Call it providing office space for serendipity or maybe a new way of work -- and it's finally come to Utah.

Cowork Utah has opened its doors in Orem, providing a social/work space for independent, tech-related types who mostly have been working out of that spare room in the basement.

The idea behind cowork is simple. While laboring from home in, say, your bathrobe might beat that soul-crushing, Dilbert-like cubicle in a corporate office, it's often too isolating an experience.

Now, what started in California several years ago as get-togethers of independent workers at Starbucks over lattes, has spread to Orem, where Jack Hadley has opened up office space and invited fellow independent computer and media workers to come join.

For a monthly fee of $250 to $500, depending on whether you want a private office, you can occupy space in a new office building on Orem's State Street. Included are high-speed Internet connections, funky decor, desks and a completely wired conference room. There's also a kitchen and seven private offices for those who those who want privacy amidst the open, collaborative atmosphere of the main area.

For 10 years, Hadley has worked out of his house as owner and sole employee of Clarity Worx, with which he helps companies to distill their messages about products or services. But he found he needed space for professional meetings and needed to collaborate with other independent workers in areas where they had expertise.

And in a twist to the one-size-fits-all model of cowork spaces, Hadley's site is focused on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Linkedin and others where people interact online.

"My goal was to create a space where I could work with like-minded people who understand the future of social media in business," said Hadley.

Cary Snowden, president of ListPipe, had an office in Orem but closed it when he sold his house and temporarily moved to Draper. He and his employees decided to work from their homes.

"But that created a number of problems. One was we didn't have a place to meet other than homes, which was less than professional," said Snowden, whose business provides a marketing system and specialized content for blogs. "Then the other is we needed a professional place to meet with clients."

Now, Snowden pays $500 a month for the private office at Cowork Utah.

On Monday, he met with two employees and they used a white board to work out some ideas.

Hadley floated the money from savings to get the office up and running. It costs $3,500 to $4,000 a month to pay for the facility and services. Seven people rent space, and Hadley figures three or four more will bring him to just about break even.

He figures that the space could accommodate up to 20 people, but he's not looking to make money on the rent. Rather, as more people join, the cost goes down for each participant.

"I want to benefit from the momentum instead of the business itself," he said.

Only a month into the venture, Hadley described one project that drew from the collaborative nature of the space he's providing.

The Salem author of a self-published book came to him for help in creating a Web site. Now, along with the author, Snowden and his company also are involved, as is a graphics artist, a videographer and Hadley, all of them with Cowork Utah space.

"So there are actually five us that are affiliated with one project," Hadley said. "It's just kind of evolved."

Hadley plans to highlight that project and others as they evolve at a place on his Web site he wants to call "The Serendipity Column."

Hadley wants to set up other cowork spaces in Utah but said he needs to find sponsors such as himself willing to put up the initial funding and who are willing to make them nonprofit ventures.

tharvey@sltrib.com