Really incredible place to get access to any of a myriad of machines that the average person would…read moreotherwise have a hard time getting access to (laser cutters, CNC machines, 3D printers) - and the new ceramics studio is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than any of the surrounding studios in Seattle. The members and staff have been very friendly and welcoming - definitely recommend.

My brother paid $125 for a month membership so I could get some familiarity with 3D printing…read more Attended new member orientation on one of my days off. After that, no instructors were available to teach on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Uncertified members are not allowed to use 3D printers unsupervised. Certifications are only done on Sundays (one of my work days). Jeremy Hanson replied that for a $50 fee, an instructor could come in on one of my days off from work. On the last day of my work week, I had to isolate due to Covid Omicron. When my doctor cleared me to return to work, I followed up with Jeremy but got no response to either of 2 e-mails I sent. I also contacted contact@seattlemakers.org and got no response. I can't say I'd recommend this place to anyone.

I'll start off by sharing a positive experience I had at The Studio Seattle, which was getting to…read morelearn from Hailey Henderson. Hailey is as excellent of an instructor as she is an actor. She clearly loves teaching and is incredibly knowledgeable about acting theory and applications. Hailey has high expectations for her learners and is also deeply compassionate, a perfect combination for creating an effective learning environment. I am immensely grateful to have been able to learn with her. Hailey is the primary instructor for The Studio Seattle, whereas Andrew Tsao is the artistic director and founder. Andrew was going to cover the last several weeks of classes in my Acting Foundations 2 class series, and prior to this he co-taught a class with Hailey. In this class, Andrew had us participate in exercises where we would be improvising interactions with a scene partner. These scenes were meant to be highly realistic- we were playing ourselves and had similar relationships to each other as we do in real life. Our objectives and given circumstances were given to us individually, without our scene partner's (or the class's) knowledge. In one scene, Andrew had one of our male classmates play the role of a sexual predator towards not one, but two of our classmates. When his scene partner responded to his unwanted advances authentically, by attempting to distract the perpetrator and leave, Andrew told her that she was responding incorrectly and that should/would in fact "fight". He also told her that her "avoidance" would be a hindrance to her as an actor. In another scene, part of the given circumstances was that one of my classmates had had an abortion. I followed up with Andrew expressing my concern that not one, but two extremely sensitive topics, particularly for women, were chosen for these exercises. I stated that that the nature of the exercises required us to be ourselves, thereby increasing the level of sensitivity and creating a high potentiality for trauma/re-traumatization. I acknowledged that while actors do work with difficult content, we get to choose and consent to this, which was not an option in this situation (since we did not know our scene partner's backgrounds or objectives). I stated my expectation that content will be more thoughtfully chosen for these exercises moving forward and that learners be made more fully aware of their options. Andrew's initial response acknowledged that he could have been more thoughtful in ensuring everyone was aware that they could opt out of the exercises. He did not address my concerns over the nature of the content itself, other than implying that more experienced actors would have been fine with the content (I have since heard from multiple other acting instructors that this is not at all the case). I responded by saying that I appreciated his effort to improve transparency around opting out of exercises moving forward. I again stated my concern over the content itself, particularly as it relates to women, and expressed skepticism that more experienced actors would have been fine with the content. Overall, I felt like my concerns were dismissed. Andrew responded by disinviting me to continue attending classes at The Studio Seattle. Based on my experience, I'm of the opinion that Andrew Tsao is not interested in feedback as it relates to the safety of his students, particularly women. For this reason, I would caution any woman/female person against taking classes at The Studio Seattle.

I have completed Foundations 1 & 2 at The Studio Seattle and cannot speak highly enough about this…read moreprogram and instructors. Alana's deep understanding of theory and process offers the groundwork to feel comfortable and prepared for the deeper work in Foundations 2, while Aaron has a magical way of balancing thoughtful and respectful lessons with a humility and irreverence that creates a joyful space to learn and try new things. Thank you, Andrew for creating a welcoming, enriching, and intensive space in Seattle.

Makerspace everywhere is amazing! But a 24-hour Makerspace! This is such an amazing resource for…read morethe community!

This is an amazingly well-equipped _nonprofit_ maker space. I drive all the way from Redmond to…read moremake stuff. Before I get into the stuff, I want to point out that the greatest strength of the place is that it's a community. I'm a regular member, and in awe at the work that the volunteers do to make it great for everyone. I try to do my part too. Most of the good stuff is for members only, but they also have regular classes that are open to non-members. Membership covers rent on the space, use and maintenance of equipment, and lots of basic supplies. It's well-equipped enough for advanced makers, and supportive and welcoming enough for newbies. Here's my descriptive tour: The space is in a building with businesses on the ground floor, and apartments above. The front door leads past some salons. The door to the space is on the left near the end of the hall. To get in, members use an RFID key; visitors are let in by a member or just walk in on open house days. There's a large multi-purpose room with big tables and lots of tools and supplies along the walls. The biggest tool in the room is a heavy duty sewing machine; I think it can stitch through leather. There's a door to a deck where members can do outdoor work. The front room opens into a lounge area with more tables and quite a few bookshelves full of books and board games. In the hall, there's a space for members' lockers. Just beyond that is the wood shop, which has all sorts of useful hand tools and power tools. There's a large CNC milling machine that I really want to learn how to use. There's a cool dust-removal system. About the only wood shop tool that I can think of that's absent is a lathe. There's a bathroom with a cool light fixture and the necessary facilities. Around a corner, there's a space for some typical office equipment. Opposite, the 3D printing room has enough filament 3D printers that I've never heard of all of them being busy or out of service at once. There's a resin 3D printer that builds layers through a high-resolution optical process, inside a booth that contains the fumes well enough that its weird smells are imperceptible through the rest of the space. There's a 3D scanner that I want to try out. (Unlike most stuff at the space, 3D printers have a per-hour cost to use, which covers filament and maintenance.) Next is the electronics room. I don't know much about the stuff in there, but every time I've asked about something electronic, someone has told me, "Yeah, we have that." People make cool robot stuff there. The fiber arts room has a computer embroidery machine that I'm looking forward to making stuff with. There's a projection system for cutting fabric from projected digital patterns (instead of old-fashioned tissue paper patterns). There's a lot of other sewing equipment, and stuff for other fiber arts, such as knitting. Across from the fiber arts room is a kitchen, more like an office break room than a full-featured kitchen, but great for making tea or coffee, or warming up snacks from the Safeway across the street. Around another corner is the laser room. It has a Mira 9, a fast, powerful laser cutter with a large workspace (two by three feet). There's also a Glowforge, a desktop sized laser cutter. (Laser cutters have an hourly fee because they're maintenance is expensive.) Finally, there's the Wazer room. What'a Wazer? It's a waterjet cutting machine, which can cut through metal, ceramic, glass, possibly even kryptonite. It uses water at extremely high pressure, with a slurry of garnet abrasive. I want to learn to use it! (It has a fee because maintenance and the garnet are expensive.) The Wazer room opens to a small deck. About the only maker department that isn't well covered is metalworking. A _few_ of the woodworking tools can also be used on metal, the Wazer can cut metal, and the Dremel in the craft zone can be used on metal. But if you want to do welding, forging, heavy-duty bending, casting, and so forth, there aren't a lot of options in metro Seattle. It's also not a ceramics shop. I've been a member for quite a while, which is about as strong an endorsement as I can offer.

I had Shayla design a new logo for my business as well as new business cards with the new logo on…read moreit. They both turned out amazing! Her prices are fair and her turn around time was fast and she is super friendly. I had given her a very broad idea of what I wanted in my new logo and she was able to come up with something I loved that reflected the new focus of my business. 100% recommend for all your design needs!

Seattle Frontrunners has worked with Shayla twice - she designed our newest club logo and a…read moreseparate logo for our largest fundraiser of the year. Shayla is wonderful to work with, both because of her design acumen and her ability to work with people with very different (and competing) perspectives. She has my absolutely highest endorsement! At the outset, she produced concepts that were distinct and original (10 in our last project!), and tweaked them effectively based on feedback she received from our committee. Each time, she came with multiple iterations of each design so we could see how it might look on various platforms. Shayla explained her thought process thoroughly, but in a way that was digestible for non-designers (like me). Even though I'm positive she was "watering down" her language to ensure someone like me understood her, she never made me feel silly or "less than," which I appreciated. In both projects, there are multiple designs we could have chosen and been thrilled with. With Shayla, it was never "what's the one design that's good or right for us," but instead, "each of these designs are awesome - what direction do we want to go in?" That was what we wanted for our organization and the visual possibilities also led to productive conversations about who we are and where we're going. In our first project, we had a ton of voices weighing in (15+ people) and Shayla was gracious and responsive to every person's input. I was wowed by how in subsequent iterations, she referenced specific feedback from most of the people who provided it. I couldn't remember most of the feedback myself! Lastly, Shayla is funny, thoughtful, warm, and friendly. She was really a pleasure to work with. I anticipate we will return to her in a few years when it's time for the next iteration of our logos. President, Seattle Frontrunners

This is a somewhat difficult spot to find with one way streets in the area…read more The Lawrimore Project is a venue for art installations that need a larger space. They don't fit into the business model of a commercial gallery, because well, they wouldn't likely fit in your living room. That makes it all the more valuable as a rare opportunity to regularly see changing installation shows. It's a project of architects who make art and installation too. Through an impressive industrial door is the main room. Further back there is a small artist book shop and smaller galleries, one sporting a kitschy fireplace. It's perfectly in place and out of place at the same time. Lawrimore is revisiting its business model, always a tough call in the art world, see it soon, before they close. Oh, FREE too.

Free. Awesome. Worth a visit. (Keeping this brief 'cause I can't add it to my list of recommended…read moreart galleries without writing a review, but I'll update this with a more useful review later.)

I recently visited the Log House Museum near Alki Beach in West Seattle, and it turned out to be a…read morereally charming and meaningful stop. The museum is built from original local timber--giving it a real sense of authenticity and connection to the area's past. You can really feel the history just being inside. The current exhibit focuses on the West Duwamish Greenbelt, and it's thoughtfully put together with lots of photos and articles that highlight how West Seattle has developed over time. The space is on the smaller side, but it's packed with interesting details--especially about local architecture, early construction, and the people who lived in and used the cabin. One of the highlights of the visit was chatting with Kathy, the docent, who shared some great stories about the museum and the surrounding area. It added a personal touch that made the experience even more memorable. The second floor serves as office space and isn't open to the public. Admission is free, though there's a donation box if you'd like to support the museum. Overall, it's a small but rich slice of West Seattle history--definitely worth a visit if you're near Alki Beach.

Nice one room museum. Kathy, the docent was very knowledgeable and informative about the history…read more of the log house and the history of West Seattle. Plan to spend about half an hour there to appreciate the exhibits and the presentation.

This is located on the main level (street level) when you walk into Pike Place Market (right hand…read morestalls). I don't often stop to look at art in general, however, what intrigued me about actually stopping to look at this person's art is his use of colors. I like how most of his work is focused on Seattle landmarks done semi-abstractly and almost animated. The fine line between real and surreal. My favorite are the market scenes. I've talked to Joe before who is an awesome dude.

The Duwamish longhouse is an event space you can rent. A fair sized parking lot is behind the…read morebuilding. Located on a busy road, it's easy to drive past without noticing, but inside is the history of Puget Sound and the indiginous people who live here. There is no fee to enter. At first I thought it was a gift shop, but several displays with artifacts and photos are to your right. There is a lot of information regarding the original topography, before civil engineers rerouted rivers and installed dams. It also documents how this activity contributed to the demise of some Duwamish people who relied on these waterways for food.. Artifacts include hunting and fishing gear, hand made baskets, herbs used medicinally and fibers used to make cloth are on display with information on how they are used. Very interesting. A lesson on living off the land. Inside the longhouse are photographs and a canoe you can checkout. This longhouse is built as the communal longhouses of the past were with an elevated platform around the edges that would have been used for sitting and sleeping. It's a beautiful space. After we read all the info (there's a lot of info) and looked at all the artifacts we browsed the gift shop and made a few purchases. They have a variety of artisan made products including beautiful blankets, jewelry, note cards and wall art among other things. We chatted with the staff member as we made our purchases. She answered a few questions we had and we chatted about family. She was very pleasant. This is a good stop for learning local history and purchasing local art.

If you live in south Seattle then you know well about the proximity of the Duwamish tribal lands…read more(right under your feet) and that the longhouse, where many events are held, is nearby. We had never gone until this past weekend, though, when they held a craft fair. The longhouse is located very near the industrial port area, on the opposite side of Marginal Way, and is very nicely built (wood) yet small. There are two rooms, that we know. The first houses a museum of sorts. In the second was where they put the crafts and behind that is a small kitchen where they were selling a few items, including the hottest item (basically everyone came for this), the frybread. We felt honored to be hosted by the Duwamish. We picked up a beautiful beaded hummingbird. The reason I do not give five stars is because the space was so small, which made browsing the crafts very difficult. Normally I would have liked to learn so much more about each vendor and their items yet here you were lucky if you could even squish close enough to see or buy anything. A couple of vendor spots were less populated, I think because what they had on offer was less of an "easy" sell - gorgeous ledger art and handmade drums. Recommend a visit.