The Ye Olde Curiosity Shop is proud to have done business with the Williams family for the past one hundred years.

Before the Space Needle. Before Woodland Park Zoo. Before the Seattle Aquarium. There was my Great Grandfather, Sam Williams. Who lived in a canoe camp and carved Nitinat Totem Poles at the Duwamish River. 

When Joseph Edward Standley set up his curio, ‘ye Olde Curiosity Shop” on the waterfront in 1899 he relied heavily on Sam Williams carvings, even requesting Sam to carve exclusively for his shop. More than a century later, Totem Poles continue to be a hallmark of Ye old Curiosity shops image as well as the “brand” of Seattle.  Today the stock and shop itself remains heavily dependent for totem pole inventory on local carvers, many of them Sam’s dependents, including Rick & EagleSon. According to Stadleys Grandson Joe James, during all his years associated with the shop, Williams family members have provided over half of its totem poles. 

Today the totem pole is an icon of Native art that ties to our spiritual and cultural heritage as well as a ubiquitous symbol appropriated into both Canadian and American life and popular culture. All Native poles are tied to a culture impacted by colonialism. How then do we look at cultural productions design to satisfy commerce based on an interaction between colonists and the people they colonized?

We can expect to find artistic and cultural value in the hands that carve stories into a Totem pole. To this day the Family of Stadley and Sam continue their mutually beneficial relationship under capitalism. Rick and Eagleson work on-site at the Ye Olde Curiosity shop often carving with only their pocket knives on view to the public.

The Williams family continues to work at Ye Olde Curiosity Shop continuing a family legacy of over 100 years. You can purchase rare totem poles or visit and watch them working live. Check out the site for more details.