We interviewed two of Pike Place Market’s Native Mentors, Rayana White of WithTheRain and Harmony Hoss of Art by Harmony, on how they started selling their work, what inspires them, and lessons to their younger selves.

We launched the Pike Place Market Native Mentor Program as a way for our Native artists to give back to their community and encourage and support local Native creatives in their artistic pursuits. In spring 2024, we launched an ongoing series of informational workshops. The discussion and questions we hear during each event will serve as a guide for our future Native Mentor areas of focus.

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WithTheRain

Rayana White
Tsimshian & Haida
Business: WithTheRain
Rain boot liners & upcycled clothing

Harmony Hoss
Tlingit
Business: Art By Harmony
Original block prints, drawings & beadwork

Can you introduce yourself?

Rayana: I started my business 15 years ago in Ketchikan, Alaska, and I’ve been here at Pike Place Market for ten years. I make rainboot liners, toddler dresses, and onesies. I use mostly upcycled materials.

Harmony: My family is from Juneau, Alaska, but I was born and raised in Seattle. I’ve been creating and selling art for the last 30 years; for the last 16 years, I’ve been at Pike Place Market. I mostly sell native art from my contemporary, original native designs.

How did you get into the arts?

Harmony: I started right after high school, and before coming to the Market, I would sell at local art markets, Pow Wows, and a few art galleries. I grew up in a more traditional house that was more about church and religion. I started creating my own art so that I could have that around me and just have a little bit of my insides match my outsides.

Rayana: I went to school for commercial photography at the Seattle Art Institute. After that, I got a real job doing payroll and HR for a company in Alaska. That’s what I was doing when I started my business, which was a hobby. I was successful at a few festivals and then I started an online business.

What was it like selling at your first show?

Rayana: I was part of the Arts Council in my hometown, and they have some craft shows. At my first festival, I went there with like 30 boot liners, and I sold out halfway through the day and realized, ‘I think I might have something!’ And then at the next arts festival, the same thing happened.

Did you feel like you were prepared?

Rayana: Prices were low. I didn’t really have a tag, I didn’t have any signs just like a makeshift display I borrowed from a friend.

Harmony: I was absolutely not prepared! I was 18 years old. Just graduated high school. I had two folding chairs and a card table. No signs. No nothing! I would talk to people as they came by and sold out that first show. My first show was in the 90s, so t-shirts were a pretty big thing back then. That first show was the first Pow Wow I’d ever been to, but it was something that was happening within that timeframe. It was something that was happening in the area, it was something that was for Natives, and that was selling Native art.

How did you polish your business?

Rayana: I’m lucky because I have a best friend who is a graphic designer. I also went to school to study photography so I could take my own pictures. Taking good pictures, especially online, is one of the most important things to master.

Harmony: I was still so young after my first show. I did something during the summer, and then around Christmas time, I took advantage of getting into every Christmas show from Bellingham to Portland. I worked in early childhood education, while also selling at about one show every week. I think one time I even did a show in the basement of a church on Queen Anne. Some of the smaller shows were a little more fun because you meet people and have all these unexpected things that go on.

How have you stayed inspired over your career so far?

Rayana: I was just doing the rain boot liners when I first started. Then I added the toddler dresses about five years ago and that evened out my seasons. Then last year, I added onesies. The thrift store is what keeps me inspired also other vendors at Pike Place Market.

Harmony: When you’re dealing with the type of art that I do, it can be very restrictive. But that’s an inspirational point. What can I do with it that’s new, that hasn’t been done before?

What advice do you have for your younger self?

Rayana: It is an investment.

Harmony: It’s okay to make mistakes. And don’t put so much pressure on yourself.

Find both Rayana White and Harmony Hoss in Pike Place Market’s Handmade Craft Market.

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