Business Community

New coworking space hopes creatives will Stowaway at this waterfront office

Not so long ago, the building at 8809 North Harborview Drive was used to build boats. Nick Gough wants to use it to grow businesses. 

And community. And creativity.

Gough, an entrepreneur who moved to Gig Harbor about a year ago, opened the doors on Stowaway Labs on Monday, Sept. 22. It’s the only coworking space in Gig Harbor — essentially, rented office space.

For office space, it has a helluva view. Stowaway is directly under Devoted Kiss Café, with a front window that looks out onto the harbor. That makes sense, since the building was once home to Gig Harbor’s famous TideRunner Boat Co.

Lauren and Nick Gough in Stowaway Labs. Photo by Vince Dice

Coworking

Coworking spaces provide basic office infrastructure — a desk, Internet service, and the presence of other human beings — for the work-from-home crowd.

A software engineer founded the first known coworking space in San Francisco in 2005, according to various online sources. The industry surged in the 2010s, but the 2023 bankruptcy of WeWork — a chain once valued at some $50 billion — seemed to sap its momentum.

Gough thinks coworking, if done the right way, still has a big future.

“Coworking spaces are actually still as relevant as ever,” he said. “Now what we’re seeing is a focus on sustainability. You can’t be built on hype … you have to be contributing meaningfully (to the community). You can’t just find some old rundown building and chuck some furniture in it and call it a day.”

‘Shipwreck chic’

Gough and his wife, Lauren, definitely didn’t do that.

Stowaway offers an expansive view of the harbor that few office spaces anywhere could equal. And the Goughs put considerable effort into creating an atmosphere inside to match the beauty outside.

It involved lots of trips to antique shops. Lauren calls it “curating.”

They created a decor they refer to as “shipwreck chic.” 

Nick Gough in the finished portion of Stowaway Labs, which opened Monday, Sept. 22. Photo by Vince Dice

“We wanted to create an atmosphere that was very warm, not like an office,” Lauren said. “That had a lot of character and a lot of callbacks to our community.”

Decorations include a ship wheel donated by the Bucholz family, which owns the building and owned TideRunner.

The Gig Harbor BoatShop provided some maritime rope and the Goughs acquired oars off boats that cruised the harbor. A wooden crate bears the name of Harry Maloney, once well-known in the area for building rowboats. 

A second-hand store find for the Goughs: A wooden crate bearing the name Harry Maloney and Gig Harbor, Wa. Photo by Vince Dice

Whenever possible, the Goughs sourced new items from local craftspeople.

“What kind of community-focused place would we be if we just bought everything from the internet?” Nick said.

Stowaways from another state 

The Goughs have a Gig Harbor origin story that probably sounds familiar to many transplants.

They visited once, fell in love with the place and ended up moving here.

They seemed hesitant to say where they moved from, fearing stigmatization. But it sounds like a large, populous, sunshine-bathed — some might call it golden — state somewhere to the south.

Both worked in real estate for a time, and their selection of a spot for Stowaway shows they learned the “location, location, location” lesson of that industry.

Nick founded a software company in 2018, which he still owns and operates. In 2024, with teenage children preparing to exit the nest, they took a road-trip vacation up the coast.

The family stopped in Gig Harbor for lunch. They ended up spending the rest of their vacation here.

“We just absolutely loved it,” Nick said. “We made peace with our friends and family and moved here 25 days later.”

Future plans

The current operation at Stowaway includes indoor and outdoor workspaces and some private meeting booths. Gough has big plans for a larger, as-yet-unfinished space next door.

After renovation, that space will include meeting rooms, office space and a waterfront conference room. Eventually, possibly as soon as next year, Gough wants to build a recording studio there for use by musicians, podcasters or people doing voiceover work.

The whole facility will also be available as a rentable community space. It will be a coworking space from 9 to 5 and a community event space after hours.

It’s intended as “a hub where people can come together and meet like-minded people,” Lauren said. 

Nick Gough discusses plans for the yet-unfinished portion of Stowaway Labs. After renovation, Gough plans to use the space for private meeting rooms, offices and as a recording studio. Photo by Vince Dice

TideRunner and Stowaway 

Which is very much in keeping with the intent of the building’s owner — the same family that founded and ran TideRunner Boats for 28 years.

TideRunner made small fishing boats that developed a loyal following locally and around the world. Hundreds of the locally made craft still ply the waters, though the last one was made nearly three decades ago.

The space that’s now Devoted Kiss was TideRunner’s showroom. Stowaway occupies the part of the building where boats were built.

Allan Bucholz founded TideRunner and designed the boats. He was something of a local legend, as he was also an accomplished architect who designed the former city hall building on Judson Street and the fire station on Kimball Drive.

Erin Gatherum, Allan Bucholz’s granddaughter, manages things now.

Gatherum says she is prioritizing bringing in businesses that open the waterfront space to the public, as she did recently with Hidden Harbor Wine Library. Stowaway fits the model.

“I’m trying to preference businesses that are interested in inviting the public in,” Gatherum said. “Because I think the waterfront is special and should be shared.” 

The view from the deck at Stowaway Labs. Photo by Vince Dice