When Pigs Fly

Rebekah and Seth Miller opened both shops last fall.

Seth and Rebekah Miller are, in a metaphorical sense, steering a ship at sea through tumultuous waters. The scene in their imaginations is perhaps not dissimilar to what it would be like to traverse the virtual ocean map in the middle of one of their customized Dungeons & Dragons game tables.

The aforementioned ship is their new business venture, two stores inside the United Building in Hillyard: Pigasus Vintage & Toys, a carefully curated toy and vintage children's shop, and Bear Totem, a tabletop role-playing and board game cafe. The shops fill the United's second floor, above the ground level's Locos restaurant, Bellwether Brewing and Derailer Coffee.

Opening a new business is a daunting challenge, not to mention opening two at once, but discovering space for rent in the building lit a fire in Seth and Rebekah to pursue a dream they'd long shared.

Originally the United Hillyard Bank, more recently an antique mall, the historic building was purchased in 2021 and renovated into a multiuse space by Dave and Brianna Musser, owners of Bellwether Brewing. Almost a year ago, Rebekah initially inquired about leasing space there and two weeks later the Millers set out on their new venture, opening both shops in October 2023.

The impetus to open a toy store, rather than solely a vintage store, came with the June 2020 closing of the White Elephant, a Spokane landmark on North Division Street for 74 years.

"It broke my heart. And I went, 'I want to take up the mantle,'" Rebekah says.

The result is Pigasus Toys & Vintage, which sells an assortment of toys, books and clothes that are primarily vintage, gently used or handmade. Rebekah stocks new toys made of cloth or wood, such as hand-sewn puppets, over buying new plastic toys. She sources — or, as she says, "hunts and gathers" — the majority of her inventory from thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales, Ebay and Etsy.

"The work of children is play," Rebekah says, and as such she works to place a child's perspective at the forefront of her business.

Die-cast cars (50 cents each), Barbie clothes and animal figurines sit on bottom shelves, easily accessible for children to play with. Pigasus also offers a variety of in-person activities for kids and their families. Art classes ($6-$15), music time, playdough fun ($10 including natural playdough), storytime (free), picture bingo (free) and easy-to-play board games ($1-$2) are among those offered, and an event schedule can be viewed on Instagram (@Pigasustoys).

The store's whimsical name is a combination of a pig and a pegasus — essentially a flying pig.

"Ever since I was little, I always loved flying pigs because they are a symbol of hope, like the impossible happening," Rebekah says. "Of course we want to make a living — it is a job — but the other side of it is that's why we did it, to create community."

The meaning behind Bear Totem, on the other hand, is three pronged: an esoteric reference to Dungeons & Dragons, a nod to Seth Miller's Norwegian background, and to his favorite animal, a bear.

While Bear Totem is, by design, a retail store, it also exists to bring people together. A flexible weekly event schedule includes board game Tuesdays, Magic: The Gathering Wednesdays (6 pm, $6 entry), and public drop-in D&D on Thursdays (6 pm, newcomers play free, $5 for returning players). Players can bring food (including delicious barbecue from Locos) and drink (such as one of 20 Bellwether beers or a latte from Derailer) up from downstairs, or can choose from eight beers on tap at Bear Totem. D&D nights are hosted by skilled dungeon masters, and players can use any of the 3,000 miniatures from Seth's impressive collection.

Many of these figurines Seth paints himself, and a newly purchased 3D printer lets him make any character a player might want to use. Additionally, guests can paint their own minis with primer, paint and varnish available for their use. Bear Totem also sells gaming dice and Magic: The Gathering cards.

"Most people who want to play Dungeons & Dragons have always heard of it, but have no idea where to start," Seth says, which is largely why he hopes to introduce more people to the imaginative world of D&D. Seth himself has been playing for 15 years.

It was also important to the Millers to make tabletop gaming accessible, though the endeavor required them to craft a somewhat complex "cover" system.

"The original idea was just to create a draw for people and then let beer sales kind of make up the difference," he says. "But we were running the numbers and there's no way to make it work, we have to charge to have people come up and play here."

Bear Totem's current in-store play pricing offers a whole table (typically six to eight seats) for $15 per hour, though that's capped at a max of $45 even if the players stay longer than three hours. Individual players can also reserve a seat for $3 an hour, and the same principle applies if they stay past the three-hour mark. The cover fee also gives customers access to use the store's entire miniature and terrain collection.

"[Seth] is trying to create a net that catches everybody. He didn't want to make it simple because then some people would fall through the cracks," Rebekah says, adding that ideally, individuals won't pay more than $6 to $9 for a game that can last for hours.

Just months into the stores' operations, the couple is still trying to figure out their audience.

"We want people to come and feel like family. It's like Cheers where everybody knows your name," Rebekah says.

The Millers aim to provide that place for everyone — parents, children, young and old — to find community.

"I think we were meant to be together," she says. "So we put out our welcome mat."

Hopefully there's smooth sailing ahead. ♦