We recently connected with Aidan Meany and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Aidan , thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
The Impossible Art Store opened its doors on February 17th of this year, as the first artist-driven market for the highest quality handmade goods being produced in Cleveland. Cleveland has always been an art-centric city full of talent, however, those with the spotlight have often been chosen with little regard for merit. Impossible was started by myself and Jack Romer, both of us have been artists in the local scene for almost a decade. It was in our decision to make being artists/designers a full-time career when we learned of all the necessary gaps that needed filling in Cleveland’s social, music, art and retail scene.
I am a fashion/product designer by trade and have grown up with a background in sewing/soft goods. I launched my sustainable apparel company, focused on bringing circular garment manufacturing at scale back to the United States, and in particular Cleveland (as it was once the second largest garment producer for the country back in the 20s, 30s) in October of 2022. In light of the success Found Surface was achieving, my long-time creative partner, Jack Romer (also senior designer at Found Surface), and I arrived upon a real estate opportunity to build our first brick and mortar store. After some meditation on the best way to utilize the space (located at 2901 Detroit Ave. on the corner of Detroit and W. 29th), we decided the proper utilization of the space was to open it up as a creative hub, to nurture the necessary collaboration, conversation and platforming of talented artists Cleveland so desperately needed.
The Impossible Art Store is an art store, creative + social space made to support designers & artists through a curated selection rotating goods, gallery space and public event calendar. We are open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday from 10am-7pm.
All goods sold in the shop are on consignment at a rate of the creators choosing. Therefore, every vendor is receiving adequate compensation for their work, whereas, most retail stores automatically take 50% consignment no questions asked. This is very important to Jack and I, as we have first hand seen how difficult it is to make being an artist, designer or artisan a full time job in the city of Cleveland.
Impossible hosts gallery shows for artists and sells their work without taking a single cut from the sale of work. As it should be. Our space even hosts up to 7-band live concerts where we guarantee all members get paid higher than the average rate for shows at local venues.
All of this works because people need high quality art in their life. Impossible has been financially successful, even while operating seemingly as a non-profit. We are funded through Found Surface, received zero grants, and have had a larger impact on the community than most of the leading art galleries and non-profits in existence today.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a 22 year old artist, designer and founder of, Found Surface + The Impossible Art Store located in Cleveland, Ohio. My start in fashion began when I was 14 years old. My grandmother had taught me how to sew as a chore (fixing holes, replacing buttons, etc.), but I quickly saw this practice as something larger and more interesting than it was presented. This led me to a sewing mentor, whom I worked with for 4 years during my high school years. During this time, I held the first ever fashion shows at my school, Saint Ignatius (an all boys catholic college prep high school). I then attended Syracuse University for Industrial and Interaction design and took a leave of absence after completing my second year to pursue Found Surface full-time.
Found Surface (foundsurface.com @foundsurface) is a circular garment company that manufactures clothing transparently and sustainably 100% in the USA. With the mission to revitalize Cleveland’s once thriving garment industry. The vision for this company was born out of seeing first hand how little we produce domestically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Supply chain issues were brought to the surface, and this was what I saw as an opportunity for me to contribute to significant positive-change. Some practices I am particular proud of achieving at Found Surface are:
1. 100% made in the United States. Even our hardware, packaging, and tags.
2. Multi-generation family businesses working together.
3. Human & planet focused lens of creation.
4. Unisex + universal.
5. Zero waste packaging.
6. Carbon-neutral shipping through custom, real-time offsets for every customer.
7. Using color selecting robots to minimize waste with low-impact dyes, and water recycling in our dyeing facilities.
8. Creating cotton-like thread and fill, from recycled plastic water bottles, to construct our garments out of.
9. Reclaiming fiber waste, from textile knitting & turning it into biodegradable tote bags.
As mentioned earlier, the space where we opened the Impossible Art Store was originally brought up as an opportunity for a Found Surface retail store, and after thinking about how we could give Cleveland the largest boost for the art community, it was clear starting Impossible was the right move. Impossible is the name of a clothing brand Jack Romer and I started when we were just beginning to entertain our interests in fashion together at the ages of 15 and 19.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The significance of virality. The launch of Impossible was a moment when myself and my team turned our heads away from social media + digital marketing and focused on real life communities. We spent significantly less time on Instagram/Google and started making hosting dance events, live music, gallery shows. The crowds only grew and the sales only grew. We worked with large digital marketing companies for Found Surface and saw very disappointing returns until you had a budget higher than $2m+, and even then its all a numbers game. There is no real community being built, just casting a blind net without creating any actual relationship with your customer. Our investment in a physical space to meet real people, and create real relationships generated a much higher ROI than any digital marketing we invested in by a landslide, in addition to the success of the primary goal: grow and connect the Cleveland art + design community.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Found Surface has grown to a team of 11 members (working on both Found Surface and The Impossible Art Store), since its launch in October of 2022. This has been an adjustment that has only been possible through trust, flexibility and openness to new ideas. We have filled positions in sales, sustainability, production management, design primarily, and a key goal I would attribute to our success in team-building is only filling roles with individuals who feel like their full-potential and talents are being met in their particular role. If they lose interest, it’s game over. I am pleased to say that everyone at Found Surface/impossible feels like their being challenged, playing to their strengths, and a part of something exciting. Being a part of a new company comes with hiccups and challenges of course, but if there is an underlying respect and understanding that we need each other, any road-block will be surpassable. Hire experts, then LET THEM BE EXPERTS. I very rarely say no to new ideas, because those ideas need to be tested in order for us to come to a conclusion. This allows for exciting new discoveries, ideas and experiences for all of us. 
Contact Info:
- Website: foundsurface.com
- Instagram: @foundsurface @shop.impossible @aidanmeany
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidan-meany-930413195/
- Twitter: @foundsurface
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKnLbhB___I
- Other: https://goo.gl/maps/S11n7cuDntLzEL3D7
Image Credits
Johnny Mon, Ben Friend, Aidan Meany, Ethan Lindenberger