Better Get Your Souvenir
The most beautiful shop in Ballard is closing soon.
Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Jan 13, 2011 at 06:00AM
10 Comments
Slideshow: Parting is such sweet sorrow. Souvenir in Ballard is closing soon, but don’t despair: Owner/artist Curtis Steiner says it won’t be the last you see of him.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Souvenir is beloved by the curious for its curiosities.
View Slideshow » Illustration:A show of beautifully narrative paper sculpture by Patty Grazini is currently on view inside the boutique.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Steiner doesn’t yet know what his next venture will be, but it will include his rescued, often recrafted antique jewelry as well as jewelry by other artists. The cards? He is less sure if the cards will reappear. (Hint: Buy a card now; one day it’ll be a collector’s piece. A souvenir.)
View Slideshow » Illustration:The middle cases are in mourning too; they’re draped in black gauzy fabric.
Curtis Steiner is wearing a black arm band over a black cardigan. He’s in mourning. His shop, Souvenir, isn’t exactly dead, but it wouldn’t be incorrect to say it’s dying. The beloved antiques, jewelry, gifts, and ephemera shop will be closed after February 6.
There’s never been a sign or sandwich board announcing Souvenir. The curious are drawn in by the nuanced, evocative windows. Right now the windows are draped in black and dimly lit; inside, twin gothic/romantic depictions of the situation elicit heavy sighs and saddened gasps as shoppers and fans happen by. In the right-hand space, lines from W.H. Auden’s Stop All the Clocks (in gorgeous script, of course) set the tone; more succinctly worded signage on the left lays it out a little more plainly – well, not too plainly. First you must get past the Latin words for, “Horse before the cart.”
Here’s the situation as the shop owner explains it: Steiner’s landlord is keen to capitalize on the ever-growing popularity of the neighborhood. He owns spaces above the shop that currently lay fallow. What is now (one supposes) a dusty attic-like no man’s land could be parceled into (one supposes) $467k condo units. The landlord believes that to get to those spaces and renovate them, he needs to install an elevator shaft where Steiner’s intricate art cards and meticulously recrafted antique jewelry are now displayed.
When I was at the store the other evening, Steiner pointed to a sloped ceiling above his counter and noted the stairway. An elevator doesn’t seem immediately imperative. It doesn’t seem worth kicking out such a treasured tenant. It does seem a little cart-before-horse-ish. But there you have it. It’s what’s being done.
Mind you, the black armband business is not done without a sense of humor. Steiner isn’t seething. He doesn’t even seem all that bitter. And yes, he does plan to open another shop eventually – though it won’t be Souvenir II. He isn’t sure yet what it will be – or where it will be, though to a hopeful neighbor who assumed he’d stay in the area he replied, ’There’s a whole big world outside of Ballard’ (breaking news to many a resident of 24th Ave NW).
Stay tuned for news of Steiner’s next initiative. I asked him to keep me, and us, abreast.
The slideshow here will give you a small view on the shop’s final days, but most of you will want to take a closer , longer, slower look in person. And there’s this: Fans of the store know that each year on Super Bowl Sunday, Steiner hosts a garage sale. He is doing it this year – on February 6 – and he says it’ll be bigger and better than ever, due to the, well, death in the family. Word to the wise: Bigger and better than ever means that more than the usual 60 or 70 people will be lined up outside before the doors open at 9a.m.
Another word: A garage sale is no time to say goodbye. Make sure to stop by before game day.
Tags: New, Soon, and Gone, Retail News, Souvenir
Travesty.
This broke my heart when I heard. How silly that the landlord wants to capitalize on the popularity of the neighborhood while kicking out one of the reasons Ballard is popular and interesting in the first place.
Just tell Curtis he’s welcome to come down here to Columbia City where rents are still reasonable and the people are also pretty cool. We’d love to have him!!
This store is world class. What a crying shame the landlord is prioritizing an elevator. The world outside of Ballard will be larger when Curtis opens a store elsewhere. And Ballard will be smaller when he leaves.
Souvenir has been an anchor making Ballard Ave the coolest street in Seattle. It is a shame. What’s next…Gap or Banana Republic?
Cool to see all the support for Souvenir. And not all surprising. Steiner’s new venue is bound to be amazing, though!
From Michigan to Seattle, then a beeline to Souvenir.
Curtis, I will truly miss your unique shop, but your artistry lives on.
From Michigan to Seattle, then a beeline to Souvenir.
Curtis, I will truly miss your unique shop, but your artistry lives on.
Mr. Steiner and his store were featured in the Pacific Northwest section of The Seattle Times in December 2008. I kept the piece because I knew that I would have to visit what seemed to be a store of my dreams. I just recently found the article and was delighted that I had.
But life being life, and knowing that so many local stores have closed in the last five years since I arrived into town, I sat down just now to check. And sure enough as I typed ‘Souvenir into Google, the second result was ‘Souvenir Seattle closes’. And that was nearly five months ago.
I am so sorry I never saw this dreamy store. So sorry.
I am SO SO sad….it is my favorite stop when I come back home. I will be sure to come when I am home at the end of the month and pick up my own personal Souvenir. I wish I could come back for the garage sale that I just found out existed (had I known I would have always come for it—but that is what I get for being a seattlite exile). Best wishes to you Mr. Steiner and I look forward to seeing your next amazing move!!