“ Seattle,” says Larry Yaw, “is a city with its own very distinct character. This derives in part from its spectacular setting – the way that hills and bodies of water have shaped the urban fabric – and in part from the fact that people who live there care about their environment and bring tremendous enthusiasm and creativity to making it even better. This is not a place where you think in terms of great days at the mall. Instead you have the opportunity to stroll in splendid downtown area with a mix of old and new buildings, galleries and restaurants. Mature trees line the streets, there’s that marvelous, bracing blend of sea air and freshly roasted coffee. It makes Seattle a wonderful place to go shopping.”
A founder of the Aspen, Colorado based architectural firm Cottle Graybeal Yaw, Yaw has strong ties to the Seattle, having attended college there and having married a Seattle native. “One thing that draws me back,” he says, “is the fact that the city is full of resources for an architect like myself, whose focus is combing contemporary and timeless materials in new and imaginative ways.”
As a prime example he points to Gulassa & Company, located near the Lake Washington Ship Canal. It was founded by craftsman David Gulassa who died this year in a kayaking accident. The team of artisans he assembled, including his business partner, Barette Sheppard, lead designers Stephan Gulassa and Leslie Ross and production foreman Paolo Croatto, is carrying on his remarkable legacy of design and craftsmanship. “They work in wood, metal and glass,” Yaw says, “and I know from personal experience that there’s nothing these people can’t fabricate. They love to collaborate with architects, whether on custom furniture or on architectural details – the tougher the challenge the better – and they display a finesse and a sense of style that is completely of today yet has a real sense of tradition.
“ Shortly before he died David Gulassa designed a suite of architectural furniture using steel, old-growth timber, poured resin, even rubber. It’s worth a visit just to see these stunning pieces.”
Another valuable resource Yaw has found for his architectural work is Norberry Tile, a downtown store run by Katherine and Craig Norberg. “This is a relatively recent find for me,” says Yaw, “and it goes right to the top of my list as an outlet for tile and stone surfaces. Not only do the Norberg’s carry an inventory of the highest quality, they have a broad and thorough knowledge of the entire field that enables them to fill the most difficult custom orders, and to do so on relatively short notice. This is of enormous value to me, since I’m concerned with meeting the specific demands of a client on a strict timetable. But Norberry Tile is also a terrific place for the retail customer looking for something special.”
A few blocks northwest of Norberry Tile is Driscoll Robbins, which specializes in high quality rugs.
“ Driscoll Robbins,” Yaw explains, “has a wonderful eye that was cultivated by his parents, who left the corporate world to become collectors and purveyors of museum quality Oriental rugs. Driscoll opened his own shop four years ago, catering to both designers and discriminating retail buyers. At any given time, the gallery contains a diverse selection of fine carpets, but I am especially interested in Driscoll’s collection of Gabbeh rugs, produced by a once nomadic tribe that trekked through the Zagros Mountains of southwestern Iran, a rather forbidding and remote area.
“ These rugs weren’t much known before the 1970’s,” Yaw adds. “They’re hand-knotted, and the design – some might call them primitive – have a directness that, to my mind, relates very much to contemporary art. Unlike most Persian rugs, they don’t adhere to some highly codified design system. Each Gabbeh rug is unique, the product of the vision of the individual weaver. Several times a year I visit Driscoll to see if he has anything for my own Gabbeh collection.”
A brisk uphill walk will lead a shopper from Driscoll Robbins to the shingled home of Honeychurch Antiques. The building would provide an ideal setting for traditional American furniture, but the Japanese banners fluttering outside promote other expectations that are spectacularly satisfied within.
“ I don’t claim to be a scholar or connoisseur of Asian antiques,” says Yaw, “but I am a great admirer of Far East craftsmanship. Japanese objects in particular. Honeychurch Antiques had its origins in Hong Kong, and the present store was opened more than twenty years ago by John B. Fairman and his wife, Laurie. John keeps the showrooms stocked with superb examples of antique furniture, objects, and textiles, principally Chinese and Japanese. He fills in the provenance and the historical background, which of course adds to my pleasure. Last time I was there I found a vibrant Japanese rag quilt, which had been assembled by textile mill workers from fabric remnants found on the factory floor.”
The couple opened a second store, Glenn Richards, which is run by Laurie Van Dorn Fairman. It features a wider and more affordable range of Asian furnishings and collectables. “She has an eye for the unusual,” says Yaw, “and she travels to many parts of the Pacific Rim and beyond, from the Philippines to India, to uncover the eclectic array of objects and furniture that fills her shop.” Items range from sculptural solid-wood wagon wheels to elegantly simple staved-wood lacquered Chinese lunch boxes.
“ I always seem to find a piece that demands to be bought,” he continues, “either because it compliments a project I’m working on or because I see how it can be adapted to become a piece of furniture. Sometimes just seeing how an object had been constructed by artisans from another culture will inspire me to experiment with a contemporary furniture design. My compulsive self takes over at Glenn Richards. Often I just take a fancy to a piece and figure out what to do with it when I get home.”
Expanding on the pleasures of browsing, Yaw emphasizes that no one should visit Seattle without spending a few hours at Pike Place Market, a nine acre historic district where one can wander through ornate early –twentieth-century arcades admiring work of local craftspeople, purchase Alaskan salmon or locally harvested oysters, sample freshly picked berries or sip cocktails in a fine restaurant which watching the ferries and sailboats crisscrossing the Puget Sound. “Pike Place is an example of what makes Seattle special,” says Larry Yaw. “It’s a city that’s defined by the young creative people who’ve chosen to live there. They feed n the energy of the city and the beauty of the setting, but they give back in a big way, enriching an already rich cultural life. Seattle is full of people who are following their passions and doing work that is world class or rapidly headed there. That’s why I keep going back. It’s a place to recharge your creative batteries.”