Lifestyle
The Industry Expander: Jamila Conley
This former tech executive champions diversity in the wine industry.
In 2023, Jamila Conley attended a winemaker’s dinner in Seattle, and as the night commenced, she was surprised that out of the nine winemakers in attendance, only two were familiar to her. “It was a celebration of Black women and wine,” she recalls. “I’m someone who loves wine and has a strong passion for diversity,…
The Boys of Summer: The Mariners
The team that united the city.
Eight outs. That’s what stood between the 2025 Seattle Mariners and the franchise’s first World Series appearance. Eight outs to end a 48-year wait. We all know what happened next, and while that Game 7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays is going to sting for a while, that’s only because of the way this…
We’re in a Pickle
Kings of the court.
Unlike some trends, the popularity of pickleball has only increased with time. Here in Washington, the birthplace of the game, we’ve seen a recent wave of new facilities dedicated to the state’s official sport. Last October, Sideout Tsunami Pickleball Center opened in Mt. Baker with 26 state-of-the-art courts that offer instant video replays sent straight…
The Positive Influence: Michelle Merriweather
A community builder inspired to lead a legacy organization.
Urban league of Metropolitan Seattle (ULMS) CEO Michelle Merriweather traces her commitment to civic work back to her high school history class in suburban Los Angeles. Over 30 years removed from Moorpark High School, she continues to refer to her history teacher by the formal Mr. Jones (first name Larry), in reverence to her mentor…
The Hip-Hop Kid: Yonny
The 25-year-old artist looking to lead the Northwest scene.
Yonny laughs when he admits he hadn’t been to he Crocodile, Neumos, or Barboza until after he’d already started performing. “I’ve lived here my whole life,” he says. “But I never really went to any shows. The Seattle scene was something I only really discovered in 2022.” That same year, he met producer Evan George,…
How Hosting Is Changing in 2026
Seattle event planner Reneille Velez on the end of champagne escort walls and the return of thoughtful hosting.
Reneille Velez spends her days thinking about how people arrive in a room. Not just where they hang their coats or grab a drink, but how those first moments feel—the lighting, the sound, the sense that someone thought carefully about what it would be like to walk through the door. As the founder of GIAN,…
The Restaurateur: Lily Wu
The food-forward entrepreneur with a heart for community.
There has never been a grand, overarching plan guiding Lily Wu’s life. Indeed, from her childhood in a small village in northeast China to her standing as one of Seattle’s rising-star restaurant owners, everything has unfolded step by step, but whenever a chance came along, she never hesitated to take it. “I come from a…
The Record-Breaker: Skylar Diggins
The standout Storm player advocating for women in sports.
Skylar Diggins was a star before she ever touched down in Seattle. She’d won an Olympic gold medal in 2020, been named a WNBA All-Star six times, and pioneered a new era of marketing opportunities. She was the first women’s basketball player to have more than 1 million followers on Instagram and one of the…
The Rise of the Experience Economy
REI brings back guided travel, betting that memories matter more than stuff.
In my household, with two young boys under the age of five, we often have to remind them to take things back. Did you really mean to tell dad that his dinner isn’t good? You might want to take that back. Did your brother deserve to be hit? Let’s rethink that one. Extreme analogies aside,…
The Artist: Shogo Ota
The designer behind some of the city’s most prominent murals—and the poster for its biggest sporting event of the year.
When artist Shogo Ota learned his design had been chosen as Seattle’s official FIFA World Cup poster, he was so surprised that he nearly had to pull his car over. “I couldn’t believe it,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve been making posters for local bands and events for over fifteen years, but this was…
The Cultural Torchbearer: Barbara Earl Thomas
The visual artist representing Seattle around the world.
“When I was a kid, I would lie in bed in the morning and have this feeling that something amazing could happen,” says artist Barbara Earl Thomas. “It didn’t always happen, but there was that feeling that it could. That’s still how it is when you’re in the studio working. It’s just crazy wonderful to…
The Mayor: Katie Wilson
The local leader who shook up the city’s political landscape.
Katie Wilson didn’t start 2025 planning to be mayor. “If you had told me at the beginning of this year that I would be the mayor-elect* right now, I would’ve been like, ‘What are you smoking?’” she says with a laugh. But the February special election changed that. Proposition 1A—a new business tax on high…
Eccentric Scents
Lucky thirteen.
Known for his devotion to beauty and patronage of the arts, King Ludwig II is the strange inspiration behind Immortal Perfumes’ newest scent. Developed by Seattle perfumer (and lover of history and literature) Jen Siems, Swanstone Reverie marks the brand’s 13th anniversary, opening “with the sparkle of champagne and ghostly violets, unfurling into a heart…
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