KALONA

Each nook and cranny of Kalona is chock-full of antique furniture that yearns for a time when it felt young, vibrant, alive. It takes a dedicated hand and a concentrated mind to craft and refine, refurbishing dreams.

This is what Noah Richardson hopes to bring to Kalona; a dedicated space for crafting new, refining old, and teaching those who yearn – like the antique – for something more.

Richardson will be doing this at 211 4th St., Kalona: a building with much history. Established in 1891, it was a Baptist church. More recently, it was Kalona Antiques, then Boxcar Treasures. With Richardson, it will be Void and Vessel Studios – but Richardson may change this name at a later date, as it is not set in stone.

“My friends always joke around [that the name] comes from [my] cabinetmaking experience. [My friends] always say, ‘Noah loves things that hold things and big containers,’” Richardson said with a laugh. “A vessel to me has always been a space to hold and contain things, and void is that space within, so it’s a play on that.”

With a name comes a logo. Richardson hopes to incorporate the unabiding, free-loading bats that play roommate to Richardson while he renovates the property into the logo.

“I’ve had a lot of fun experiences with my neighbors in the church: all the bats,” Richardson said with a chuckle. “I’m cool with them because I hate mosquitoes, [so] I’m going to keep them around. But unless they’re going to start paying rent, they’ve got to move outside. [In seriousness], I’m trying to be super humane with them.”

“[The bats] have a bit of history with the place, so I kind of want to incorporate [them into the logo],” Richardson added. “I’ve got a cool idea for the vessel part being an inverted Gothic arch with little flare tips to be almost a play to the idea of wings of a bat.”

But what exactly does Richardson hope to offer at his Void and Vessel Studios location?

He’s taken a lot of inspiration from the Iowa City Bike Library, specifically their bike workshops, which provide bike parts and workbenches as professionals walk customers though reinforcing/fixing their bikes, learning new skills along the way.

“I’ve always been really big into volunteer work, so it’s been in my heart to get back to me in some way,” Richardson said. “Not everyone has the mind to fix their grandma’s heirlooms that were passed down to them. I’m hoping in the future – again, this is aspirational – that the basement space [can be made] more accessible, maybe put up some workbenches and not just have classes that people can come to, but [to] rotate out some time to create a workbench space [with] some basic tools.”

“I still don’t think [money] should be a barrier to entry for people to take care of the things that they love,” Richardson added.

Richardson still has some kinks to work out for his “fix it yourself” sessions. He hopes to eventually offer the service a year or two after opening shop.

Finding craftsmanship, finding Kalona

Richardson was born and raised in Long Island, New York. His upbringing influenced his path in life heavily.

“I think I was eight years old. I wanted to be an architect or sheriff because I was seeing these massive houses. I could never afford this, but boy, could I sit all day and dream about it,” Richardson said. “I got a lot of exposure to some pretty cool, high-end design stuff that was always out of my ability to access and actually have myself, so as someone who makes stuff, I was like, I could just make cool things for myself.”

Both of his parents introduced Richardson to various levels of creativity. His mother is an artist who inspired him to think outside the box while his father owns a cabinetry shop where Richardson spent ample time.

“I’ve always been somebody that [does] stuff hands on. If I wasn’t doing cabinetry with my dad, I was big into robotics [in high school]. I worked in a custom motorcycle shop. [I] just started off organizing and cleaning the place and then eventually, [I] started fixing some stuff for them,” Richardson said. “When I went off to college and was doing engineering, I did the Baja SAE program where you design, build [and] race off-road ATVs. I’ve always just been a tinkerer.”

After college, Richardson found himself working IT. In that time, Richardson bounced around different startups and companies like Datto.

Now, Richardson lives in Kalona with his spouse, who is an Iowa native. This step in Richardson’s life has been a “weird transition.”

“[It was] really surprising even coming out here; I was afraid of being the outsider, but everyone’s been super awesome, really welcoming, and really cool,” Richardson said.

Because of the warm hospitality, Richardson has been able to do some networking in the area, trying to sort out the supply and demand.

“I have some people that I’ve been very fortunate to bump into while I’ve been trying to network; they’re telling me ‘Oh yeah, you’re going to do great,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s terrifying,’” Richardson said. “Thank goodness they’re saying that there’s a need for this type of stuff I want to do, because I just wanted to do it because [I am] genuinely interested. I don’t want to make stuff just to cater to people with money.”

Richardson hopes Void and Vessel Studios will be up and operational by summer, but has no official timeline drawn out.

“We’ve been working on renovations. It’s been a lot of foundational work to give [the building] the love it deserves,” Richardson said. “When it first opens, it’s going to be a little slow; we’re still going to be [doing] renovations.”

When Richardson does open up shop, The News will provide more details on their opening.

“I’m hoping that people will see it evolve over the years and [see] the vision or potential that I see for it,” Richardson concluded.