Where can I buy a less generic flower vase in Seattle?

April 20, 2008 4:47 PM

Where can one buy a beautiful flower vase that was not made in China? I would like to support a local Seattle artisan, but I am also willing to order online if it's love at first sight.

We finally started hanging art on the walls of the apartment and putting more effort into living in a pretty, non-IKEA showroom home. We buy fresh flowers from Pike Place Market every Sunday and suddenly our plain flower vase looks exceedingly ugly.

Several years ago I was able to buy a gorgeous bud vase at an art studio sale in Houston, and since then I have found myself reluctant to buy genericana from places like Crate&Barrel or Williams Sonoma, if strictly on principle. Please recommend your favorite flower-vase making artists in Seattle or show me links to studios who don't sell their handmade stoneware/glassware to, well, Crate&Barrel.

posted by halogen to home & garden (6 answers total)

Try Etsy. It's a crafter's heaven, and there are plenty of potters represented. Some might even be in your neck of the woods. You can search by geographic area. With the Alchemy feature you can request custom pieces and incite a bidding war.
[full disclosure: I have a shop front with Etsy myself, but currently not much pottery, and no vases.]
posted by ikahime at 5:02 PM on April 20, 2008

You can try antique stores and flea markets. I have no idea if it is still there, but there used to be a vintage kitchenware and ceramics shop in belltown. You should be able to find a unique beautiful piece in a shop of that sort - and antiques don't (usually) carry any political or corporate baggage.
posted by gyusan at 5:17 PM on April 20, 2008

I love Sara Paloma's work. It looks like a couple of places in Seattle sell her stuff; scroll to the bottom of this page to see where. She also sells her pottery on Etsy, which, like ikahime said, is a great place to shop.
posted by kitty teeth at 5:21 PM on April 20, 2008

Ditto Etsy.
posted by limeonaire at 5:27 PM on April 20, 2008

There is a nice gallery at Seattle Center which features the work of local Seattle artists. It's very reasonably priced, and there's a huge selection. I'd tell you the name if I could remember it, but I can't.

There are also often pottery sales on Alki beach, at the artist's studio which is on the south side of the beach where all the happening things are going on. And even if you go to Alki and there's no sale, it's a beautiful place to spend the day. The best thing in the world is to go downtown, take the water taxi (it leaves from a dock near Ivar's, costs $2 I think) to West Seattle, take the free shuttle to Alki Beach, and hang out at Alki. Eat at a little restaurant, hang out on the beach, walk slowly back to the water taxi dock, take the water taxi back to downtown, go to Pike Place, buy flowers and dinner, and go home. Heaven. Heaven.
posted by Capri at 5:28 PM on April 20, 2008

You live in the (current) glass capital of the US! There are SO many glass blowing artists looking for your patronage. To support non-profit, try the gallery at Seattle Glassblowing. There's also Art By Fire and Edge of Glass,. All of these places have galleries AND offer glassblowing classes, so you can even create your own vase after some time in the studio. Try Avalon Glassworks for a nice selection also.

And while you're at it, check out the Glass Art Society's links to member studios.

I commend you on wanting to support local artists! Hooray! Sorry for the glass bias, but glassblowing used to be my career and I miss it very much!

Good luck!
posted by cachondeo45 at 5:46 PM on April 20, 2008