We explore what makes humans connect, and amplify it in local communities.
Hearthwell Lab is a small New Zealand social enterprise. We build things that bring people together — in the real world, in public places, in front of each other.
Genuine connection makes life better, and for a lot of people it still feels out of reach. We want better connected, more empowered communities — built one at a time around lasting hearthwells: places warm enough to gather around and open enough that the warmth travels outward.
What we’re doing now
We’re reaching out to research institutions and local community groups: people who study how humans connect, and people who make it happen every day. If that sounds like you, we’d love to talk.
Get in touchAbout us
Two friends, and one question from two sides: how do people really connect, and how do you help it happen?
Sherry
CEO · Chief Hearth Builder
Sherry asks too many questions. Since her early twenties, that habit has brought her hundreds of life stories from strangers, and those encounters changed her life. She volunteers with community groups and with organisations that support vulnerable people, and started Hearthwell so more people get to feel that same magic.
Jon
CXO · Chief Hearth Minder
Jon has spent decades asking how people connect in ways they remember: a board game he ran for other kids in primary school, a poetry and drawing zine in high school, then multimedia and social-connection projects at art school. He still builds for people on the internet, having shipped products at frog design, Windows Phone, and Twitter. At Hearthwell he’s building the bridge to the real world, so connection happens where people already are.
Want to work with us, or just say hello?
Get in touch