Leather is on-trend big time this fall and Bellevue Collection’s Independent Designer Showcase and EMP’s Worn to Be Wild have reminded us that one of our most prolific and talented Seattle designers, Carole McClellan, has been using leather (and fur) for years, designing stage clothing for many of our homegrown rockers (Heart, Chris Cornell, etc.)…

As we approach the holiday season—when food is plentiful and the spirit of giving is encouraged—consider enriching a few lives by donating some pocket change to the White Center Food Bank for their first ever “Milk Money” drive. Launched on October 20th, this program will help the food bank purchase milk for over 20,000 local…

Believe it or not, despite it’s current badass persona, the leather jacket hasn’t always been a symbol of toughness and unfettered sexuality lingering on the cusp of the underbelly of popular culture. In its new exhibit, “Worn To Be Wild: The Black Leather Jacket”, the EMP traces this classic American icon through its roots as…

Shoppers can count on Essenza in Fremont for exquisite jewelry, refined kids’ stuff and candles, perfume and skincare from the finest lines, including Diptyque, Fresh and now, Kahina Giving Beauty, an organic argan oil-based luxury skincare company that helps protect and support the community from which it originates, the Berber women who run the argan…

Singer Elizabeth Mitchell has been on our radar since 2006, when we heard an NPR interview with her during the release of her album, You Are My Little Bird. We were immediately smitten. It’s hard not to be captivated by the singer (and her band, which includes her husband Daniel Littleton and daughter Storey) whose music…

Jeweler Kimberly Baker, whose work ranges from tough to feminine, trendy to mystical, and has been worn by many a celebrity during her 15 year career, is returning to retail (her flagship Fremont shop closed earlier this year) with a new space near Green Lake. Hurrah for us all! Baker is sharing her new spot,…

Jeweler Cat McCadden (whose Grace Gow line of shoulder-grazing earrings had us swooning when they hit the scene in 2010) is teaming up with business partner, Paul Mendes, on a new exciting retail venture on Capitol Hill called Style Syndicate 206. Part clothing and home goods shop (vintage and new) and part Grace Gow showroom,…

Madison Valley’s River Song is one of our favorite jewelry shops. Not only does owner and jeweler River Burke make the most amazing jewelry from semi-precious stones, she travels the world to find them, adding a worldly cache to everything she creates. Burke returns from her travels with equally amazing, rare and unique gifts and…

If you missed the Hermès Festival of Crafts last February at The Bravern, where a traveling group of artisans set up workshop in the Bravern’s Exhibition Space and blew viewers’ minds with their skilled fine craftsmanship, now’s your chance to see something else amazing from this iconic French design house, this time with a nod…

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, join Julie Gralow, MD, director of WE-CAN—the Women’s Empowerment Cancer Advocacy Network, a collaboration with Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, UW Medicine and Fred Hutch—and Elizabeth Roberts (formerly Wraphabillement) at Canopy Blue on Thursday, October 28 from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. for a Holiday Trunk Show. Shop Canopy Blue’s breezy…

Ballard’s not the only place to find Scandinavian style with a Pacific Northwest nod. Splendid Avenue, a charming web shop owned by Swedes Monika and Ewa (they prefer to keep things on a first name basis), stocked with fine quality Northern European goods, for home and body, provides shoppers with high style and a classic…

Cute as a button pretty much sums up Mignon Kitchen Co., an online home goods shop based in Seattle and run by talented graphic designer and jewelry maker, Rachel Ball. Mignon, or “cute” in French, is an apt name for this sweet shop, stocked with affordable treasures and tools that make preparing, eating and enjoying…