September 2011

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Megan Griffiths

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Megan Griffiths

CHARACTER WITNESS: Indie filmmaker Megan Griffiths gets personal

Filmmaker Megan Griffiths calls herself a “people person.” She’s referring to the energy she gets from interacting with others, but the shorthand label is also an apt description of her moviemaking style. “For me,” Griffiths says, “it’s about the people in the movie.” Strong characters drive her 2010 film The Off Hours, which she wrote,…

The Big Idea

The Big Idea

If money were no object, what one thing would you do to fix Seattle?

Like most who live here, we’re fiercely in love with Seattle—but our love isn’t blind. Along with our singular natural vistas, thriving neighborhoods, leading-edge innovations and savvy, well-read locals, we have hideous transportation issues, under-performing schools and the all too common big-city heartbreakers: homelessness and hunger. If money were no object, what one thing would…

Fall Arts 2011

Fall Arts 2011

Our guide to the very best arts events of the season, plus our 2011 Spotlight Award winners.

Fall. It lands with a sudden, resounding clunk, causing a city-wide knee-jerk reaction: We lament the fact that summer was (way!) too short, and we begin the hunkering-down process, bracing ourselves for winter. But we’re here to suggest another response to the season: Rejoice in the fact that dance, film, music, theater and visual arts…

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Garrett Fisher

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Garrett Fisher

NEW ARIA CODE: Composer Garrett Fisher is creating a new genre of note

Sitting on the living room floor of his modest Capitol Hill home, a cup of tea in hand and a large cat lounging nearby, Garrett Fisher hardly seems poised to upend opera as we know it. But he might just do so. The acclaimed composer has earned accolades nationwide for his fresh approach, blending ancient…

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Kyle Loven

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Kyle Loven

MASTER OF PUPPETS: Kyle Loven performs a magical hand jive

At Kyle Loven’s studio space in Belltown, the worktable is littered with ears—latex ears, which he’s been perfecting for his recent work, When You Point at the Moon. The spooky story is based on Chinese moon mythology that warns, “Don’t point at the moon, or the moon will cut your ears off.” Loven, a skilled…

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Troy Gua

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Troy Gua

POP EYE: Troy Gua turns pop culture into high art

Visual artist Troy Gua wants to be famous. His deadpan stare and signature slicked black topknot are unmistakable at local art gatherings—and often the subject of his own artwork. He’s hung large-scale photographs of himself, fashioned a small sculpture of himself urinating (after the famous “Manneken Pis” in Brussels), and even translated his face into…

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Mandy Greer

Seattle Magazine 2011 Spotlight Award: Mandy Greer

HIGH IN FIBER: Installation artist Mandy Greer weaves dreams from detritus

“This is my eight-year-old dream come true,” says Mandy Greer, surveying her home studio, which her husband (artist Paul Margolis) recently built with a friend in a space adjoining the laundry room. Countless clear plastic tubs are packed to bursting with colorful fabrics. Sparkly garments hang from hooks, as does a furry wolf head and…

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Bri Seeley

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Bri Seeley

The local designer was recognized for "Best Coat" in our 2011 competition.

Bri Seeley (pictured right)Line: Bri Seeley DesignsAvailable at: Spun Sustainable Collective (Capitol Hill); briseeley.com The creative spark: Take Betty Draper and mix her with a dash of Jackie O circa 1970, and you get a visual of Seeley’s effortless, classic aesthetic. “I get a lot of inspiration from history and historic fashions. My grandmother entrusted…

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Angela Allen

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Angela Allen

This Queen-Anne based designer was recognized for "Best Reinterpretation of the Little Black Dress"

Angela Allen (pictured left) Line: Angela Allen DesignAvailable at: angelaallendesigns.com Studying at: New York Fashion Academy, Class of 2011 The creative spark: The Queen Anne–based designer is all about juxtaposition: hard and soft, natural versus industrial. Her tactile, earth-tone designs merge solids with classic patterns like houndstooth. “While I find inspiration in nature for my…

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Kathy Sabin-mensah

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Kathy Sabin-mensah

The local designer took home "Best Evening Wear" in our 2011 competition.

Kathy Sabin-mensah Line: Kréati-KaAvailable at: kreati-ka.comStudying at: New York Fashion Academy, Class of 2011 The creative spark: The 34 year-old French-born designer is all about female empowerment, drawing inspiration from her Euro approach to life and the fierce, raw power she observed in African women while visiting family there several years ago. “Women who wear…

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Banchong Douangphrachanh

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Banchong Douangphrachanh

This Seattle-based designer has sold a garment to Lady Gaga and taken home "Most Innovative Menswear

Banchong Douangphrachanh Line: Banchong DouangphrachanhAvailable at: banchongdesign.com The creative spark: A vivacious ball of energy, Douangphrachanh takes an imaginative, somewhat nautical approach to her men’s suit wear, utilizing unconventional materials like neoprene and Gore-Tex for a sleek upshot. “I was inspired by the regattas in Seattle. I pictured a swarthy, ultramasculine boat captain wearing my…

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Emily Riordan-Roache

Seamless in Seattle Winner: Emily Riordan-Roache

This Vashon-based designer's line was named "Best Nortwest-Inspired" in our 2011 competition.

Riordan Roache Line: Riordan RoacheAvailable at: emilyriordanroache.com The creative spark: Riordan-Roache, 27, exemplifies real Seattle rocker style: Raised in Ballard and later in Port Townsend, her designs are fueled by her love of punk and rock bands (think: Talking Heads and The Fall), and by the rustic Northwest. “I went to Central Saint Martin’s School…