(Image: Thistle & Poppy)

Cute kids in 5-panel hats? This shop is for you (Image: Thistle & Poppy)

The new lights strung up by the neighborhood merchant group will help. So will a burst of color from new 15th Ave E shop Thistle & Poppy.

The Seattle-born new and “reloved” online kids retailer is debuting its first brick and mortar store this weekend in the space left empty by the move of the neighborhood Rudy’s Barbershop up the street. Eventually lined up to be demolished to make way for a new mixed-used development, the current building will be Thistle & Poppy’s real-world home for the foreseeable future.

“Founded in 2022, Thistle & Poppy is an online retailer offering a curated selection of sustainable and heirloom quality goods as well as a collection of vintage and found clothing, toys, books, and objects,” owner Catherine Roth says about the “family concept shop.”

“In our shop you will find an eclectic assortment of offerings: modern kids wear, overalls from the 1990s, high quality wooden toys, vintage denim, supplies for budding artists, apothecary goods, and gift ideas for grown ups.”

Thistle & Poppy is joined by “styling agency” Cuniform as ventures making a temporary home on the block. They might be around awhile given the long timelines for major redevelopment in Seattle. CHS reported here on the latest updates on the project in September as the design review board signed off on a plan to allow the building to rise above the neighborhood’s five-story zoning ending months of debate over the project that will eventually demolish the old 15th Ave E QFC and 1904-built Moore Family building now home to Cuniform, and Thistle & Poppy. Much-loved cornerstore ShopRite, meanwhile, is holding what could be a very long-running going out of business sale

The old QFC? The Punk Rock Flea Market is set up to use the space as a venue for markets and events. The Quality Flea Center will operate through at least the end of the year.

Leaving the space now home to Thistle & Poppy, Rudy’s has moved across the street into a new barber shop inside the newly completed Capitol Hilltop mixed-use development. The street’s longtime waxing salon WaxOn will join the new Rudy’s.

And, while we’re summing it all up, the street is ready for some new energy as Fire Tacos & Cantina is set to expand to Capitol Hill in the old Coastal Kitchen space.

Meanwhile, Thistle & Poppy won’t be alone in the “reloved” fashion space. Consignment shop Creature debuted in a former dry cleaners space next to Victrola in 2022.

As for Thistle & Poppy’s opening weekend, the shop is planning a party. Sunday, the new 15th Ave E store will celebrate its debut with crafts from Wonderspace Workshops and treats from Lowrider Cookie Company.

Thistle & Poppy is located at 428 15th Ave E. Learn more at thistleandpoppy.com.

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