How’d you get into making and decorating pies?

When I moved to Seattle two years ago, I was job hunting and had some extra time on my hands. I stumbled across some images of really pretty pies on Pinterest that spurred me to wonder if I could make a pie. My first pie was a plaid lattice design and it was fine. It didn’t immediately change my life or anything.

I [made] pies on and off over the next year, mostly as a way to use up the amazing produce we get here in Seattle. … I gravitated towards geometric and linear designs because it was something different and easy for me to execute. I have designs inspired by bamboo purses, bathroom tile, and lawn chairs, so inspiration is truly everywhere for me.

You’ve started hosting pie-making and -decorating classes. What have you loved most about sharing your art with others?

I love sharing the accessibility of my designs. They look deceptively complicated but it’s been fun to see people’s faces when they realize how easy it is and how proud they feel when they’ve successful replicated something like my signature spoke or a slate of tangrams.

We have to ask: Would you ever consider selling your pies en masse?

Nope. I love the creative freedom of being able to develop a new design every time I bake. Additionally, many of my creations are fairly time-intensive, so I’m not interested in producing them in wholesale quantities nor would I be able to price my labor accordingly without charging something price for a pie. I’m happy just baking for fun at home!

Where are the two places you’d take an out-of-town guest?

How to choose just two?! It depends on the season and the guest, of course, but two of my favorite things to do with visitors: chirashi bowls at Musashi’s [in Wallingford] and a jaunt on the water taxi.

What’s your favorite hidden gem in our city?

JarrBar [in downtown]. It makes me nostalgic for leisurely afternoons spent in Spain. Plus, txakoli and sardines!

What’s the best advice you ever got from someone about living in Seattle?

Don’t tell anyone you’re from California. Haha!

What are five Seattle people or orgs everyone should know about?

• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project: @NWIRP
• Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, @wscadv: “I started my career as a social worker with a nonprofit serving survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. The work WSCADV does is so important.”
• Book Larder, @booklarder: “It’s my ideal space and I just want to live there — full kitchen, big windows, walls of cookbooks.”
• Linda Miller Nicholson, @saltyseattle: “She is sassy and she does insane things with pasta.”
• Ashley Rodriguez (@ashrod) and her new venture, Kitchen Unnecessary (@kitchenunnecessary): “To me, she is the embodiment of the PNW.”

Know of a Seattleite doing awesome things around our city? Hit reply to let us know, and we might feature them in a future edition.  

‘Challenging optics.’ The west wing of the King County Corrections Center is getting a renovation, but not in a way you’d expect. County leaders are planning to convert the vacant downtown wing into a 24-hour homeless shelter that will have bunks and cots, showers, bathrooms, and laundry facilities. But while Seattle seriously needs more shelter spaces, there’s worry about the message it’ll send to folks living homeless when they’d be sleeping in a former jail. King County Executive Dow Constantine told Seattle Magazine that while some people may not choose to use the new shelter for that reason, it’ll still be a good alternative for others sleeping outdoors. Real Change founder Tim Harris has gone back and forth on the issue. “With homeless people dying in record numbers, and winter breathing chill and rain down their necks,” he wrote in a recent column, “we can’t afford to dismiss any option.” (Seattle Magazine, Real Change)

Where’d the fish-gobblers go? Douglas and Julie McCrea were used to seeing (and hearing) sea lions when they kayaked near the Ballard Locks. But now they’re gone. What’s the deal? KUOW reporters Deborah Wang and Matt Martin dive into the mystery in the latest episode of SoundQs. 🌊 (KUOW)

Out with an ‘irrevocable judgement.’ Our state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that sentencing a child to life in prison without a chance for parole is unconstitutional. Judges said that sentencing “constitutes cruel punishment” that’s “at odds with what we know about children’s capacity for change.” This is the second big criminal justice ruling our state’s highest court made this month after its decision to strike down our state’s death penalty was announced last Thursday. (The Seattle Times, Slate)

Calling all twinkle toes. As baseball season winds down, something new is coming to take our Mariners’ place at Safeco Field: ice skating. And it’s not just a rink — it’s a whole holiday extravaganza called Enchant Christmas, which includes a 350-foot-long ice skating trail, a light maze, and a Christmas market. It opens November 23 and runs ‘til December 30. ⛸ (Q13 Fox)

Want to see Amy Schumer? She’s coming to the Paramount on Saturday, Nov. 24, and your friends would be so jealous. Set a reminder: Tix go on sale today at 10 a.m. 🎟 (Ticketmaster)

WANT TO DO SOMETHING FUN THIS WEEKEND?

We update our calendar of rad events (that thing up there ☝️) every Monday. And throughout the week, y’all help keep us in the know about more great to-do’s you’re excited about.

Reader Nicole Steinbok wanted to make sure folks know about this fun sing-along happening on Sunday at Unexpected Productions in downtown. It’s called Sing It Seattle! and this week’s edition is going Halloween-y with “The Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Thanks for the rec, Nicole! 😄

Another awesome thing we found: Diagon Alley. Yes, it’s from the Harry Potter books, yes, a guy from Ballard built an amazing replica of it last year, and yes, it’s being reborn at Camp Korey’s fall festival tomorrow in Mt. Vernon.

And before we forget, congrats to reader Jamie Oakes, who found our five misspellings in yesterday’s newsletter and won a pack of special edition Evergrey stickers. 🌟

Have a great weekend, Seattle. — The Evergrey