Last week, Mike Ericson made the considerable trip from Des Moines to Ballard, but he didn't come here for lutefisk, or local music or even a new condo. No, what drew him to Ballard was the need to purchase a foam-rubber skeleton and some pickle Band-Aids.

But Ballard store Archie McPhee, purveyor of Ericson's foam skeleton and pickle Band-Aids and uncountable other often overlooked but thoroughly necessary products, will be packing up its more than 10,000 items and leaving the neighborhood behind by mid-2009.

Archie McPhee's landowner Bob Jacobsen Jr. is not renewing their lease because he is possibly looking to sell the land, said Shana Iverson, store manager and 17-year Archie McPhee employee. However, Jacobsen said last Friday afternoon that he is not selling the property.

Iverson said the store was offered a month-to-month lease, but that arrangement is not viable for a business in the long run. She said she wants to make it to clear to people in the community that the store is not closing, simply relocating.

Archie McPhee moved from Fremont to Ballard in 1999 because they needed more space and quickly became a part of the Ballard community, Iverson said. She said the store is a big part of the "Free Ballard" movement, selling shirts and stickers with the phrase on them, and as a tourist destination, brings people into the neighborhood who would have never known about it otherwise.

Ballard has been a great home to the store, and many employees live in the neighborhood, she said.

"We definitely thank Ballard for all these years," Iverson said.

Nancy Neisinger, an Archie McPhee customer, said she is sad to hear the store is leaving because it just seemed to fit the neighborhood's personality.

"It's a tragedy," Neisinger said. "It's a total tragedy. Archie McPhee belongs in Ballard."

Iverson said the company looked for space in Ballard, but was priced out of the area. They have found potential spaces in other neighborhoods though and will definitely stay in Seattle, she said.

"We are sad to leave Ballard," Iverson said. "But we are excited for what our horizons are."

First-time Archie McPhee customer Buddy Smith summed up exactly why any neighborhood will be lucky to inherit the store.

"They have all this cool little stuff you never knew you needed," Smith said. "But there you are bouncing a glow-in-the-dark eyeball."

Michael Harthorne can be reached at 783-1244 or michaelh@robinsonnews.com.