Hive started with a simple belief: that small businesses can do more than sell goods — they can create connection, belonging, and a sense of place. For years on South Tacoma Way, that belief showed up in every workshop hosted, every local maker welcomed to a market, every customer who became a regular and then a friend. We built something real there, and we're proud of it.

This past winter, circumstances beyond our control forced us to close that chapter. (If you want the full story, you can read more here.) It was hard — the kind of hard that makes you question everything and then, if you're lucky, clarifies what you actually care about. For us, what became clear was this: Hive was never just a location. It's an idea, a community, and a commitment. And it deserved to continue.

So we are choosing to do more than reopen. We are choosing to evolve.

We are currently in the middle of a full build-out of our new Tacoma home at 504 S 11th Street, and we plan to open later this Spring. The Hive you'll walk into will feel familiar in the ways that matter — warm, intentional, rooted in the South Sound — and more focused than before. Fewer products, chosen with greater care. A refillery at the center of the shop, not the sidelines. An even deeper commitment to local makers and sustainable goods. And the same belief we started with: that the things you choose for everyday life can be beautiful, good for your community, and worth paying attention to.

In the background, we are also working on a few things we're genuinely excited about. A subscription box that puts Pacific Northwest makers front and center — a curated way to discover local goods, delivered to your door on a rhythm that feels good. And a concierge shopping service for when you want a little help: finding the right gift for someone you love, stocking your home with things that actually work and last, or just letting someone who thinks about this stuff all day do the thinking for you.

Building this next chapter takes real resources. We're starting it carrying debt from the winter while also funding a full build-out from scratch — and that's what this GoFundMe is for. Your support helps cover the remaining build-out, some of our legal fees, restocking inventory for opening day, and launching the refillery program in conjunction with local makers.

If Hive has ever been a place that mattered to you — a workshop you took, a gift you found, a maker you discovered, or just a shop you were glad existed in Tacoma — any amount has a direct and huge impact on whether we get to keep things going. And if giving isn't possible right now, sharing with one person who loves small businesses means just as much.

Truly, Hive has never just belonged to me or my family. It belongs to the community and the local makers who inspire us so much.

With so much love and gratitude,

Michele & family