BubDesk: Helping Working Mums

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Every now and then, a product or service comes along and you think: ‘How did we ever do without it?’

BubDesk is one such service.

Simply put – and borrowing from their tagline – it’s a co-working space with a crèche. You check in your offspring (three months to four years old) into the crèche on Level 2, then head down to Level 1 and get some seriously focused working time in their co-working area.

BubDesk’s Beginnings

BubDesk is the brainchild of Meg Burrage.

In August 2015, Meg was looking down the barrel of returning to work at an oil & gas company after having Ollie. The stress of trying to juggle work and childcare was mounting, and she found herself wondering: ‘Why we can’t just take our kids to work?’

After a month of Googling options for working with kids (there are very few) and following a train of thought from ‘Why don’t I open a café with a crèche?’ to ‘How about a workshop space with a crèche?’, she finally landed on ‘What we really need is a co-working space with a crèche!’

The market agrees. BubDesk opened its doors in mid-February, a mere six months after Meg started thinking about it.

This is a phenomenal achievement.

In those six months and in no particular order, Meg had to find a location, sign a lease, bring on board a business partner (Community Director Asha Stabback), refurbish Level 2 as a crèche, bring on board a professional childcare service (AJ Nannies, headed by Amy Evans), get the co-working space kitted out, get the desk/meeting room/crèche booking system up and running, get some great media exposure, execute a crowd-funding campaign – twice – and actually get some bums on seats.

Admittedly, she called in favours from friends and loved ones to get it all done, but Meg is a fast mover, and she’s back at work four days a week for the oil & gas company too.

The Working Space

Taking up the first floor of the Old Perth Flour Mill on Lindsay Street in Northbridge, the co-working space is well equipped and designed to minimize distractions.

There are 16 open-plan co-working stations, a couple of private desks and a small break-out area for relaxing or chatting when needed. The boardroom comfortably holds eight to 10 people and is blessedly soundproof. The kitchen contains all the essentials, including a Nutri-Bullet for those wanting their lunch in liquid form.






The Crèche

On the second floor, accessible only by lift with an assigned token during crèche hours, Meg has opened up the space to create a wonderful area for the wee ones. There’s play equipment, murals, a reading corner, an enclosed sleeping room with three cots and a feeding chair, and endless activities facilitated by the fabulous nannies.



It’s clean, safe and very welcoming. My two children, a three-year old girl and an eight-month old son, both seem very happy there. My daughter refers to it as ‘school’ and can’t wait to go. She’s never been in the care of anyone but family members before, so this is a real relief for yours truly.

[IMAGE36605 My kids (again) doing what they do best - eat and play]

There’s also a comfy couch area for the co-workers to use for breastfeeding and casual chats.

Big Plans

BubDesk has only been open for two months but already Meg and Asha have big plans for the Lindsay Street premises and for two additional locations in Perth. Expanding interstate isn’t beyond their sights either.

First on the agenda is making Lindsay Street hum, including:

They’re also looking at three possible satellite locations – Perth city, Fremantle and Joondalup.



Who should consider BubDesk?

Anyone who needs office space outside of their home but doesn’t want to fund the considerable overheads of an exclusive office themselves should consider BubDesk.

The co-working area is conducive to productivity and it has particular advantages for people who:

There are a variety of options for those wanting to join, including:

All the memberships come with a host of benefits, such as pricing discounts on meeting rooms and access to networking and education events.

This is wonderful news for those with their own businesses, but I think those who stand to benefit most from this arrangement are companies that have any concerns about their return-to-work rates following parenting leave.

As someone who chose not to return to their corporate job because I didn’t want to put my children into daycare: if BubDesk had been an option, I might have stuck around.

Using a crèche means no expressing breastmilk, one pick up/drop off point for parent & child, and no panicking about what’s happening to my baby because I can simply head upstairs and see him.

The corporate option allows a company to secure a desk for $10,000 a year – this can be shared by up to five people in their company. What a fabulous way to ease back into work!

Points to consider

As a member, I’ve used the space and crèche so I know what’s not perfect about it (yet).

Here are some items to be aware of:

Even with these limitations, it’s still the best co-working space I’ve used to date ( and I’ve used a few ).

Essential Information


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