Last month, 120 Seattle students had the opportunity to try their hands at different creative trades at the second annual Media Arts Try-a-Trade event at Seattle Central College. Students in Seattle Central College’s Visual Media, Graphic Design, and Apparel Design programs led local high schoolers through different activities, all aimed… [ Keep reading ]
Listen: Origin Story – Bich Kieu Jewelry Bich Kieu Jewelry is a family-owned custom jewelry retailer and repair shop that has been doing business in Seattle for over 25 years—though the business is much older than that. “This is fourth generation—my great grandparents were in the jewelry business in Vietnam,”… [ Keep reading ]
The numbers stacked against women and non-binary startup founders are pretty staggering: women own only 5 percent of venture-backed companies, and for every $1 of venture capital a man raises, a woman raises only $.02. The Female Founders Alliance (FFA) is working to improve those odds by accelerating the success… [ Keep reading ]
Listen: Origin Story – Seattle Capoeira Center If you haven’t heard of Capoeira—an African cultural art from Brazil that combines self-defense, dance, acrobatics and music—then Seattle Capoeira Center owner Syed Taqi wants to change that. “The goal is like, thousands of people playing Capoeira. Hundreds of people walking around with berimbaus, like [people walk around with] yoga… [ Keep reading ]
Listen: Origin Story – QueenCare QueenCare in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood is much more than a beauty supply store. Opened in December 2018, QueenCare employs young women of color and provides them with mentorship, job training and support. On top of all of this, they sell amazing-smelling, all-natural skincare products at the same… [ Keep reading ]
Listen: Origin Story – Works Progress Coworking spaces are an increasingly popular option for small businesses, freelancers and entrepreneurs, and north Seattle businesses don’t have to look far to join a great coworking community. Works Progress is a coworking space located in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, owned and operated by… [ Keep reading ]
Listen: Origin Story – Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon has been a staple of Seattle’s restaurant scene for decades. The nine-time winner of King 5’s Best of Western Washington Best Chinese Restaurant and one of CNN’s 50 best Chinese restaurants in the United States, Snappy Dragon… [ Keep reading ]
Listen: Origin Story – Estelita’s Library The books in Estelita’s Library are not organized by author’s last name, genres, or by any other particular system. “For us the structure is very simple,” says Estelita’s founder and curator, Edwin Lindo. “The door tells you what section of the bookstore this is. It’s Estelita’s Social Justice Library.” The… [ Keep reading ]
You’re looking at the future home of ten Chinatown-International District small businesses, new and old! Last week, Office of Economic Development staff joined our colleagues at the Office of Planning and Community Development and the Department of Neighborhoods for a tour of the historic Louisa Hotel—currently under construction. The Louisa… [ Keep reading ]
Listen: Origin Story – Cortona Café Cortona Café is “a café in Seattle’s Central District that puts community first.” Located on the corner of East Union and 25th, Cortona is a cozy two-story café, art gallery and event space curated for community conversation. Owner Isolynn Dean—who mostly goes by Ice—is… [ Keep reading ]
