The Sunday Guide – December

December 3, 2023

INSPIRATION STATEMENT

October 24th was the day we journeyed out from Sun Valley on our 2023 Winter PopUp Tour.

The golden leaves of autumn were still on the trees. We would be on the road for 50 days.

Suddenly, it's almost time to pack it all up and head back to the mountains.

San Fransisco exceeded expectations and Seattle always shows us the love. We slip into our old life so seamlessly. We catch up with friends, eat at our favorite restaurants, and make the effort to enjoy all the things we love about Seattle. It's the perfect amount of Urban Time to balance out our life in the country. We love and need them both. One makes us love the other.

We are READY to go back home to the Wood River Valley… it really is a magical season: Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.

A TRIBUTE TO TWO OF MY MOST FAVORITE FASHION MUSES

KATHERINE OLSON | DAVID HEWITT

Seattle lost two incredible icons that each left an indelible mark on the city that they called home. They also left an indelible mark on me.

I had the great pleasure of dressing both of them since 1987, when I joined Baby & Company.

Baby & Company has always been a magnet for local artists, creatives, and cultural change makers. Dressing someone for over 30 years, you understandably get to know them very well. We dress them for the happiest and sometimes the saddest days of their lives: weddings, anniversaries, graduations, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, funerals, divorces, baby showers, vacations, and, and, and...

So yes, we get to experience so many wonderful and sometimes sensitive times with our most treasured clients. We learn from them and they learn from us. It can be professional or personal. A deep and natural fondness and admiration is obviously formed over several decades. Yes, I dressed both Katherine and David for three decades.

Katherine Olson

1942–2023

I loved dressing Katherine. She brought such grace and fine form to everything she wore. I loved visiting with her in the quiet of our dressing rooms on a rainy afternoon. Choosing outfits for trips or events. Laughing and catching up on current events or topics of interest. Politics, art, restaurants, family, sports, and of course, fashion.

We were members at the same gym and would see each other at the pool. At the time I was training for triathlons. Katherine decided she would like to celebrate her 60th birthday by doing a triathlon. We became training buddies and indeed, our girl completed her 60th birthday wish.

We shared a love of so many things.

I will never forget the effect of her presence.

Swim along now….

SEATTLE TIMES OBITUARY

David Hewitt

1936–2023

David was one of my favorite people on the planet. He had been a part of our Baby & Company family since we opened in the late 70s. He had been my personal muse since I started at Baby in 1987.

David's eye for beauty, form, and fashion was always a constant inspiration, and an ever evolving education towards art and culture in all the mediums he touched.

David loved a well-dressed anything; he so admired the smallest details of fine design. He loved the cleverness of things and the relevance design brought to the body, the street, the home, the car, and to the community at large. We would have wonderful discussions and consults on a variety of subjects.

We launched a Who is Baby marketing campaign in 2012 as a way to introduce ourselves to our e-commerce customers and new residents. We chose a few of our customers who we felt authentically embodied the essence of WHO Baby is – stylish, witty, smart, artistic, curious, passionate, adventurous, and thoughtful.

Well of course, we chose David to be one of our muses - He was all of it wrapped up in a gorgeous black coat, siting in a fast red car next to his best gal.

Yep, he was most certainly Baby!

David's influence and contributions changed the city, and will remain his legacy for evermore. Read his obituary to understand the breadth of his work and influence in the field of architecture and public spaces.

DJC: OBITUARY