Food & Drink
It Takes Two to Kizomba
A sexy dance craze slinks into Seattle.
You’ve swung the West Coast swing, spiced up your salsa and topped off your tango—what’s next? Time to kiss up to kizomba. This Angolan dance style first caught fire in the 1980s, and has since spread across Europe and recently landed in Seattle, at venues such as Century Ballroom (centuryballroom.net), which offers drop-in classes for…
Hello, Kitty
Bellevue Arts Museum herds 155 cats into a fortuitous new exhibit.
Those little waving kitties have become ubiquitous good luck trinkets in Seattle shops—but what exactly do their upraised paws tell us? With Maneki Neko: Japan’s Beckoning Cats—From Talisman to pop icon, Bellevue Arts Museum provides both context and cuteness, exhibiting 155 vintage cats made from ceramic, papier-mâché, wood and stone, as well as several contemporary…
Welcoming Bertha, the World’s Biggest Tunnel Boring Machine
Advice for the new girl.
The world’s largest-diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM) is travelling all the way from Osaka, Japan to dig the two-mile-long tunnel that will replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Named for Seattle’s first and only woman mayor, Bertha Landes (a tough groundbreaker herself), the sharp-toothed, 7,000-ton Bertha may have a little trouble busting through “the Seattle freeze.” We…
South Lake Union to Get Mile-High Tower
Seattle solves density problem "in one fell swoop."
April 1 — Seattle’s booming South Lake Union is about to get taller. In anticipation of a neighborhood up-zone, a developer has dusted-off Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1956 idea of a mile-high tower to handle density. The building will be more than 18 million square feet. As word of the 500-story skyscraper leaked, officials were quick to react….
Yokohama Yankee: An Ex-Pat’s Story about Life in Japan
Seattle Business magazine editor Leslie Helm pens a family history of mixed heritage.
When reporter Leslie Helm (editor of Seattle mag’s sister publication, Seattle Business) began the process of adopting a Japanese baby in 1991, he had no idea that his quest to have children would lead to an intimate acquaintance with his forebears. In his new book, Yokohama Yankee: My Family’s Five Generations as Outsiders in Japan…
Crystalyn Kae is Moving to NYC
First it was Irene Wood, she of the amazing beaded necklaces, who upped and move to Brooklyn last year, and now we’re losing handbag designer Crystalyn Kae to the Big Apple. While we wish them both success of course, alas we can’t help but feel a little bereft at the loss to our accessory design…
Baby & Company Reopens in Remodeled Space
Seattle’s iconic Baby & Company is back home in their spot in the Terminal Sales Building at First Avenue and Virginia Street. After 84 days of construction, the store, opened in 1976 by Baby and Uri Bursten and later purchased by long-time employee Jill Donnelly, features a new full men’s department, luxe dressing rooms, a…
Beauty Break: Oha Skincare
For many years throughout my 20s and early 30s I worked as an herbalist (before becoming a shopping writer, natch) and have been interested primarily in natural beauty products since then. I like to put the purest ingredients possible on my body, just like I like to put the purest food (and best wine) in…
SAM Gets a Big Screen, Spring Break Cocktails and Other Weekend Musts
MUST REFLECTMirrorSeattle Art Museum’s new permanent installation by video artist Doug Aitken is a magnetic mystery. A two-story-tall outdoor LED screen that wraps around the northwest corner of the museum, the high-tech display plays video footage that Aitken filmed around the Northwest. Somehow (magic spell?) the flow of images constantly shifts according to changes in…
Metropolitan Fashion Week
The Seattle-Bellevue Metropolitan Fashion Week is happening April 6 through 13, with an opening night event at Pratt Fine Arts Center and a closing gala at Chihuly Garden and Glass. Produced by fashion show producer and director Eduardo Khawam, the week’s festivities also includes a VIP reception at The Finerie and a Lean Goddess party…
Getting Knitty With it: Vogue Knitting Live! Comes to Town
Just when you thought it was time to retire your winter wools, the leading U.S. knitting event is bringing needle slingers from all over the country to tell you otherwise. Vogue Knitting Live! is making its West Coast debut in Bellevue at the Meydenbauer Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Bellevue April 5 through 7 and is expecting…
Built For Man Dresses the Man (and the Woman) of the Future
Built for Man designer Francisco Hernandez put on an amazing show at the Seattle Asian Art Museum on Tuesday, March 19. The crowd was attractive and well-heeled and the whole event felt very luxe, thanks to the gorgeous building, intriguing art and beautiful male models dressed in sleek, modern and impeccably made clothing. Highlights from…
Stylish Gear for Cyclists
Capitol Hill-based designer puts performance wear on the fashion map.
Fresh off a successful Kickstarter campaign, Capitol Hill–based cyclist and former marketing professional Ann DeOtte aims to put performance wear on the fashion map. The three-piece spring collection for her line Iva Jean (ivajean.com) includes a black skirt ($160), with a stretchy Lycra/polyester fabric that resists fading, moisture and abrasion, and a pleat that gives…