Today we’d like to introduce you to Cat And Nick Peña.
Hi Cat and Nick, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Wonder Cowork Create started in 2018 with a simple idea: creative people in Memphis deserved a workspace built with them in mind. Founded by artists Nick Peña and Cat Peña alongside a third founding partner, Wonder CC began inside an empty warehouse space in Memphis’ Edge District with more vision than polish.
The Pena’s slowly built the space themselves—constructing offices, designing furniture, and shaping an environment that felt inspiring, welcoming, and unmistakably creative from the moment you walked in. What emerged was more than a coworking space; it became a place where people from all walks of life and professions could work, connect, and create together in a space designed to spark creativity and community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like many small businesses, Wonder Cowork Create has faced its share of challenges along the way. Wonder CC was built slowly and intentionally from the ground up. While growing the coworking space, the owners also balanced full-time jobs, kids and art practices often spending nights and weekends building offices, improving the space, organizing events, and finding ways to keep the business moving forward.
In the early years, the founders imagined Wonder CC as a coworking space created specifically for Memphis creatives. But as the community grew, they realized people from all kinds of industries were drawn to the atmosphere and sense of connection the space offered. That shift required them to rethink what Wonder could be—not just a hub for artists, but a collaborative environment where professionals from different backgrounds could work alongside one another and inspire new ideas.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought another major challenge. Like many shared workspaces, Wonder had to quickly adapt as members began seeking quieter, more private environments for work. The team gradually shifted the warehouse-style layout away from large communal areas and began building more enclosed offices to better support members’ changing needs. While those changes helped the community continue working through uncertain times, it also meant stepping back from some of the concerts, exhibitions, networking events, and gatherings that had once been central to the space’s identity.
Even through those transitions, Wonder CC’s members continued showing up for the community they had built together. That support—and a willingness to adapt while staying true to the spirit of the space—allowed Wonder Cowork Create to continue growing organically over the years.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
To learn more about the creative side of the owners please visit our personal websites:
https://catpena.com/
https://www.nickpena.net/
What matters most to you?
What matters most to us is connection—creating spaces, experiences, and communities where people genuinely feel inspired and connected to one another. At the heart of everything we do, we see ourselves as connectors. We’re artists through and through, and that mindset has shaped not only our work, but the way we move through life.
We met in art school in 2003, and ever since then, we’ve been building an intentional, creative, and interconnected life together. Over the years, we realized that art isn’t just something you make—it’s something you live. It’s found in the environments you create, the relationships you nurture, and the communities you help bring together.
That philosophy became the foundation for Wonder CC. More than just a workspace, we wanted to create a place where people from different backgrounds and professions could cross paths, exchange ideas, and feel part of something bigger than themselves. Whether through design, conversation, events, or simply sharing space together, what matters most to us is fostering creativity, belonging, and meaningful human connection.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wondercc.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderccmemphis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wonderccmemphis/
