Velocity Art & Design

Wow, a warning would have been nice. I haven’t checked back on the Velocity site for awhile and turns out that their store is closed. I was hoping to use a gift card that was given to me as a present, but now it is useless. Shame that the business had to close though because they had very nice furniture/​décor. I can’t say they are very honest in terms of their business practice however.

Like others, we have orders at Velocity that have gone unfilled. We had a wedding gift registry at Velocity, and two family members purchased in January registry items that were never delivered. Repeated emails to Velocity regarding these orders have gone unanswered, and now there seems to be no way of getting information about these orders. We would have appreciated some warning that the website/​phone/​email (and this registry) was shutting down, but more importantly we’re angry that our family members have been charged for items that were never received.

This website was amazing! Why did it close?!

People here have been helpful, and I have received several e-​mail from people who ordered products from the company, and never received them. The owner, John Tusher, hasn’t returned e-​mails or phone calls (voice mailbox is now full), and none of his stores are open.
I have tried to make contact with him via facebook, with the continued absence in response.
I filed a claim with my bank, which has actually been good. I would suggest anyone in similar circumstances to do the same.
Some messaged me with his address, and gather he is moving from Seattle.
John Tusher is a scam artist. (Hope this shows up in a google search for him).

I am another customer whose credit card got charged right away with the promise to ship in 3 weeks and now they went out of business. I am glad my credit card protects me from these situations and will be requesting the money back from my credit card company.

These guys charged my debit card $ 300 for a purchase I made last week online. Their website now says «The Velocity website is closed» and calls to their corporate number go straight to voicemail. My bank says MasterCard will likely cover the $ 300 I’m out, but I have to wait a month to file a claim.
Seems like they took my money without any intention of ever filling the order. Douchey!
Can anybody in Seattle confirm that they’re out of business?
Update: I’ve received confirmation that their storefront Seattle is cleaned out. They remain unreachable by any channel.
My bank just confirmed that they won’t initiate a dispute until 30 days after the order was processed. I paid with a debit card, so through this whole process, however long it takes, and assuming I prevail in the dispute process, John Tusher, owner of Velocity Art and Design has my money.
John Tusher is a thief.
Just wanted to post that somewhere that google would index forever.

So sad to report, but their brick & mortar shop is soon closing. If you go in now, you might still catch the tail-​end of their 50% racks. Fortunately, they will have an online presence & I’m hoping that since they are in Seattle, maybe they’ll host an occasional sample/​garage-​type sale…

This is honestly one of my favorite stores. I first learned of it from the website and was delighted to find the B&M store when I moved here. The staff is amazing — they have remembered me after months, have gone out of their way to assist me with unusual predicaments (like when I needed two chairs ASAP but they had only one in stock for the color I needed — he suggested I buy one in a different color and exchange it later for another blue one!)
The prices are typical for the merchandise but they have frequent sales, an outlet, and occasional groupons. You can park at REI for free for one hour.

I give them 3.5 stars, but I trend down because of their bad return policy (if and only if you have a receipt, and you can only get store credit, and they’ll only do it if it’s within 30 days of purchase). This return policy makes giving gifts from here difficult. For instance, I purchased the gift 15 days before her birthday. This gave her 15 days from the day she got it to return it for store credit and if she procrastinates like I would, then she’s SOL. For such high-​priced items it would be nice to have some flexibility with returns.
That aside, I like this store! They have modern furniture and interesting pillows, toys, art, and lighting options. Some things arent quite to my taste («gold» figurines, for instance), but mostly it’s modern and tasteful. I love shopping here, even though I’ve only purchased small things as of yet. They have a cool lamp I love for $ 180 and some pretty awesome pillows in the $ 120 range.
Some items you could probably get off
or in local art shops without the markup of this store, but it’s a nice option in the South Lake Union area for sure.

Love what they carry. The furniture is exactly the style I like… I just wish I could afford it! They carry roost too. It’s a great place to get inspiration if you’re trying to decorate your place. They also have cool knickknacks that you may not find elsewhere.
Cute, but pricey.

Ordered 3 light fixtures on May 6, 4 days later received an emailed invoice with a notation that the items will ship in 3 weeks. It is now July 15 and the lights just arrived on my door step (to save you the math, that’s 10 weeks). But only the shade portion of the fixtures arrived, the cords/​bulb socket portion didn’t arrived. Just a hand written note saying that they are back ordered until end of August (which could be potentially another 6 or 7 weeks, or longer considering 3 wks to them is 10 in reality). These pieces were not ordered as separate items: one fixture is the shade and the cord/​socket as a set. Why were the shades even sent? I can’t use them.
My credit card was charged when the order was placed in May. I still have no working fixtures. Calls were placed and messages were left throughout the 10 weeks with no return and no answers. Never an email or call that the lights were backordered.
Although, Velocity Art and Design has a Seattle location, they are mainly an online store. There is just a fraction of their merchandise on-​site and are mostly just home accessories and gift items. A year ago I went in to look at wallpaper they were selling online, and was told that I would have to go home and order samples online. Salesperson told me they are a mostly an online store. How is this possible? I would be surprised if they had any repeat business, I surely won’t be a repeat customer. How do you have an online business and not answer your phone? Or send email updates of backordered items?

Fun fun fun store! The have Falling Water in a Lego set!
Unique selection of glassware, lighting, furniture and accessories. Great selection of mid century modern pieces. This is a must if you are shopping for unique fun pieces for your home or just looking for a special gift. The have Roost glasses, I haven’t seen these in many stores in Seattle.
Staff was great, friendly and helpful!

I’m such a sucker for this store. I’ll spend an hour here and walk out with something small like napkin rings.
Great furniture, great books (on furniture, great home accessories, great everything!
If you’re into mid century modern furniture, modern furniture, or if you’re just a gadget geek — you’ll find lots to look at here. Sleek sofas, practical placemats, decorative decals for the wall, cutlery, dishes, lighting, and more.
Some items are on the pricey side but everything is well crafted and worth the money.

This place has an online store, but DO NOT ORDER ONLINE FROM THEM.
They will immediately charge your credit card, but not actually send you what you have paid for. No updates. No emails. You call them, voicemail, no response.
3 weeks have gone by and no sign that what I was charged for is shipped, or backordered, or out of stock, or discontinued, or anything, despite my repeated attempts to contact them through multiple channels.
I am considering flying to Seattle, going to their store, and «accidentally» knocking over a shelf of whatever off-​white minimalist ceramic bullshit looks to be the most expensive. Oops! Oh well, let me get an ugly ass Columbia fleece vest and a fucking latte and fly home.
The place is clearly owned by some scatterbrained aesthete who thinks they are too precious to actually run their business.
I want my money back, assholes.

I ordered a product from Velocity which took over 1 month to arrive. It took two emails and two phone calls to actually get an answer to where my order was. They apologized for the delay, but still charged me for shipping for waiting so stinkin long. Overall I like their products, but I was thoroughly irritated with their service.

Okay, what’s not to love?
This contemporary-​retro shop has beautiful furnishings for the home and perfect gifts.
Lamps and place mats, coffee tables and accessories.
All sorts of things you can convince yourself that you need.
I was well disciplined.

This store is amazing and adorable and I want to live in it.
Too bad everything costs about a billion dollars. You know… $ 30 coffee mugs, $ 200 books, $ 75 paperweights. But if I had money, I’d totally buy a ton of their stuff. They even have an adorable puppy running around the store. I think her name is Penny.
I can’t give it more than 3 stars (okay, fine, 3.5) due to the ridiculous-​ness of the prices (perhaps someday I’ll make enough money that I won’t scoff at high-​end prices, but until then…) but if you have the funds and like cute fancy modern things, go. Go now!

Velocity has everything I want, including the perfect George Nelson pendant lamp. Perfect because my family had one when I was a tot and, thanks to its globular shape and infinite adjustability, it became my favorite toy. I gleefully destroyed that pendant light, just as I destroyed all the Danish modern chairs and table lamps and that beautiful couch and the credenza and the dining table and OH MY GOD WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S WORTH $ 7,000?
I can’t afford Velocity’s larger items, but I save my pennies to plunder its smaller accessories. I am going to marry all my Harry Allen Helping Hands in a mass wedding, and the Velocity staff is invited. Feel free to BRING GIFTS to celebrate this joyous occasion.
One star deducted because I am poor and bitter.

This place makes me want to cry because the gap between the things that I can afford and the things that I want is massive. I can afford a candle stick, a porcelain bird, a placemat, a Blik decal, and woohoo, a set of wine charms.
Even though the salesperson rung me up for my small purchase, she didn’t look like she really enjoyed helping me.

You know what I need? I need a $ 10,203 sofa. I know where I can get it, too. Here!
A lot of the stuff is not my taste, but some is nice… however I nearly fell and broke something here on a loose rug that did not have a rubber mat underneath, and that makes me never want to go back.
Booooo!
**Update 5/​3/​2008**
I have been notified that the above couch is now $ 11,861. Perhaps they accept trade-​ins.