Since its opening in September 2010, Ketch has been featured in just about every glossy magazine and fashion blog in the area and interestingly, it’s not just the fashion that brings people into this Ballard avenue boutique.

“Plenty of people come in here just to look at the interior design,” said owner Stephanie Kaldestad. “And that’s fine with me.

The interior design sports a industrial maritime theme.

“I wanted my boutique to stand out from other boutiques in Seattle,” she said.

A perfect fit for Ballard, the nautical interior of the shop also pays homage to her own family’s maritime history.

Kaldestad’s grandfather came from Norway and was one of the pioneers in Seattle’s crabbing industry. Blue prints from his boat now decorate the walls inside Ketch, jeans are displayed in big cylinders mounted to the wall, and the counter is made from the decking of an old crabbing boat. The high Skylight is adorned with dozens of glistening handheld mirrors hanging on wire.

“It’s industry chic,” Kaldestad said.

Her grandfather’s business was taken over by her father and when asked if she had ever expressed any interest in the family’s fishing business Kaldestad said that even if she had, it wasn’t really an option.
“I don’t think any parent wants their kid to go into the fishing business. It’s very dangerous,” she explained.

Instead, Kaldestad attended Seattle Pacific University for a degree in biology. But four years in, she decided it suppressed her creative side.

“I decided I didn’t want to go down that avenue. I’ve always been creative but I had been stuck in a lab for four years,” she said.

She took a fashion course “just to try it out”. It stuck and with a plan in mind for a future fashion shop of her own, Kaldestad moved on to New York CIty where she attended Parson’s School of Design.

A job at Nordstrom brought her back to Seattle and in 2010 she decided to take all she’d learned - the ins-and-out of running a story, her creativity, and five years of experience in New York fashion - to open a shop of her own.

In Ketch, Kaldestad’s creative side comes out in the way she assembles various clothing items and combines them to make the perfect Seattle-ensemble - something she calls, “urban New York fashion meets L.A. laid back.”

“In Seattle, we like to be comfortable,” Kaldestad explained. “We want pieces that can transfer from work into the night.”

Her variety of jeans, Equiptment silk shirts, super soft screen tees and fashionable hoodies with northwest-inspired designs by Poppy & Moe do just that.

Kaldestad said despite the current economy her higher-end boutique is doing fine and she receives a lot of foot traffic.

“Ballard is just such a great community, she said. “It has historical value and Ballard Ave especially, is an unique neighborhood.”

Kaldestad is getting ready to transition into a Spring Sale and to start offering an online catalogue.

Ketch is open daily and is located at 5317 Ballard Avenue.

(Click on photo to start slideshow)