I guess the sun got fat off of our collective estival merriment to selfishly hibernate through the winter. Today it rained and it was cold. The combination of the weather, waking up early enough to just barely get to work twenty minutes late, and the mere thought of the commute home thereafter totally took it out of me.
Feeling drained and overwhelmed by the idea of the impending monotony, I elected to take a different route home. This proved to be a grave error. A flock of schoolgirls all hopped on the bus at once. A conversational positive-feedback loop ensued; as the tolerable murmurs slowly turned into chatter, and the high-pitched chatter quickly turned into gaiety, and the unbearable gaiety efficiently turned into an implosive feeling deep inside my brain, my facial tissue contorted into a grimace that could have been seen from space, but not by these girls, oh goodness no, not them.
Walking hunchbacked and only semiconscious up Pike St., out of the deepest corner of my periphery I noticed this:
I walked right past it before I realized what I had just seen was something I had never seen before! Backtracking, I gave the place a second look and was quickly beckoned inside. Co-owner/designer, Rachel Ravitch explained that this was her new business, and that today was their first day, and my mood swiftly changed for the better.
Welcome to Scenic Drive Factory.
The concept is pretty simple:
•They have a rotating and ever-changing cast of artists to display their masterpieces.
•They sell bicycle-ready clothing and mercantile goods made from salvaged materials.
•You can rent a sewing machine for $7.00 an hour.
•You get a punch card, pay for ten hours and then you get your eleventh for free!
•For a limited time only, if you get yourself there by bicycle, your first hour on the sewing machine is free, as a thanks for your self-powered efforts.
I'm pretty stoked about this place. I don't personally have enough money to purchase a sewing machine, nor do I ever have enough of a need for one to validate the space it would inevitably consume.
Scenic Drive Factory is open 11:00AM–7:00PM Thursday–Sunday, or by appointment.
Located at 611 E. Pike St. in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.
They can also be found on Facebook, like them and receive the cutest of updates.
