“Edmonds is becoming so artsy,” Rebecca Anjewierden said, “that it made sense to keep current with the changes in the community.”  Anjewierden is changing the name of her consignment clothing store of six years, Designer Consignor, to the hipper, more stylish moniker of Rebekah’s.  “‘Rebekah’s’ better captures my state of mind: sleek, urbane, svelte, sophisticated,” Anjewierden said, “Like my Edmonds customers, in fact, whose taste in art has grown more sophisticated year by year, I’ve noticed.  The new lines I’m bringing in reflect that change in taste.”

Designer Consigner has been a fixture on Main Street in downtown Edmonds for well over two decades.  The store’s name change to Rebekah’s reflects the changing way in which Edmonds has come to see itself as a community.  “The arts scene in Edmonds has grown tremendously,” Downtown Edmonds Merchants Association President Frank Yamamoto said. “This new film festival, the Fashion Show happening every year now…just take the Art Walk alone.  It’s doubled in size the last two years to become one of the largest in the state.”

The Edmonds Third Thursday Art Walk is in its ninth year.  “Certainly, we’ve noticed a more sophisticated approach by art patrons,” Art Walk director Manya Vee commented.  “A few years ago, people would stare at an abstract painting and shrug.  Now, they look at a realistic work and wonder why the artist didn’t paint it more impressionistically.”

The Edmonds arts scene also saw this year the much-discussed founding of a mural society that is raising five murals throughout the downtown this summer.  “While the overall theme this season was A Moment In Time, you’ll note that two of the murals that went up are abstract works,” Edmonds Mural Society spokesman Jeff Stilwell noted.  “And let me tell you, those two works have their advocates.  Pretty fierce ones, too.”

“Mostly, I’m just glad to have the chance to live out my dreams in a city that’s grown so artsy,” Anjewierden said.  “This move to a more chic look is something that I’ve dreamed about for years.  I could never do it without my customers’ patronage.”  Anjewierden, a regular participant in the Art Walk, is also a founder of and currently the volunteer coordinator of the Edmonds Mural Society.

(Story courtesy of Jeff Stilwell for the Edmonds Art Walk)