By Amanda Raymond

amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com

Phase 1 of 10thread started with opening a location above Fun Finds on Fulton, a collective of items from local artists, in December.

Paula Bohland, executive director of Downtown Salisbury, Inc., said they wanted to start small because Salisbury is a smaller city than the other places that had collaborative office spaces.

“We were told, ‘You are going to outgrow that very, very quickly,’” Bohland said.

And they did. Phase 2 of 10thread will soon be open in the space next to Mean Mug on South Fulton Street.

10thread is a collaborative workspace on the 1000 block of South Fulton Street.

Taylor Hutchins is hoping his new company can become the creative think-tank of Salisbury.

At 10thread, people can sit at open desks, have a personal desk or even have their own secured office. The spaces come with 24/7 access, Wi-Fi Internet provided by Fibrant and free coffee from Mean Mug. There are also conference rooms and printer access.

“You can go in at two in the morning because we realize some people, like me, if I’m working on a website or if I’m doing something like that, I work better at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning,” Taylor Hutchins, manager of 10thread, said.

The different levels of membership range from $99 to $699, but people can also just pay for the days they use the spaces without getting a membership.

Hutchins said the space is for people like entrepreneurs or people who work from home but want another space to work.

Bohland said people with interests in technology and non-profit work are also interested in using the spaces.

“Right now, the primary people that are talking to us about this space … are people that are very interested in technology, and they like the ability to be here 24 hours a day and utilize that high speed technology, the Fibrant technology, in a space that other people are in that they can maybe connect with and talk to,” she said.

Hutchins said he hopes 10thread can become a business incubator and technology hub.

“I’ve seen them popping up all over the country in larger markets, but I know that Salisbury has a really creative culture about it,” he said.

With the high speed Internet available, Hutchins said Salisbury can be a leader in the technology business.

“We have access to some of the fastest Internet available. We just need to create opportunities to be able to use that,” Hutchins said. “We could become a technology center.”

One thing that is different from other collaborative office spaces around the country is the online community that comes along with a membership at 10thread.

“It becomes kind of like an open thread with everybody else who has an account on the website so people can bounce ideas and ask questions,” Hutchins said.

Bohland said the website a great place for people to come together and collaborate.

“So, as people are creating something or thinking about something, they can put it out there and then other people that are members also can put ideas in,” Bohland said.

Bohland also said 10thread is great even just for the connections people can make with other people who have new ideas and are developing new things.

10thread has a connection with another collaborative office space in Charlotte called Industry, and Bohland said she hopes 10Thread can connect with other cities in the future.

The Phase 1 location will be turned into private office spaces in which people can have their own secured office. Phase 2 will have the designated offices spaces and flexible, shared spaces.

Hutchins said there will also be a lounge area in the Phase 2 location where people can just read and hang out.

Phase 2 is projected to be ready in another month or so, and Bohland said depending on how the locations are received by the community, they may look at opening other 10thread locations around the city.

For right now, Bohland said 10thread fits right into the artistic atmosphere of South Fulton Street.

“It’s a place of creativity,” she said. “It’s a place where ideas can grow.”

To sign up for a membership or get more information on 10thread, visit 10thread.com.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.