown mane and faux leather pants. Erinn maneuvers through the main room with a balletic confidence; she throws her arms wide: Isn’t this space great? She explains the draw of the historic (1887) Blair Arcade location, at the corner of Selby and Western Avenues in St. Paul: “It was last decorated in the 1990’s,” Erinn recalls, “full of dark wood. But the bones were there, and these high ceilings,” she says, pointing up. “My partner walked in and literally did a high kick!” 

The Coven collaborators knew instantly this was the place to be - a sunny, sister spot to their inaugural Minneapolis location, now on Eat Street. The Cathedral Hill neighborhood is walkable, leafy, lovely, and briming with eclectic businesses, many that are woman- and BIPOC-owned. “We loved the idea of being in an historic space while building something new,” Erinn affirms. “History, grit matters. And so does making our own impression.” 

But why this, why now, and why The Coven? 

Erinn and her partners each came out of advertising, an industry that has NOT, they commiserate, been evolving fast enough; where the corporate paradigm (still) rewards white men with corner offices and power over others. In their early alignment, The Coven cohort expressed a shared desire to “re-envision what the world could be,” to create an enterprise where female entrepreneurs, writers and makers, aspiring leaders, and ambitious side-hustlers could plant a seed - and grow. The Coven founders envisioned a space for women to chart futures on their own terms; to make meaning, enhance visibility, and transition professionally in style; to connect work to purpose, and connect with other women. Creating a container for that, Erinn remembers thinking, would be “life changing.” 

They got busy. “At first,” Erinn says, “we questioned if it had to be a physical space.” “We are not creating community, because community is already here,” they propositioned:, but “how do we hold it?”

The women dug further: “We each hold a deep importance on place,” Erinn says: “How you feel in a place matters.” Place, then, was foundational to the concept of The Coven. The goal was to create a space where every member, every visitor, and every sponsor can walk into the space and think: This was created for me.  

Timing for establishing The Coven (Minneapolis’ inaugural North Loop location in 2018; St. Paul in 2019; Minneapolis’ new location on Eat Street in 2021) was auspicious. The concept of work was already changing, even before the pandemic forced many into a more isolated, work-from-home position. “We see women, especially Gen Z’ers, demanding different things from their work experiences,” says Erinn, who is sensitive to data and trends and demographic shifts. “We are discovering now, especially after the pandemic, after the waves of racial reckoning and isolation, that this community has a deeper need to connect.”

With the Covid pandemic finally receding, Erinn sees The Coven as the perfect place to “pirouette” back into a more socialized work life; to iterate a new hybrid of in-person and mobile work; and for women to seek out “other people in the boat” who also find themselves in transition, of wanting and needing more, or different, support. The Coven offers space for members and visitors to re-discover and/or re-create themselves. “Our brand,” says Erinn, “does not evoke a ‘Come be like us!’ vibe, but rather “Come join this community and we’ll figure it out together.’”

Ribbon Cutting with The Coven Founders, a Legislator, and a Mayor at St. Paul Location. Photo by Leila Navidi, Star Tribune

Programming is where The Coven sparkles. Event promotion challenges attendees to “Find your People,” “Expand your Skills,” and “Crush Your Goals.” Invited speakers cover topics with titles like “PR 101,” “Test Before You Invest,” “Radical Leadership,” and “Becoming Boss.” Workshops introduce stress resiliency, crafting a creative process in clay (might be messy, bring a smock!), and something called “Fix It Fridays” with – as an example - tips on how to give yourself a “hard-time pep talk.”  The Coven offers recurring monthly drop-in events, too, like cupcake and bakery pop-ups (showcasing new businesses with a chance to taste), “favorite book” swaps for the literary minded, and “Black Joy Coffee Hour.” 

Networking and connection are a focus of every event, with time allotted for chatting and making friends: “Think cohort, rather than lecture,” Erinn suggests. Humor, too, is part of the package. “Really,” she says of herself and her colleagues, “we are a bunch of goofballs; that is part of our story.” The Coven’s playful side is evident on the website: for virtual events, they advertise (for participants at home, one hopes, not presenters) that “Pants are optional” and “You can sit anywhere you want!” Erinn winks and acknowledges her own irreverence as a source of strength: “Sometimes our humanity comes through the easiest and best in our humor. Remember, you don’t have to lose your humanity to start a business, to be a tough leader.” 

Erinn Farrell Claims Her Space at The Coven. Photo by Tracy Nordstrom

If you think the name “Coven” is merely tongue-in-cheek, you might be half wrong. The founders and the women who have joined The Coven are not (all) witches, but they are flexing their power and concocting new truths for themselves and community. “We really liked a name with teeth,” Erinn concedes, “that begged for a little bit more consideration.” With an all-for-one spirit embodying both spunk and seriousness, “We want women to know they have others in their corner.”  Erinn squares her shoulders, sits tall, and claims her own creative space: The Coven is a player in the new world of work, she says, and “we are learning and iterating and are not scared of that.” 

The Coven’s St. Paul Opening. Photo by Leila Navidi, Star Tribune

Iteration seems on brand with what women have been doing all along. And if you think The Coven’s aspiration to contain and cultivate an elusive magic of women-in-community seems hard to achieve, Erinn assures us that the incantation for success is simple (and it is set in pink stone almost as flashy as that bright pink floor):  Do the Most Good. For others, and for yourself. 

Incantation for Success: Do The Most Good. Photo by Tracy Nordstrom

Resources:

The Coven:  https://www.thecoven.com/

Photos:  Tracy Nordstrom and The Coven, unless otherwise noted.