The old bookstore on 15th Ave. E is being covered with thrifted afghans! If you’re not sure what bookstore I’m talking about, it was called Horizon Books and is set back from the street a little bit and surrounded by a chain link fence between Republican and Harrison on Capitol Hill. It is the last remaining intact house on the 400 block of 15th and has been vacant since 2009.

On my walk this morning, I noticed a couple of people outside the shop and I was curious to know what they were up to. I had seen the beginnings of a lovely art installation underway earlier this week, and now was my chance to get some information. I stopped and chatted with the pair whose names are Luke and Hanna for a minute, and asked them a few questions about the project. The bookstore has recently sold and the new owners hired Luke to make the outside pretty temporarily while the future shop plans get rolling.

I didn’t delve further in to questions about the new ownership, but wanted to know if there would be a party to celebrate all their hard work when the project was complete. Luke told me I was the second person to ask about that. He also invited me to stay and help out, which I had to pass up cuz I was in the middle of laundry and off to work shortly thereafter.

I realized after I left that I had seen Luke’s work before at Mad Houses last summer…and at Vermillion over the winter…and setting up for Seattle Art Museum’s Set the Table in the Sculpture Park earlier this summer. Luke’s a busy guy who makes pretty cool stuff. Hanna is his new assistant! You can follow him on Twitter here, or like him on Facebook here, or check out his website here.

Crossing my fingers the next Capitol Hill Art Walk will include a rad party at the newly decorated bookstore!

If you are interested in learning more about the future of Horizon Books, check out this article Capitol Hill Seattle posted back in May.