Ballard art hub Push/Pull has struggled to make ends meet for years. But those challenges have reached a boiling point, and now, the business has turned to the community for help.Â
Push/Pull opened in Fremont in 2013 and moved to Ballard two years later, taking over the former Dakota Art Store at 2000 NW Market St. in 2021. The space serves a multi-purpose role in the community, operating as an art gallery, supply store, indie comic shop, workspace and printer.Â
The store’s name is a reference to screen printing –– the motion of the squeegee across the screen. Director and founder Maxx Follis-Goodkine believes the movement also serves as a metaphor for art, which pushes boundaries while also pulling communities together.
This week, the shop shared a call to action on its Instagram. Years of depleted revenue have piled up, according to the post, and all means of financial assistance are exhausted.Â
“If we are going to stick around, then we need some community help,” Follis-Goodkine said.Â
Push/Pull faces a stack of challenges, according to Follis-Goodkine.
Neighborhood traffic dropped when nearby businesses turned empty and remained vacant, Follis-Goodkine explained. An August 2025 fire displaced the nearby Ballard Collective, which brought a lot of business to Push/Pull. Follis-Goodkine noted that the neighboring Golden City Chinese restaurant also closed after 34 years in 2022.Â
While Follis-Goodkine described Push/Pull’s location as sustainable in the long-term, she said those closures created a years-long decline in visitor volume. Without patronage, the business can’t afford to stock art supplies or pay bills.
The consequences of declined traffic were compounded when MacPherson’s Art Supplies, the largest North American art distributor, abruptly closed its doors in May.
“All of a sudden, there was a ton of art supplies not available to us anymore,” Follis-Goodkine said. “We had to go with other manufacturers, and some of the products that we got, we still haven’t found good replacements for.”
That closure hit art stores nationwide, forcing local shops like Push/Pull to relearn how to source and stock products that customers rely on.
On top of the slowed foot traffic and breakdown in distribution, Follis-Goodkine said fewer people are signing up for Push/Pull’s art classes. Those ticketed workshops are a key source of revenue for the businesses. Follis-Goodkine suspects that Seattle locals have less spending money to engage with community events like Push/Pull’s classes.
While Push/Pull’s struggles have been brewing for years, they’ve finally reached a tipping point. Without an injection of cash in the next two weeks, Follis-Goodkine said she’ll have to start cutting employee hours.
She’s asking locals to support the business through cash donations to the Push/Pull’s GoFundMe, or to simply purchase items from the store. Follis-Goodkine also hopes the funding push will remind locals to engage with local businesses, rather than order items online or turn to YouTube for project tutorials.Â
“Come in and support us, however that looks for you,” Follis-Goodkine said. “We have free events, we’re here to give you advice on your project, we just want to get people back out here.”
As of Monday, Nov. 2, Push/Pull has already raised 23% of its $35,000 goal.Â
“Whether we meet the goal of the fundraiser or not, you know, we have already reached a point where it’s going to make a positive difference,” Follis-Goodkine said.Â
Photo by Push/Pull