Thanks for joining our journey to a farm and artist residency in Kingsbury, TX called Habitable Spaces. In the premiere episode you were introduced to me and my back story. I've lived in some of the most exciting cities in the United States: the West Coast, the East Coast and now the Third Coast: Central Texas. I've done some amazing things and I've become a jack of many trades like travel, hospitality, small business events, art, web design. I live for compelling conversation. My many careers have connected me with the variety of collaborators, artists, entrepreneurs, influencers and other friends and distinct personalities from all walks of life. The result has been a network of fascinating, fun and knowledgeable people ready to share their stories here on my podcast.
This episode was recorded on New Year's Eve 2019 going into 2020. It was intended to be archived for a project in the very distant future. I was living in New York preparing to sell my business and enrolled in a podcasting class in New York City. It was beginning to look like the start of a new, exciting chapter. After a family visit to Dallas for the holidays, I drove to the farm near Austin to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends and founders of the farm, Shane and Alison Heinemeier (pictured above). We were firming up plans for a camper rental park collaboration. I decided to document our progress with an interview just to have for possible future content. Little did we know what 2020 was about to bring. Join the experience as we land on the farm that has taken a sleepy rural railroad town and grown a community.
Habitable Spaces with Shane & Alison Heinemeier
Habitable Spaces was manifested after years of thought and planning. When Directors Shane and Alison met, neither of them knew what the future had in store for them. Shane and Alison’s story is amazing, and the fact that they are risk-takers makes it even juicer.
When Shane and Alison came to Kingsbury, the city was incorporating, and they joined the incorporation committee. For the last eight years, they have been working on their property to make it the remarkable place it is today.
According to Kingsbury’s community, nothing ever brought them together like the Habitable Spaces has. The farm and artist residency is a Texas-based 501c (3) community arts and an agricultural and art project whose purpose is to create an integrated, mutually beneficial environment where artists and the rural community can collaborate, learn, and share ideas. They offer workshops and classes on sustainable farming, experimental building techniques, traditional craft, and fine art. In 2016, they began their first official artist-in-residence program. They teach artists how to farm and farmers how to make and appreciate art.
In this episode, the Directors will be sharing their journey from how they met, how far they have come and the future plans.
Listen in to this inspiring episode
Key Talking Points:
[02:25] How Alison and I met
[07:15] How Alison met Shane
[15:09] Birth of Habitable Spaces
[21:24] How Alison and Shane have made a unique and amazing community through Habitable Spaces
[26:00] Incorporation of Kingsbury
[30:20] Camper and Art Park
Standout Quotes from the Episode:
“People should behave more like mushrooms. The mushroom that comes off the top of the soil is just the fruit. The mycelium exists underneath the soil and it’s a connector between trees and plants, and it can deliver nutrients.”
“In life, I think there’s so many different directions constantly being presented. Maybe your friends influence you, sometimes your community and sometimes what you come across influences you to make certain choices.”
“There so much empowerment and being able to grow your own food and feed yourself. It’s a creative act.”