{"id":814389,"date":"2026-05-22T10:39:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T10:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/814389\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T10:39:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T10:39:22","slug":"philadelphias-braid-mill-turns-old-factory-into-community-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/814389\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia\u2019s Braid Mill turns old factory into community hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Germantown, a century-old factory has found new life as a community hub.<\/p>\n

Called Braid Mill<\/a>, the hub\u2019s cofounders, Seth and Matt Shipon, have connected two Philadelphia histories: one of their heritage, the other of the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe usually always start by telling people we\u2019re fourth-generation entrepreneurs,\u201d Seth said. \u201cOur family has been building businesses in Philadelphia for literally over 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cOur family has been building businesses in Philadelphia for literally over 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seth Shipon, Braid Mill<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Shipon brothers\u2019 great-grandfather started it all with a food market in South Philly. The business evolved into a supermarket and butcher shop. Their father, they say, was the first to market and sell Philly-style chicken steaks<\/a>, under the brand Shipon\u2019s Chicken.<\/p>\n

The building in Germantown<\/a>, meanwhile, began as one of the city\u2019s many early-20th-century textile mills, where workers produced hosiery. In 1926, new owners renamed it Excelsior Braid Mill. Nearly a century later, after a three-year renovation, the Shipons reopened the building, keeping the 1920s name and turning the 40,000-sq.-ft. property into a modern workspace.<\/p>\n

Calling it a \u201ccoworking space\u201d doesn\u2019t capture all that it is, the brothers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoworking is almost more of an amenity of membership, but not the core product,\u201d Seth said. \u201cThe core product really is connection, collaboration, bringing people together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ABraid Mill building (Courtesy)<\/p>\n

A post-pandemic bet on membership and events\u00a0<\/p>\n

Braid Mill launched without public funding or formal city resources, Seth said. But now that the foundation is there, the brothers are looking toward that and corporate partnerships to help amplify a space already serving more than 100 members across private studios, dedicated desks and other membership tiers. Its private studio tenants are about 67% nonprofits, Seth said, and 87% are women-led and 87% are Black-led.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really been a great mix, and representative of the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Braid Mill also hosts public events, meetings and community programming, including Northwest PHL gatherings<\/a> and Flannel Fest<\/a>, which Seth said brought out thousands of people with vendors and music.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the major community organizations and nonprofits are looking to us as a space to host everything that they\u2019re doing in a beautiful space inside their community,\u201d Matt said. \u201cWe\u2019ve really become that gathering space for all these amazing organizations in Germantown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their path to launching Braid Mill started with another old building: the family\u2019s original South Philly market. It was deteriorating when Seth and Matt faced a choice: Fix it or sell it. The brothers felt connected to the place, its history and the old family photos tied to it.<\/p>\n

They chose to renovate. Today the location<\/a> houses residences and commercial space. That project led them into real estate, and eventually to the Germantown building, a property with its own legacy in the city.<\/p>\n

\"ModernBraid Mill den (Courtesy)<\/p>\n

The brothers acquired it in December 2019. Within months, the pandemic clouded the future of offices, coworking and in-person events. They kept building anyway, renovating through shutdowns and uncertainty before opening Braid Mill in January 2023. The timing was risky. But the Shipons saw the disruption as part of the opportunity. People wanted flexibility, they said, but many also missed the everyday energy of working around other people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe promise to work from home was flexibility,\u201d Seth said, \u201cbut then you kind of lost your work friends and that connection throughout your day.\u201d<\/p>\n

From \u2018Court of 2nd Chances\u2019 to food and drink<\/p>\n

Braid Mill has two event spaces: one over 3,000 square feet and another about 1,000 square feet, with the larger one able to hold up to about 230 people. But the activity that matters most to the brothers happens at a smaller scale, in the hallway run-ins, the referrals, the introductions between members who wouldn\u2019t have crossed paths otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could tell a story about all of them,\u201d Seth said of his members.<\/p>\n

One of those stories belongs to Philadelphia Community Youth Court<\/a>, a restorative justice nonprofit based at Braid Mill. Called the \u201cCourt of Second Chances,\u201d it receives referrals from the Philadelphia Police Department and the School District of Philadelphia. Instead of entering more punitive systems, young people come before a youth-led court, with peers serving as judge and jury.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re one of our biggest advocates,\u201d Seth said. \u201cThey talk about the growth they\u2019ve had just by being here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members like Youth Court are part of why the Shipons frame the space the way they do. The building is the draw, but it\u2019s not the point. \u201cThe space matters,\u201d Seth said, \u201cbut the people matter more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ModernBraid Mill kitchen (Courtesy)<\/p>\n

Braid Mill\u2019s next phase includes both internal growth and a broader push for partners. Beyond Seth and Matt, the team currently includes a community manager and a facilities manager. The brothers are preparing to add roles focused on events, growth and partnerships.<\/p>\n

Going back to the family\u2019s roots, the Shipons are also planning to add food and beverage to the building, which is in an area Seth described as having limited food options. They are reserving space for a hybrid commercial kitchen and cafe that could serve members daily while also supporting events, with potential for catering, pop-ups, test kitchens and local food entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

As AI, which Matt says they use \u201cconstantly,\u201d becomes more integrated into work and business, they see it as a tool that can lower barriers for entrepreneurs and creators while keeping the need for places like theirs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity spaces are going to be more important than ever,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to make sure that humans are at the center of that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the brothers, it\u2019s about more than tools, events and networking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is, in many ways,\u201d Seth said, \u201ca culmination of our whole family story.\u201d<\/p>\n

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