Our Story

I became a business owner by chance, but now there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. I started Short Wave in March of 2020 (impeccable timing, I know) after a friend asked if I’d like to take over her storefront. My wife and I had recently moved to Astoria from my hometown of Portland and I was working at the coffee shop across the street. I’d just decided that a career in ecology wasn’t for me and I had no idea what to do with my life. The buy-in was extraordinarily modest and the opportunity seemed too good to refuse, so I took the leap! I spent all the meager savings I had and gradually made changes to the store, replacing some fixtures and building new furniture every year and adding products little by little. Over 6 years later, I can’t believe what Short Wave has grown into.

My background is in art and ecology, and those passions guide my business decisions, from assessing the environmental impact of different products to creating Short Wave’s branding. Through going to estate sales with my dad and sifting through Portland’s thrift and vintage shops, I developed a deep appreciation for well made and uniquely designed objects. I’ve always loved working with my hands, and my own experiences with analog crafts like bookbinding and weaving made me appreciate the expertise, skill and enormous amount of labor that go into making something beautiful and useful. My primary goal with Short Wave is to pass some of that appreciation on to my customers and help create a world where independent designers and craftspeople can earn a good living exercising their creativity.

These days, I spend most of my free time in my garden, cooking, reading novels and books on labor movements, watching movies, weaving on my floor loom and taking walks. I have a few incredible people who work at the shop a few days a week so I can do those things, and I am so grateful to them for the time and care they put into keeping Short Wave running. 

Thank you for supporting my small business and sharing my values of quality over quantity and people over profit!

-Ari