01/02/2022
As the New Year begins, we have decided to close H. Wonder in our current space.
This is not an easy choice, but the obstacles that we were presented with on a daily basis working parallel in a shared space backed us into a corner and did not make a hospitable environment to serve you and to create something wonder filled.
It created something we are against. We cannot stand alongside exclusivity, and out of touch bids to appeal to a town in need.
We tried to instead fill our small section of community with a little borrowed piece of wonder. We collected small pieces of ideas everywhere we went through design, food, art, music, and writing to offer a reprieve from the narrative that our town sucks and to give a home to those who have felt left out with nowhere to go.
For the record, our business is not closing because we didn’t have support from our town. Business was going great. Everyone said we couldn’t have something like this in Johnstown, our town can support something like this!
As someone who grew up here and had nowhere to hang out that reflected him, we offered this. As someone who lived somewhere and did fortunately have this offered to her, we couldn’t resist trying to create it here.
It will never not have been worth it, from seeing young people see themselves in something here. They saw that someone made something just for them. I would do all the work a million times over for that. (Cont. in comments.)
