Most of us know that when you visit the market on a busy day the main arcade with all the day stalls will be so crowded you can barely walk. Want to escape those crowds? Venture down to the lower levels. That's right, Pike Place Market is huge (nine acres to be exact) and if you don't leave the top floor you'll never discover all the fun that is below.
We decided to give you a nice teaser of the shops on the lower levels to get you started on your adventure.
Here are our top ten places to shop in the "underbelly" of Pike Place Market:
Chocolate spice and indi chocolate
1. indi chocolate
On the 5th floor of Pike Place Market sits a wonderful little shop selling hand-crafted, small batch chocolate. If you love chocolate and shopping local, well then this is the place for you.
Insider Tip: They are expanding into a larger space in the market in 2017 and visitors will be able to view their whole production process, so keep an eye out for that!
The cool designs of Slow Loris
2. Slow Loris
Jessica Lynch is the woman behind almost 100% of what you find in this shop on the 3rd floor. Her talents are diverse and so is her shop. You can get wall prints, t-shirts, hats, bags, and so much more.
Organized chaos at BLMF
3. BLMF literary Saloon
This place is exploding books. Every surface is covered. It is the best kind of organized chaos and we love getting lost in here. The prices are right and the staff is ready to help you find your next book to fall into, just watch out that you don't fall over that stack in the corner trying to get to it!
Movie scripts galore at Golden Age Collectibles
4. Golden Age Collectibles
Golden Age Collectibles draws people into their shop in the most genius of ways: life-size cutouts. You can't miss them as you walk around the 4th floor because Han Solo and Daryl Dixon won't let you! Once you're inside you'll find everything you need to feel young again from The Goonies movie script to rare comic books.
Colorful skull at Cintli
5. Cintli by Beto Yarce
Cintli has everything you need for your Day of the Dead alter as well as unique Mexican jewelry and fun Mexican crafts. It also might be the most colorful shop in Pike Place Market, which always draws us in.
Paper toys at Chin Music Press
6. Chin Music Press
This small publishing house focuses on primarily Japanese authors. Their studio holds not only all of their beautiful books but beautiful artwork as well. It's an incredibly unique and cool space which everyone should check out.
Orange Dracula's pin festish
7. Orange Dracula
This shop is quirky and amazing. You can play Pac-Man, shop their wide selection of pins, or find great gag-gifts (Squirrel underwear anyone?). We covered Orange Dracula in another post because they have one of the few working film photo booths left in Seattle.
8. Gem Heaven
Gem Heaven is like no other place in the market. While it’s a small shop, it doesn’t skimp on variety and sells a wide assortment of beautiful gems, rocks, geodes, fossils, and crystals. We love reading the signs that explain how each gem promotes wellness, and if the signs don’t answer your questions, the lovely shop keepers can.
Get your fortune told at the Market Magic Shop! Elvis knows best.
9. Market Magic Shop
We covered this shop for April Fools Day, but honestly it's fun year round. If you have a curious kid inside of you we promise you'll have a blast rummaging through the Market Magic Shop. And if you are wondering if the Elvis Fortune Teller is legit, the answer is yes. Yes he is.
Lots of gift options at Ventures HandCrafted Gifts
10. Ventures HandCrafted Gifts
This is our go-to place for gifts when we need something useful and unique. Our mothers have their dish towels and our friends have their art. The best part is you are not only walking away with a locally-produced item, you can also sleep well knowing you helped support a store that makes it part of its mission to coach the young entrepreneurs that make the goods featured in the store. Two thumbs up, Ventures!
