A Premium Creation
When you start with premium ingredients, you’re already half-way to a premium creation. The other half, though, that’s up to you.
Harriet Bullitt was born with the best of everything. Her father, C.D. Stimson, owned the largest sawmill in Seattle and that made him a powerful man of his time. The one-armed, cigar smoking timber baron cut an imposing figure and instilled in his daughter a determined nature that would serve her well long after his untimely death. He taught Harriet to swim by looping a rope around her and dropping her off a boat, and she learned that she was capable of anything. A rich girl whose neighbors had names like Boeing, Bogle and Baillargeon, she could easily have led a life of thoughtless leisure. But that’s not really the Northwest way.
Instead, Harriet chose to pursue a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Washington – the first and only woman at the school. It didn’t go well. She was banned from the library because her very existence was deemed too “distracting to the men students.” The world wasn’t going to make it easy for Harriet to follow her path, money or no. It was a circuitous route to finishing school; after years of “real life” in Germany, Boston, and then Florida, she eventually returned to earn a degree in natural science at the UW. From her studies, a passion was sparked for the Northwest that would define the rest of her life. For her next big act, she published Pacific Search, a journal for amateur naturalists that eventually morphed in Pacific Northwest magazine.
Cutting Her Own Path
From a timber baron’s daughter to a tireless environmentalist, Harriet cut her own path and set out to save the world – starting with the Pacific Northwest! To this day, she channels her energy and her fortune into protecting what she can of the rugged, remarkable landscape we love. She and her sister began the Bullitt Foundation with the goal of safeguarding the environment by promoting sustainable communities and fostering healthier intersections of humanity and nature. Many of the programs and grants from the Bullitt Foundation focused on the Pacific Northwest Emerald Corridor directly impact us, ranging from the designs and materials used in building housing to eliminating usage of fossil fuels or admission of greenhouse gasses in our Seattle neighborhoods.
As she says, “The strongest human emotion there could be is a sense of place.” That ethos was the impetus behind the Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort. When 67 acres of neighboring land went up for sale, Harriet jumped at the opportunity – not just to preserve the land and the historical buildings, but to create a place where people and nature could coexist in restorative harmony. Designed for work and recreation, but always with sustainability and the environment in mind, it is the embodiment of the mission set by the Bullitt sisters’ foundation.
We’re all shaped by our environments and our opportunities. Harriet had more opportunities than most, and she made the most of them. A world-class fencer, a flamenco dancer, a pilot, a tug-boat captain, a wife many times over, a mother and grandmother and an unstoppable philanthropist. Much like the Pacific Northwest itself, Bullitt is certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Few of us have the practical resources Harriet Bullitt was born into, but we share the mountains and the trees of the Northwest, plus the lakes and skyscrapers of Seattle. This is a landscape that encourages independence and rewards both creativity and determination. We hope our Urban City Espresso Blend will fuel your next adventure, or give you the boost you need to carve your own path in this crazy world.
Visit Harriet’s Sleeping Lady Resort in Leavenworth, Washington and uncover the rich story behind their passion for environmental sustainability and dedication to supporting nature and the arts in Leavenworth.