Go back in time with these Northwest businesses - Analog Special
From handmade clothing to a bakery using an oven over 100 years old, we're featuring several places around the PNW doing things the old-fashioned way. #k5evening
Technology has advanced to do some amazing things, and it certainly won't stop advancing anytime soon. Despite making our lives easier, it can also be really overwhelming sometimes!
We decided to take a break from fancy gadgets and computers and take a look at a few businesses around the Pacific Northwest doing things the old-fashioned way.
Grab a bite and explore other worlds at Mox Boarding House in Bellevue
In an increasingly digital world, analog tabletop gaming continues to grow in popularity.
Mox Boarding House has locations in Bellevue, Seattle, and Portland and is opening a fourth spot in Chandler, Arizona.
The multi-purpose game store features retail space with every imaginable tabletop game, places for guests to play, and on-site dining.
“Mox is a place that is very much about having a community and building a community,” said manager Ash Rosenbloom. "I think there's something very unique and very valuable about being able to sit down, clear from distractions and just enjoy a couple of hours or even just one hour with that face time.”
Seattle Tailor fuses centuries old traditions with current technology to create one of a kind suits
At Sew Generously in Seattle's Pioneer Square, David Pew is in constant pursuit of perfection.
"They say tailoring is a craft that takes two life times to learn, which I agree with," Pew explained. "I'm always pushing myself a little harder, always just a little harder."
Pew said when it comes to tailoring, the idea of Bespoke goes beyond what many people think.
"It refers to tailoring that's done by hand in the old way and using very little machine. There is almost no fusing glue of any kind or anything like that. We use the sewing machines only for the long straight seems and side seems and for the pockets," Pew shared. "We sew the pockets half by machine and half by hand to get the best of both worlds."
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A retail and manufacturing store in Georgetown creates handcrafted, durable kitchenware
One of the things you often hear about the "good old days" is that things were made to last.
Two Seattle brothers have made the same commitment with their business, Hardmill.
Owner Ryan Barrie used to work in a restaurant in college, which helped him realize his love for cooking. He had the idea of making aprons when was looking for a sturdy apron to wear at home but couldn’t find what he was looking for. Ryan brought this idea to his brother, Michael. They teamed up and founded Hardmill four years ago.
“A lot of our stuff isn’t really automated machines, it still requires a lot manual input” Michael said. “An old technique that really hasn’t been outmatched.”
This Cle Elum oven has never cooled in 112 years
The bakers rise early so the dough can, too.
"I'll wake up about 1:15 or 1:30 a.m. and be here by 2:00," said Nick Osmonovich, a baker at the Cle Elum Bakery.
It's been that way here in central Washington for more than 100 years. The big brick oven at the bakery was first fired up in 1906. If you were to cut the gas supply, it would take days to lose its heat and it never has. Not once in 112 years.
"It's never cooled down," said Nick's dad, Ivan Osmonovich, the bakery's owner.
Ivan keeps on cooking, too. He started working here at the age of five.
"Cookie tester," he joked about his earliest job.
He took over the bakery when he was 20, just after his father passed away.
"We've rearranged a few things, but not much," he said.
Free art draws crowds of collectors in Tacoma
It happens around sunset one random evening a month. A treasure hunt in the streets of Tacoma.
“I think it’s just a cool thing you only find here,” said Joe Vasiliauskas.”Free art basically on telephone poles".
There are crowds gathering on a 6th Avenue sidewalk and people screaming with joy.
The cause of all this commotion: limited edition, hand crafted, letterpress posters designed by a guerilla art project, created by graphic designer Lance Kagey and writer Tom Llewellyn. They call themselves Beautiful Angle.
“I think we had the original idea that we would be the Banksys of Tacoma, the shepherd fairies that would go out in the dark of night,” Llewellyn said. “It just kind of evolved into its own thing.”
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