[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: Kelli Lemon, owner of Urban Hang Suite
“I have secured a building-
and it’s a vanilla box, now what?”
How it Happened
This is the question owner Kelli Lemon found herself asking in 2017 when looking for ways to take her dream of opening a café and make it real. Through a few fateful conversations and connections, Kelli was introduced to Ryan Rinn, Storefront for Community Design’s past Executive Director. Kelli later applied for Design Session, Storefront’s one-on-one low-cost design and planning assistance program. We were able to walk Kelli through a conceptual design study that ultimately helped take her passion and vision and bring it to life.
Interview Part 1: How it Happened
“It was very humbling, it was very inspiring. Storefront facilitates the outcome.”
Reaction to Storefront’s Process
Once Kelli talked through her needs with Storefront, we connected her to a volunteer architecture team (Citizen HKS) who took her through the Design Session process. Storefront volunteers developed concept sketches and precedent images, or mood boards, that would kickstart her process to build her idea into reality.
Interview Part 2: Reaction to Storefront’s Process
“This is a Brave Space, because
we are really challenging the norms…”
The Impact
Urban Hang Suite opened its doors in fall 2018 at the corner of 3rd and Broad Street of downtown Richmond. Today it operates as a social hub for Jackson Ward, the Arts District, and Downtown; an area Kelli endearingly refers to as ‘the 3 corners where culture meet’.
Kelli is grateful that the concept helped her transform that vanilla box into a constant conduit for conversation and connection. She refers to the cafe as a “brave space” that celebrates humanity by embracing diversity. When asked how Storefront was integral to bringing the café to life, Kelli had the following insights:
Interview Part 3: The Impact and What you Should Know about Storefront for Community Design
Storefront is proud to have partnered with Kelli and Citizen HKS. We continue to cheer on the success of Urban Hang Suite where Kelli and her staff are paying it forward by changing the Richmond community one cup of coffee at a time!
About Storefront’s Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance
Storefront’s low-cost design and planning assistance program includes our Design Session Studio and Community Engagement Studio. Since 2011, we have completed over 325 design sessions and over 25 community engagement initiatives. Over the past decade, this program has provided hundreds of Richmonders design and planning assistance at a low-cost that is subsidized by our generous supporters.
Are you a resident, youth or young adult, non-profit organization, neighborhood, or City staff member with an idea and interested to get connected to our low-cost design and planning assistance program? Storefront recently launched a new program menu for our low-cost design and planning assistance program to make it easier for community partners to get involved. Learn more about Storefront’s programs today.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to continue providing low-cost design and planning assistance. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future