my northwest WHO:
kate harmer Creative director and founder, Hum Creative
WHERE: Elm Coffee Roasters, Seattle Photographed by NATE WATTERS
Ever since she launched the design and branding studio Hum Creative in 2010, Kate Harmer has steadily expanded her creative footprint. Hum started in a small spare room in Harmer’s North Seattle house, but as her staff and portfolio grew, she knocked down a wall to merge two additional bedrooms into workspace. Soon “85 percent of my home was my office, and eight people had keys to my front door,” she recalls. It was time for a change. So in 2014, the Hum crew, drawn to Pioneer Square’s burgeoning design community, moved to a bright and spacious brick-walled loft in the neighborhood. “I love the energy here right now,” Harmer says. “Pioneer Square is growing rapidly but still has edge and a lot of historic character.” When she needs fresh perspective on a project or to just “shake loose,” as she puts it, she walks down the street to Elm Coffee Roasters, a chic coffee shop that doubles as an impromptu community center. “Every time I go, I run into photographers, creative directors, freelancers, and people from agencies like Digital Kitchen and Tether. It’s a hub of creative energy—an extension of what I hoped this neighborhood would be when we moved here.” ❈
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GRAY ISSUE No. TWENTY-THREE