Katherine Lo has hotels in her blood. In 1963, her grandfather founded Great Eagle, the Hong Kong real estate firm behind Langham Hotels, and her father currently runs the upscale hotel group. It comes as no surprise that she would open her own hotel brand, Eaton Workshop, but the similarities end there.
Eaton Workshop—opening in Washington, D.C. and Hong Kong in September—is not only a hotel, but also a coworking space and a social club. Unlike other coworking spaces, Eaton Workshop isn’t just about providing a space for freelancers to work but actively vets its members in order to create a home for activists, entrepreneurs, and artists from a variety of industries with a common goal to impact “progressive social change” in their communities.
Citing influences such as Warhol’s Factory and Burning Man, Lo’s progressive liberal mission is so distinct that its D.C. location—which opens September 27 less than a mile from the White House—has been described as “Resistance-chic” and the “anti-Trump hotel” by various media outlets.
To help foster this community, Eaton is hosting special events and festivals at both locations. In advance of the hotel’s opening, Eaton DC hosted a special event in early August with TT the Artist to celebrate her upcoming documentary, Dark City, about Baltimore’s club music subculture.
A post shared by Eaton Workshop (@eatonworkshop) on Jul 30, 2018 at 9:45am PDT
Next up is the Hong Kong Women’s Festival taking place at Eaton HK from September 1-9, 2018. The festival will feature a series of workshops and seminars on topics ranging from diversity inclusion to education reform and the #MeToo movement. Ten percent of each ticket sale will go toward RainLily, the only dedicated rape crisis center in Hong Kong.
While the Hong Kong location in Kowloon is currently still in soft-opening mode, the grand opening will take place in later September. Future locations for Eaton Workshop are already slated for San Francisco and Seattle.
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