August 2007
Working Downtown: Shaw Family
Grows Up at the Pike Place Market
As a 3-year-old, Casey Shaw followed one rule when at the Pike Place Market. He had to hold on to his mother’s shirt as she walked around the market to sell the family’s craft – Tiffany-style stained glass kaleidoscopes.
Once, when he let go and wandered off, his mother, Sharon Shaw, knew she only had to say three words – “Casey is gone!” – loudly enough for other craft vendors to hear.
“Immediately, around 10 vendors jumped from their stalls and started to look for Casey. It was an extremely scary moment. But I know I could rely on other vendors,” Sharon recalls.
When they found Casey, he was not crying. Neither did he appear scared. He was happily talking to people visiting the marketplace.
Eleven years later, the Shaw family looks back at that incident as one of many that make them thankful for the Pike Place Market. It not only gives them an opportunity to sell their craft, but also gives them a safe and happy place to grow a family.
Growing up in Pike Place Market
Casey, now 14, does not remember getting lost in Pike Place Market as a 3-year-old. He was also too young to remember how his parents set up a playpen next to the family stall for him and his younger brother Devin to play in. But both he and Devin smile at hearing how they unintentionally helped to sell the kaleidoscopes.
The kaleidoscopes are an attraction by themselves – ranging from simple, 5-inch triangular pieces Michael calls “sticks” to multi-faceted pieces crafted in the shapes of frogs, dragonflies or rockets. But so were two cute little kids playing inside the playpen.
“They attracted customers, especially when they start handling the kaleidoscopes,” Sharon says. “It tells customers that the kaleidoscopes, even though designed intricately and made from stained glass, could be handled by kids.”
Besides watching and helping his mother sell kaleidoscopes, Casey remembers playing chase with a girl whose name he can’t remember today. “It’s a fun place,” he says. “You could consider it as a one big playground.”
When he was older and not in school, Casey accompanied his mother to the market, helped set up the stall, and manned it when his mother needed to take a break.
In-between, Casey wandered around the lower levels. He’d often settle in his favorite place, the Golden Age Collectibles, to buy his favorite graphic novels – Narato, Breach and The Gray Man. He also did what he loved doing as a 3-year-old: watching the hundreds of people who pass through the Pike Place Market each day, and talking to some of them.
Casey hates two things about Pike Place Market: the smell at the fish section, and being at the market at 6:30 a.m., especially when the temperature feels like 30 degrees.
Everything else, he loves – and for good reason.
Family – and Craft - Begin at the Market
The Shaw family started at the Pike Place Market.
It was 1985 when Sharon first saw Michael. She was managing Cinnamon Works. He was the new hire at Genzali Produce, moving boxes of fruits and vegetables to and from the cold storage.
“Could I interest you in some hot, sticky buns?” Sharon asked Michael one day.
Michael smiled.
Several dates later, Michael returned the favor. He gave Sharon a stained glass window he’d made.
Sharon was so impressed with Michael’s creation that she encouraged him to pursue a full-time career as a stained glass artist. Michael agreed. Five years later, after working at Seattle Stained Glass designing and creating windows for various local studios, Michael applied for a stall at Pike Place Market.
His application was accepted several months later.
Michael created and sold an assortment of stained glass pieces and a few kaleidoscopes. As a financial back-up, Sharon continued to work at Cinnamon Works. It was a struggle – at least until two years later when they realized a trend. Visitors were more interested in the kaleidoscopes than the stained glass pieces.
“The kaleidoscopes were selling, and what we sold was putting food on the table and paying our bills,” Sharon said. “That’s the time when we realized that we found our niche, and decided to only make and sell kaleidoscopes.”
Sharon quit her job to sell at the market full-time, allowing Michael to concentrate on the design and creation. She also started bringing Casey, and later Devin, to the market with her.
Casey and Devin are not strangers to handling kaleidoscopes. They shouldn’t be. They help create them.
Michael measures and hand-cuts the stained glass using his antique glass cutting tool. He wraps each piece of glass in copper, then solders them together, angling highly reflective surface mirrors to create the kaleidoscopic view.
Casey and Devin help in choosing sheets of stained glass and placing brightly colored semi-precious stones, glass beads and iridized crystal drops into the kaleidoscopes’ tubes.
“I’d be happy if they want to pursue other businesses or careers,” Michael says. “But if they take interest and show initiative in the stained glass business, I’ll teach them.”
Neither Michael nor Sharon force their sons to help make or sell the pieces. Sharon is happy that they both show interest in the family business, helping out in setting up the stall at 6:30 in the morning or manning it when they’re not in school. But she’s happier knowing that the family business keeps them closer together, instead of apart.
More than 16 years of selling kaleidoscopes to happy customers give the Shaw family the option of choosing the days they sell. The rule, according to Sharon and Michael, is to not choose the day when Casey or Devin needs them.
“We don’t plan the family around the business,” Sharon says. “We plan the business around the family.”
To view the kaleidoscope designs or place an order, visit www.michaelshawstainedglass.com/kaleidoscopes.htm or call 206-669-7597.
Mike Leonen is a Lynnwood writer and stay-at-home father of two. He writes a parenting blog at http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com.
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