Tag Archives: manufacturing

With its tiny Suzette storefront and production design studio, Moop Shop makes a new home on Capitol Hill

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(Image: Moop Shop)

By Jadenne Radoc Cabahug, CHS reporting intern

Suzette by Moop Shop found a new home on Capitol Hill on 11th Ave for a production space with a tiny storefront. Along with the new energy from the relocation and full commitment to Seattle from its Pittsburgh origins, Moop Shop and owner Wendy Downs are looking to expand beyond selling bags.

In 2019, Moop opened a popup shop on Chophouse Row as a beta test to see how they’d like it in Seattle. The 15-year-old company has now chosen a full move from Pittsburgh for family reasons as well as the energy and vibes of Capitol Hill.

“We loved the neighborhood, people’s interactions, and space, all those things,” Downs said.

After the popup shop, Downs said they were planning to move to Seattle, but the pandemic put a halt to the big move.

Suzette is now located in a second floor suite above 11th Ave and up the staircase where customers will find a tiny storefront where they can shop for weather resistant backpacks, crossbody bags, tote and clutches. The shop also carries other bag brands, notebooks, water thermoses, skincare, toiletries, travel needs, and others. In the back of the store, customers will get a behind the scenes look at the design and production process with the industrial sewing machines, fabrics and tools used to make Moop’s items. Continue reading →

New Capitol Hill Heritage Distilling tasting room will add to flow of Pike/Pine small batch booze

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Capitol Hill's new Heritage Distilling tasting room won't be on the scale of the Gig Harbor HQ but it will still produce a steady flow of small batch spirits (Image: Heritage Distilling)

Capitol Hill’s new Heritage Distilling tasting room won’t be on the scale of the Gig Harbor HQ but it will still produce a steady flow of small batch spirits (Image: Heritage Distilling)

In August, CHS reported on the plans for Gig Harbor’s Heritage Distilling to open a new Pike/Pine tasting room. The neighborhood’s hooch manufacturing sector, it turns out, will also get a boost.

Heritage owner and master distiller Justin Stiefel tells CHS the project moving into the Central Agency building on the backside of Pike/Pine will be “doing everything you would expect distillery to do – distillation in site, barrel aging, blending. Flavoring and bottling.” Continue reading →

Taking on the likes of La Marzocco, MAVAM Espresso crafting custom machines in Pike/Pine

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As one longtime Pike/Pine coffee roaster plans an inter-neighborhood move, a business involved in another aspect of coffee manufacturing is making its debut just down the block.

“I wanted to build a machine that was designed by a technician, not an engineer”

Two well-established espresso experts quietly launched their custom commercial espresso machine business MAVAM Espresso last month underneath Vermillion on 11th Ave amid Pike/Pine’s fertile coffee roasting grounds.

MAVAM co-founder Michael Gregory Myers is no stranger to working under the hood of coffee shop espresso machines. He spends his days servicing coffee appliances as the second generation partner of Seattle’s Michaelo Espresso parts and service company.

For two years, Myers has spent his free time in the 11th Ave underground shop building a machine that comes as close as possible to maintaining perfect temperature stability. The key, he says, is ensuring that the machine’s boiler, piping, and head components all maintain an even temperature to ensure maximum consistency pour to pour.

As someone who spends his time servicing machines, Myers said designing an easily serviceable product was also a top priority.

“I wanted to build a machine that was designed by a technician, not an engineer,” he said. Continue reading →