Less than a year working at Walt Disney World, Kenny Paone lost the feeling of any magic in the summer of 2016.

Kenny Paone took the “idea … for an entertainment space and just translated it directly into a (work)shop.” (Photos/Steve Babin)

The infamous Pulse nightclub shooting that killed 49 in Orlando dominated the news. Days later, a 2-year-old toddler was dragged into water by an alligator at Disney World and killed. There were other headline-screaming deaths.

Against that backdrop Paone, working in the entertainment sector of Disney World, was among workers whose hours would be reduced because the company’s Shanghai project was behind schedule and over budget.

The Sunshine State didn’t appear too bright for the native Huntsvillian at the time.

“Shanghai Disneyland was being built at the same time,’’ said Paone, Grissom Class of 2014, who is preparing to open 24/7 makerspace workshop Sanctuary Huntsville. “And so, I got basically hired and trained and then worked there. And then Shanghai was falling through for them. They started cutting our hours, I was one of those people affected and I just couldn’t afford to stay down there anymore. So, I just came back.

“I moved back home with ambitions of opening my own place. I started doing contract work for local theater as well as several other small attractions around town and around the state. It got to the point where I kinda wanted to open my own entertainment venue. Then COVID hit.’’

Undeterred, Paone continued to chase his dream. He said he talked to close friends, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and a real estate agent who had just the right property.

But instead of operating an arts and entertainment-only venue, Paone and friends went in another direction.

Thus was born Sanctuary Huntsville, a membership-driven space for craftsmen and hobbyists where they can work their trade 24 hours, seven days a week, in a creative environment.

“The whole idea is to create a place for a craftsman and hobbyist to come in and have the tools and the basic building materials that you need to make just about anything,’’ Paone said.

There will be seven shops at Sanctuary, which is at 3305 Governors Drive. An orientation will be held near the first of each month with the first to be for the carpentry shop, which is coming soon.

Orientations will ensue for the following:

Mechanics (small circuitry to work on own vehicles).
Photography and video (small scenes, headshots, products and services, learn equipment).
Textiles (leather working, t-shirt printing, crafting).
3D printing (laser printing and engraving, CNC routing).
Audio (reporting, producing and music audio).
Media and design (state-of-the-art computers).

“I was here in Huntsville and we looked, we looked around, we looked at a couple of businesses that were doing similar things, but we didn’t think they were doing it quite right,” Paone said.

“And so, we realized that this was a huge opportunity, and we took the idea I had for an entertainment space and just translated it directly into a shop where creative people and hobbyists could come in and either make new things or make old things like new.’’