Happy 114th Birthday, Pike Place Market

Happy Birthday, Pike Place Market! 

August 17 is Pike Place Market’s 114th birthday, and Eighth Generation is happy to celebrate this wonderful community organization and the home of our flagship store. 

Pike Place Market opened August 17, 1907 and is one of the oldest continuously operating public farm markets in the United States. Visiting the Market is a quintessential Seattle experience: Pike Place Market is the thirty-third most visited tourist attraction in the world, and Seattle’s most popular tourist destination with more than 10 million annual visitors. 

Pike Place Market entrance; photo by Daniel Schwen, CC 4.0

Eighth Generation opened our flagship store at the Market on September 17, 2016, officially becoming part of the Pike Place Market experience for Seattle residents and visitors. Situated just off First Avenue and above the famous Gum Wall, we are delighted we can share, in person, our beautiful Native-designed wool blankets, cotton throws, jewelry, accessories, and more with an international audience. 

One of the reasons Eighth Generation is so happy to have our flagship store at the Market is because their mission is grounded in service, just like our own. In addition to the market stalls full of local food, colorful flowers, and artisan-made goods, Pike Place Market also runs social services to serve greater Downtown residents and neighbors. These services include the Pike Market Senior Center and Food Bank, Pike Market Childcare and Preschool, and Pike Market Clinic. It is this care for community that makes the Market uniquely positioned to be the perfect partner and location for Eighth Generation. 

Eighth Generation storefront at Pike Place Market

Eighth Generation is rooted in service to others. Our work over the years with hundreds of tribal organizations, important community centers like the Seattle Indian Health Board, and countless schools has had an incalculable positive effect on our community and the broader world. We are also proud to have partnered with the Pike Place Market Foundation by selling limited-edition silver “Rachel the Pig” pins to support Market recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Each pin sold directly supports the artisans, makers, farmers, and small businesses of Pike Place Market, with 100% of profits going directly to the foundation. You can purchase a pin on our website or in our Pike Place Market Store.

Serene Lawrence (Ojibwe, Hopi) assists two guests in our Pike Place Market store

“I’m absolutely proud of this,” said Louie Gong (Nooksack), Eighth Generation founder and CEO about opening the Eighth Generation store in Pike Place Market. “It’s probably the best and most organized thing I’ve ever done.” It is incredibly important for our business to be in such a public space visited by people from all over the world and all walks of life because it invites people to physically engage with authentic Native art. In this way, we give guests a strong sense of who our artists are, we share perspectives and conversations about cultural appropriation, we provide ethical and empowering alternatives to “Native-inspired,” and we strengthen our connection within the Seattle and broader community. 

Happy Birthday, Pike Place Market. We are so happy to be part of your story. Here’s to the next 114 years and beyond! 

• Installing the store’s sign at Pike Place Market in August, 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr1rkobEiiU
• Revealing the store at Pike Place Market in September, 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S9GzrGj2eE
• Pike Place Market flagship store opening interview with Louie Gong by Seattle Refined in September, 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEzOMMainIU