Lounge area at The Philosopher's House is used for discussions.
The Philosopher’s House was envisioned by Jessica and Jesse Shelton. Jessica and Jesse have a deep love for new ideas and culture and wanted to find a way to bring a little bit of that diversity of thought into downtown Johnson City.
While the two of them knew the house would be primarily a community center with events and meetup groups, it wasn’t until they were discussing ways to invite new people into the space over Chinese tea on their front porch that the obvious answer hit them: It had to be a tea house.
The house went through a few iterations while construction was still underway. Jessica and Jesse knew they wanted to host programming that would encourage people to engage with new ideas and explore other cultures, but the spirit of the space was still amorphous. Would it be a “center?” A “school?”
One day while walking to the house, Jesse caught a glimpse of the building and its unique nature struck him — instead of forcing the space to align with their vision, they should let the nature of the building itself help guide the vision. The Philosopher’s House, a home for intellectually curious, compassionate people was born.
After construction was finished, Jessica and Jesse started searching for a house manager. They were going to be picky; the manager had to not only share in their vision and values but be the kind of person who would have created the space themselves. It had to be someone who understood the spirit of Johnson City, was dedicated to diversity of thought, and had the strength of personality to drive the ship the Sheltons had spent every day for the last two years building. This was, by far, to be the most important decision of the House’s creation.
Before posting the job to the public, Jessica and Jesse reached out to their network to see if someone they were acquainted with could be that manager. A few applications came in; however, none were an excellent fit. But there was one person whom Jessica and Jesse had heard of, but didn’t know directly, who reached out to show interest. She hadn’t submitted an application, because she didn’t meet the minimum number of years managing in the food and beverage industry, but at Jessica’s encouragement, she applied anyway. When the perfect person comes along, you know, and within five minutes of their interview, Jessica and Jesse knew Ren Allen was the only person they wanted steering their ship.
“Ren came in fully dedicated, putting in long hours and seven-day weeks to get the house up and running. Soon her unique energy started to alter the house — local artists were invited to display their work, plants filled the space, and Ren’s wide circle of community members who are passionate about building a stable and encouraging community showed up to help. We built the house, Ren brought the community,” Jesse says.
The Philosopher’s House offers a variety of programs including meetings for people interested in crafts, drawing, writing and songwriting, as well as concerts, yoga, book clubs, language classes, a chess club, games, storytelling and more.
For more information, visit www.thephilosophershouse.org.
