Elaine Kim’s Coworking Trehaus
This week, we talk to Dr. Elaine Kim who is a doctor, entrepreneur, designer, writer, wife and mother. Elaine talks about how her experiences and hardships as a working parent and female entrepreneur have contributed to her meaningful projects CRIB and Trehaus — a coworking space that is tailored towards the needs of a working mum or dad.
Elaine Kim is a practicing doctor in palliative care, and looks after the terminally ill in their homes with HCA Hospice Care.
Outside medical work, she is an entrepreneur. Her businesses include Trinity Gallery in Singapore and Trinity Bridal in Hong Kong, bridal and evening gown boutiques that carry international designers like Oscar de la Renta, Marchesa, Monique Lhuillier, Reem Acra, Carolina Herrera and Jenny Packham.
She also co-founded Atelier Solitaire, a fine jewellery brand specialising in bespoke pieces featuring precious stones including sapphires, rubies and diamonds.
Her experiences have led her to become a co-founder of CRIB,
a social enterprise that empowers women by helping them to become successful entrepreneurs.
As a pilot project for CRIB, she embarked on a third business venture, an event design company called Milk and Honey. Her role as a working mother also led her to co-found Singapore’s first co-working space for families, Trehaus.
Dr Elaine Kim with podcast host Jaskaran Sahota at Trehaus
Actively involved in philanthrophy causes, she has led awareness-building and fund — raising initiatives for charities such as the Bone Marrow Donor Programme, Dover Park Hospice, HCA Hospice Care and RiverKids, raising over a million dollars for causes that support patients with cancer, the terminally ill and protect at-risk children from trafficking and abuse.
She is an ambassador for SNOW (Say “No” to the Oppression of Women”), a UN Women initiative that enables programmes which prevent violence against women. She is an advisor and changemaker for the 50for50 project, an initiative to activate 50 changemakers to raise $5 million for charity.
Elaine enjoys travelling and writing, and thus freelances as a travel journalist. She has regular luxury travel column in Tatler, and contributes stories to various magazine publications.
Most importantly, she is a wife and mother (married to venture capitalist John Kim). They have two boys, Kyan and Luke.
