A 1,500-square-foot co-op maker space is opening on Tucson’s west side this summer — thanks to the folks behind The Heathenry and Monsoon Mystics.
An area behind curiosity store The Heathenry and mystical shop Monsoon Mystics, located at 657 W. St Marys Road, will be the new home of Heathen Haus — a warehouse space that will operate as a “collaborative learning space for individuals interested in alternative arts and creative skills honoring nature,” according to an Instagram post from The Heathenry.
“We're definitely going to be doing workshops and classes and lectures and things like that,” said Alex Wolfe, co-owner of The Heathenry. “We also really want to be hosting events and markets. So we're hoping that this is another space where you're going to see pop-up vendors and pop-up events. We hope to be doing social events, similarly to how we did our gemstone social in March, and we have a tarot social coming up on the 27th of May.
“So, we like doing these socials where people who share a common interest get together and just literally hang out and talk about it. So that's sort of in the realm of some of the things we have in mind.”
Currently, the Heathen Haus is hosting a GoFundMe campaign to raise $5,000 to help cover operating costs, furnishings for the space and tools for the workshops, such as dissection kits and processing chemicals.
While there isn’t an exact opening date for Heathen Haus yet, Wolfe says they plan to start hosting events this summer and expect to have their calendar of events posted by June 1.
The space’s first market will be the “Queer & Strange: An Odd Pride Market” from 5-9 p.m. on June 24. Vendor applications for the market open on May 26.
The Heathen Haus also plans to host a benefit party in July. Details for that event will be released on their Instagram at a later date.
Alex Wolfe, co-owner of The Heathenry, poses for a photo with the skull of a javelina. Wolfe is an environmental educator and says they've been collecting bones and skulls for 10 years.
“Our goal is that we hope to have open hours where the public can bring their own projects and use the space and get mentorship,” Wolfe said. “That's our next step. Aside from just doing workshops and events, we hope that it's a publicly usable space. But for now, we will be able to teach some workshops and classes.”
For Wolfe, having an educational space has always been one of their dreams (aside from running a curiosity shop, of course).
“Lo and behold, we get The Heathenry started and we're in this beautiful shop space, we love the location so much, and what do I find out about? Another space in the same location that is perfect for a co-op workshop space,” Wolfe said. “So I hit the ground running and found that other people wanted to go in on this with me and wanted to make this dream into a reality. And now we're here with starting the process of opening Heathen Haus.”
Wolfe’s partner and The Heathenry co-owner, Karolina Olivia, came up with the name for Heathen Haus.
“(A heathen is) somebody who is going against the typical expectations of what it is to be upright and civilized,” Wolfe said. “And so we are taking that and we are making a home for these folks. We are making a space where we can all get together and work together, so we are creating a house for the heathens — Heathen Haus.”
“We're just really, really excited to have this space to share with the community and to share what we do with the community. So many people want to know how we do this and we want to teach you.”
For more information about Heathen Haus, check out The Heathenry’s Instagram page.
