In Store: Roughing It

The Field House brings
working class back to Ballard.

Photography by Andrew Waits for City Arts.

Virile would be a word to describe it. Robust, perhaps. Strapping. The Field House in Ballard fits all these descriptions. Stout. Hardy. It’s a place where one can find vintage Levi jeans and balls of twine for sale. A place where shoppers can walk out with a Pendleton blanket, a Stanley thermos, a cast-iron skillet, a leather satchel and a handful of mixed nuts or some Boat Street pickles to snack on as they head off to the wilds of the mountains or their quiet homes with quality goods now in their possession.

The brainchild of Nicole Miller, owner of the nearby men’s clothing store Blackbird and of a candy shop just around the corner, the Field House has a no-nonsense, old-time, Steinbeckian feel to it. It’s a place you might expect men to sit in, drinking burnt coffee out of tins, discussing the finer points of field dressing. In fact, that’s not too far from the truth. In the back of the store, classes and workshops are regularly held. Before they make their purchase of high-polish boots or a bottle of sarsaparilla, customers can learn how to start a fire, or churn butter, or cut wood, or appreciate whiskey (call the store for a calendar of events).

Named after a school in South Seattle where Miller’s grandmother took free classes during the Great Depression, the Field House is anything but depressing. Ben, a shop assistant with a shaggy beard, workman pants and hefty boots, helps customers find what they’re looking for even if they didn’t know what it was when they walked in. A bird call, perhaps. Some butcher salt. Beeswax candles. Glass-bottled milk, fresh eggs, a Filson jacket for Washington’s unpredictable weather.

The store, a perfect fit in old industrial Ballard, seems to have been a fixture in the community for decades, even though it’s not yet a year old. Some of the stuff inside, such as the flannel shirts and stiff denims, could very well last customers decades. Some of it, though – the jerky and candy sticks near the register – might not make it all the way home. •

The Field House 5465 Leary Avenue NW, 206.297.6093, blackbirdballard.com