Moving to a new city, or just deciding to make new friendships and connections as an adult can be daunting. Enter & The Table, a platform designed to encourage friendship at any age.
Through inviting women across the globe to host or attend local 'tables'. Each event focuses on a specific question or topic, which means although you’ve never met before, you are likely to find like-minded women at a table with an evening of curiosity and conversation.
For founder Samantha Wolfson & The Table is driven by the idea that no matter what stage you are at life you can ‘never stop growing and meeting new people’. We teamed up with & The Table to host an intimate dinner at Ember Locke. Bringing together six women to discuss ‘How do you define success six years ago compared to today’. Our Ember Locke apartment became a hotbed of conversation discussing how as women we are continuously reframing what success looks like in our lives. Whether that be in career, passion, love and what we see for the future.
With tables and hosts across the globe, Samantha has taken & The Table from its home in Amsterdam to the world. We caught up with Samantha on all thing’s & The Table, hosting and her journey in creating and developing the platform.
Tell us about you.
I'm a Philadelphia native, who moved to New York at 18 and was ready to leave by 26. I always knew I wanted to live in Europe, I just didn't realise how much Europe would give me back. I quit my job at 26 in NYC, gave myself a 6-month budget and moved to Amsterdam in hopes of figuring out life. Landing in Amsterdam, I fell into Advertising, but soon realized that wasn't my be-all and end-all. I loved being around creatives, but being on the business side of it all, I wanted more. In 2017 I started a dinner party to bring together six women I had met over time. All came solo, for a delicious meal and meaningful conversation.
My love for hosting goes all the way back to childhood. On Friday nights, I was never allowed to go out but could invite whomever I wanted into my home and my parents would cook for everyone. Friday was a revolving door of personalities, people and conversation. All surrounded by a table full of home-cooked food. Although in my earlier years, missing the middle school dance on a Friday wasn't the most ideal, at university, I took monthly trips home with my friends for Friday night dinners. This is something that still resonates with me today, having close friends over on Friday events to close off the week.
What was the initial inspiration for & The Table?
The initial drive for this was just wanting a way to connect with new women in the city I had just moved to but not wanting to go to networking events or "friendship" events. I wanted to build something more in line with what I loved and bring together the various women I had met since I moved to Amsterdam. Whether that be the girl at work, the one I met at Pilates, and the girl I met at a café without it feeling forced. For me, that was having them over for dinner. This naturally created a concept; at most 6 women, around a table, delicious food with conversation over a theme & a question.
How have you seen the platform grow and where do you see it going?
It's grown bigger than I ever imagined in just one year. We launched the first version of the platform in March 2023. One year later, we're about to launch the second version with a membership for guests. With over 120 official hosts in 8 countries across Europe, the UK and USA, February 2024 was our biggest month yet with 45 tables. I want this to truly be a place for women to feel like they can turn up, come alone and connect with other women over anything. Even though it sounds like a lot in regard to the 'world', it's quite small. I want the platform to grow, but take it a bit slower this coming year, to make sure it's done right.
What’s your advice for someone looking to create their own platform/community?
Don't do it unless you truly love connecting and solving the problem you're looking to solve. If you're in it for the money, the guests or members will know.
Your three top tips for hosting an intimate dinner party?
Choose a theme - Give a reason to why you are gathering together. Even if that's just "life catch up's". Then your guests know why you're coming together and give purpose to the conversation.
Make name cards - this can be a controversial one, but I personally like to give everyone a seat with their name, especially if they don't know one another. This way, I can put people next to each other who I believe we will have good conversation and connect. It also allows me to separate people and foster new connections. It also takes away that awkward moment of people not knowing where to sit. Additionally, questions on the other side of their name cards to help with conversation with the people to their right/left.
Make a list - This last one is just logical, but trust me, just make the damn list. Tell yourself when you're prepping what and outline the elements you can get done the days leading up to the dinner party. It makes the prep so much more enjoyable, so you're not rushed all on the day of.
Interested?
If you fancy becoming a host or joining an & The Table across Europe, UK and USA check out the website for all the latest.
Ember Locke, Kensington.
Be transported to a bygone time with distinctive and eclectic designs echoing Kensington’s ‘Golden Era’. Glamour inside and out.
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