Thursday, January 03, 2008

Form Follows Function

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Photo & Text Copyright 2008 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

Another distinctive set of store door handles presented themselves. . . Who knew that "branding" would so often go right down to a store's door handles? Yes, that IS a real ice ax encased in resin, and when grasped and pulled it will give you entrance to the flagship store of REI Co-op (Recreation Equipment, Inc.), the outdoor activities enthusiast's paradise located in the Cascade/South Lake Union neighborhood. This store is remarkable and really worth seeing if you are visiting Seattle. REI began as a humble mountaineering gear buying coop and expanded over the years, first to Berkeley, CA, and then to many other sites. It is one of those household names like Boeing, Starbucks, Alaska Airlines, Nordstrom, Microsoft, and Amazon.com that has its roots in Seattle.

5 comments:

Wayne said...

Nice tip of the hat to REI. I remember that store well, and how impressed I was, and how I wanted to go home and make my house look like that. It never did work out. LOL.

Geologychick said...

We visited the store when we were in WA last time. It was great to hang out before heading over to the airport. I recognized the door handles before reading your post. Love the picture! :)

Unknown said...

I'm going to have to check our nearest REI. I didn't notice our handles when I visited!

Michael Salone said...

What I love about your blog Kim is that not only are the photos always excellent, but the captions are brief enough to read and still informative. Thank you!

Kim said...

Wayne, yeah, that post-industrial design meets mountain lodge feeling is hard to capture in a home setting!

Geologychick, Thanks! It is a browser's paradise. I know when my husband would be spending forever looking at bike gear I would cruise all the other departments or take the kids to climb the pillar. Great idea to head there before the airport!

Tien, let me know if they have something similar. I can't remember what the remodeled Berkeley store's handles were.

Michael, Thank you very much for your kind comment. Every now and then I count the lines. I do try to keep it under six. . .but there are many days I DO need a good editor ;^) Thanks for visiting!
-Kim