Empowered Entrepreneurship

The Little Library Co. Redefines Creative Coworking

By: Emily Mook | Photography By: Ashlee Glen

When women collaborate, a singular sort of magic occurs. Within all business sectors, women work together to brainstorm, strategize, implement, and pivot, thus bolstering and transforming their industries while often simultaneously strengthening their bonds with each other. In many of these situations, a shared business environment provides structure, allowing women to communicate with and support each other without having to search for or create an external framework as a context for collaboration.

Women entrepreneurs, on the other hand, must typically seek out or establish these frameworks themselves if they wish to find shared spaces in which they can voice their struggles and successes, knowing that they will be understood and uplifted while also having opportunities to work together on professional projects. The potential to enact sweeping positive change across industries, along with the potential to revolutionize the way women work, reside within those spaces—but space is at a premium for entrepreneurs. As they juggle the myriad tasks entailed by running one’s own business, their capacity for consistent, intentional collaboration may be understandably limited. Sometimes, though, stars align and paths converge, and those elusive spaces emerge.

For local entrepreneurs Whitney Delaney, Michele Richards Fredericks, and Amy Morris, that space took the shape of a cozy little building right off Rivermont Avenue. Enter: The Little Library Co.

The Little Library Co. is a coworking space designed for creative entrepreneurs—both women and men—and set up to accommodate a wide variety of schedules and layout needs.

The building has two floors and boasts a bathroom and shared kitchenette with a refrigerator upstairs and a shared entrance, bathroom with a shower, and storage downstairs. Additionally, there are six onsite parking spots (with nearby street parking also available).

Work areas include a community table, lounge seating, dedicated desks, private offices, and a shared conference room. Entrepreneurs can apply now to rent a studio pass, dedicated desk, or private office, and rentals will start in April.

Those who choose to add a coworking element to their entrepreneurial enterprises by renting a space at The Little Library Co. will join forces with three dynamic women with distinct stories and skills but a shared vision of community over competition amongst entrepreneurs.

Before founding and becoming co-owners of the coworking space, Delaney, Fredericks, and Morris opted for entrepreneurship for a variety of reasons.

Delaney created the SEO program for her previous employer, and when the company downsized and cut the program, her boss referred anyone who came to the business for those services to her.

“I had always wanted to do website design, and that was why I had started to work there in the first place, hoping to learn it,” she said. “When I went out on my own, I was like, ‘OK. It’s time. I’m just going to wing it!’ I had worked with amazing designers, so I had a huge head start. It’s been really cool to kind of stumble through entrepreneurship and to be able to make those decisions about what I want my company to be and where I want it to go.”

Delaney now runs Delaney Co., through which she offers website design, website strategy, and SEO services.

Before starting her own residential and commercial design business, Studio Møre Designs, Fredericks worked for an architecture firm in the same office building as Delaney. The two had discussed striking out on their own, and Fredericks ended up doing so about a week after Delaney did.

“I thought, ‘I think I can just do this on my own!’” Fredericks exclaimed. “I came out with one job, partnering with L.G. Flint on a new construction build, and then everything just took off from there. I’ve been in business for three years and am doing really well.”

Fredericks knew Morris and was interested in her interior design work and the possibility of partnering together on design projects. She reached out to Morris in the hopes that Morris might be interested in shifting from working for an architecture and interior design firm in Charlottesville to starting her interior design company in Lynchburg—and as it turns out, she was.

“I have always wanted to be in control of my destiny, and I’ve always wanted to be sort of on my own but partnering with others,” Morris remarked. “I actually started out in photography and had a photography business in Charleston, South Carolina for about five years. I really wanted to dive into the design world, so when I moved back to the Charlottesville area, an interior designer who I still work with now—Jeannette Andamasaris—took a chance on me and really mentored me and brought me into the interior design world. I’ve worked with her for 12 years now, and then in the last year, I’ve also gone out on my own. It’s really nice to set your own schedule and be your own boss.”

Morris’ boutique interior design studio is called Rosemary House. She and Fredericks have partnered on projects, and Morris noted that Fredericks “has been a huge help and support to me and has helped with getting me leads.”

Fredericks and Morris had been looking for a coworking space for a little over a year and a half before a serendipitous meeting in August 2025 led them to landing the building of their dreams.

“When Amy and I were looking for a building, we were having a meeting at Palmera House, and Daryl [Calfee, the previous owner of The Little Library building] came in and was like, ‘When are you going to get an office?’” Fredericks recalled. “So I was like, ‘Daryl, when are you going to sell me something?’ And he was like, ‘I don’t have anything for sale!’ So I said, ‘Why don’t you sell me the Little Library?’ He didn’t even take a beat. He just goes: ‘Hmm. OK!’ I said, ‘Text me a price later tonight,’ and he did that same day. That same day, we texted him a counteroffer, and then we started the process of buying the building!”

The sale was finalized in October 2025.

The building ticks several key boxes that the trio sought in a creative coworking space: a prime, downtown-adjacent location, a unique and versatile layout
that allows for both independent work and intentional collaboration, and a well-maintained foundation and upgraded systems.

Of course, a considerable list of needed cosmetic changes have made the renovation process an adventure full of fluctuations, but the bonds amongst the three co-owners—along with a community of helpers composed of their spouses and various family members and friends—have been further fortified through each coat of paint, whir of a power tool, working weekend, and even an ultimately-abandoned attempt at DIY flooring installation. (The team worked with Central Virginia Flooring for their flooring and tile needs and would like to thank D.K. and H.A. specifically for their help.)

“Seeing this building really come together has been incredible,” Delaney said. “The first few weeks were fun—we had a lot of momentum—and then it all turned into just chaos! It got hard for a bit.

But since the lights and floors came in, it’s an amazing place to be! I love coming in; it feels so welcoming. It’s also been amazing to get to know each other on an even deeper level. I love being in a community and working with people again—especially like-minded entrepreneurs who have the same struggles and who can encourage each other. It’s very motivating.”

Through this joint venture, the three co-owners hope to combat a common entrepreneurship myth: scarcity.

“The big myth about entrepreneurship is the myth of scarcity,” Morris stated. “There is enough work for everybody. We all have our different gifts and styles.”
“I would be fine if there was another architect in here because the more we support each other and refer each other and get along, the better things are for everyone,” added Fredericks. “It makes for a much better situation than competition and pitting ourselves against each other.”

Fredericks also noted that while the trio wants “to empower female creative entrepreneurs without excluding men,” they are especially passionate about connecting with and providing support to other women entrepreneurs because “we are still in the minority when it comes to business honing, business running, and business pay.”

In an effort to assure that the space is a good fit for potential tenants, the application process will include an interview. Both women and men are encouraged to apply.

In the future, The Little Library Co. team hopes that the space, in addition to becoming the site of a full and thriving collaborative cohort, can play host to small events like company retreats and First Fridays artist exhibitions.

Fredericks said she envisions an ever-growing and strengthening referral system and a potential for future development projects that, she said with a chuckle, “might not be DIY!”

Delaney said she hopes that The Little Library Co. will lead the charge in helping entrepreneurs attain a better work-life balance and will “be known for integrity, quality, and kindness.”

As Morris contemplated the journey ahead, she also expressed wonder and gratitude at the path—those three roads harmoniously converging—that led the three of them to this point.

“For a long time, I had a longing to do something like this,” she said. “I would see other people buy spaces and would be like, ‘Why can’t that be me?’ And then, when I connected with these women, I realized: We can do this together, we can back each other up, and we can help each other figure this all out.”

For more information about The Little Library Co., visit thelittlelibrary.co and search @thelittlelibrary.co on Instagram.