Ballard DIY venue the Josephine surpassed its fundraising goal of $9,000 yesterday. As of September 1, lease-holders/talent-bookers Malaki Stahl and Olivia Mendez's music/arts performance space had garnered $9,265 in 13 days. As reported on Slog last month, the Josephine plans to become a legitimate all-ages venue as well as host a recording studio, electronics repair shop, and a record store (Jigsaw Records).
In an email interview, Stahl says that the next step will be paying off the Josephine's outstanding debt to the landlord and filling out extensive permit work with the city. After that, Chris McFarlane, who is running the record store, will try "to get some permits pushed through the zoning change for the front part of the building to be turned into the record store. [Former Stranger contributor] Kenneth Piekarski has been slowly but surely creating his recording studio, so I'm sure he will be doing business soon, as well.
"The point at which we have shows is probably four-five steps away, in that there's so many other things that need to be put in place," Stahl continues. "But now it can all begin happening, rather than waiting in limbo. I wish I had a clear opening date, but I will go out in a limb and say Chris said his goal is to be open before Christmas for the potential business boost of those sales. I do know that everyone involved has basically hit the ground running, since it was the debt erasure that was making any forward progress a questionable investment."
You can still contribute to the Josephine's GoFundMe here.
