About Us
The OG Piece of Mind was opened in the Spokane Valley by Justin and Dave in October of 1997. I (Justin) was a graduate student in business, living off student loans and some extra-curricular activities. Dave was working odd jobs and looking for something better. After a beer or twelve, we had a drunken epiphany. Unlike most drunk ideas, we actually followed through with this one.
We remodeled a run-down building in an alley behind a local bar, Ichabod’s East, and rolled the dice with our life savings (and those govy loans). I lived in the store for the first year, to cut costs, or maybe because it was stumbling distance from the bar. Dave was merely a smoke signal away. With support from our friends, who thankfully like to burn all day, every day, sales happened. We continually reinvested and before we knew it, we had ourselves a real frickin’ business! Summer currently holds the reigns as manager, and she is doing a fan-fuckin-tastic job!
A few years later, I saw an opportunity to branch out to the other side of town. In October of 2000, Piece of Mind North was opened. With a loan from Grandma, and help from an old friend, the store quickly took shape. And, by being passionate about the art and by making the business a lifestyle (or making the lifestyle a business) I was lucky to find instant success. Instant Karma..
Piece of Mind has been fortunate enough to work with an amazing array of talented artists, the best in the biz, and that alone has made this whole trip worthwhile. Lauren brought new life and energy to the NorthStore by placing more emphasis on the arts.. She continues to run a helluva store and has also helped open the last few. Thanx.!!.
So why not Seattle? Me and another friend Dean had thought that for awhile, now was the time. It was late summer, early fall of ’03, and Dean found a bitchin’ location in Fremont. Two friends, Quinn and Doug were brought on as partners, and the party was on!. Opened in October of 2003, this store started slowly, as the party seemed more important in the early stages. Quinn bought out Dean, I bought Doug out, and it was time to get serious (well, headshop serious anyway.)
Quinn was the man that got the ball rolling. If it wasn’t for Quinn, Fremont might have gone up in smoke (thanks Q!) The Fremont Store has undergone a remodel and is kickin’ even more ass. The store is now bigger, so we can cram even more cool shit onto our shelves, for your smokin’ pleasure. Quinn oversees all Seattle operations and Rachael is our bad-ass store manager.
Back to Spokompton. Dave and I partnered back up on April 20th 2008, to open a little store in Hillyard. Did alright until construction suffocated the small store. It was quickly relocated to the South Hill of Spokane, which proved to be a great move. Shop is doing Awesome! And Soukie is doing a killer job as manager. My wife Estee has become passionate about the glass arts and likes to spend time there as well, so Check it out!
Quinn and I went back to work in Sea-Town. We opened our second Seattle location in the Lake City area, in August of 2008. Sales started strong and are on the rise. Let’s go higher baby! The management of Bones is definitely key.. Great Piece of Mind Family is always growing.
Our first out of state endevor opened on April 20th, 2009. Piece of Mind Missoula is on the map! And this mother-fucker came out swinging!! I set up a killer shop with the help of a new friend/investor Rob and it was an instant hit.!. Yee-Fuckin-Haw!! Sarah runs the show in that town, after Brae recently left... Sarah kicks ass and will most likely oversee future MT stores. Brae lives in Colorado now. Hmmmm?!?
Later that year, Big Dave and I put together a bitchin little store in the Tri-Cities. Opened in October 2009 in Kennewick, the market quickly got saturated and we have decided to put our resources elsewhere.
Back we go to Seattle. Quinn and I opened up on the Ave late December 2009, technically January 2010. This store is a must see gallery style shop, with beer! Blythe moved her ninja-like management skills from LC to this store, and so far the UD location is hot!!
We opened most recently in Lower Queen Anne. Quinn, Big Dave, Josh, Chris and I put together a blazing little joint for Seattle to enjoy. This store is a one of a kind powerhouse.. Very cool vibe. The epitomy of our "Dopest shop around" slogan. Josh is the man on the scene in that location.
I just opened the Crown Jewel of the pieceofmind collection in Portland on 4/20/11 in the Grand Central Building on Belmont. This is one badass son-of-a-bitch.!! Randy Dosher invested and helped open the doors, along with Adam (the GM) an employee from Seattle, Jessyka, and two avid collectors Reed and Camie. PieceofMind PDX boasts what is hands down the finest collection of functional glass art in the Pacific NorthWest. Come check it out for yourself!
Quinns cousin Kirk and I just locked down a location in Boise! The first Piece of Mind in the state of Idaho is set to launch by the beginning of 2012.
-Peace, Love and Waterpipes!!!
