Our Story

Sidestreet Arts: An Accidental Gallery

Reta Larson quite inadvertently retired from Pratt and Larson Tile after discovering she had trained everyone so well she no longer had a job to call her own. Retirement loomed bright and seductive....for about two weeks.
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One night while having a glass or two of wine with Greg Klaus (of Greg's on Hawthorne) they ordered a shipping container of light up reindeer for Christmas. Which was great...but unlike Greg, Reta had no store. Just an idea. Fate intervened and John Hurst, the famed restaurant and kitchen designer decided to vacate his office in Reta Larson and Michael Pratt's building on SE 28th.

And just like that Reta had a space that she named Sidestreet Gallery and Gift. For the first few years Reta and Greg often collaborated on buying for their stores. Sadly though, Greg passed away. Reta began to show more local and international arts and crafts. Lisa Leverton joined Reta after the first few years and together they ran the gallery for thirteen years all told.

Retirement, that siren song, reared its head again. Early in 2017, Reta and Michael sold their ceramic tile business, Pratt and Larson Tile, to two of their longtime employees. With Michael retiring from that, Reta decided it was time to try again.

And again she had an idea. She would pass the gallery on to the artists she had come to know and respect. She approached a group of the artists with the idea and Sidestreet Arts, an artist collective, was born.
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Reta Larson and Michael Pratt, both artists, will remain as members of Sidestreet Arts, an artists collective gallery showcasing the fine work of the Northwest's talented artists. Sidestreet Arts took over the location of Sidestreet Gallery on SE 28th at Ash in 2018 and have continued to have First Friday openings. The new gallery hosts member artists, represented artists, and featured artists.