Meet Piper Strand & Erik Seiffert - Made in the Shade Bellevue

Made in the Shade is elated to welcome Piper Strand and Erik Seiffert as the new owners of Made in the Shade Bellevue, Washington. Piper and Erik combine for a dynamic partnership and will bring a high level of energy, enthusiasm, and professionalism to their new business. We look forward to supporting them in their exciting new venture.

Professional background

Piper enjoyed a long and successful career in the dental field for 30 years. She started her career as a Dental Assistant and later transitioned to a Surgical Assistant role. Desiring to advance her career, she decided to continue her education and graduated in 2001 as a Certified Dental Hygienist. Piper spent the first several years of her career working in Hawaii with the last 15 years in Washington State.

Erik has served as a pilot in the Air Force for 9 years before transitioning to a 24-year career as a commercial pilot for Alaska Airlines.

What hobbies/interests do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Erik and I enjoy a wide variety of activities that we like to do together in our free time. We enjoy skiing, mountain biking, trail running, and watching football. Trail running is our passion and is what brought us together as a couple. We have run hundreds of miles together. Some of our adventures include the circumnavigation of Mount Rainer, Mount Hood, and Mount St Helens. Most recently we ran from the South rim of the Grand Canyon to the North rim then back to the South rim. Erik’s family owns a property in the Jackson, Wyoming area since the 60’s. He grew up skiing at Jackson Hole and we continue to go there as often as possible with our kids.

Tell us about your family and their interests.

Erik and I have 4 boys. From youngest top oldest; Kaimana is 12, Koa is 15, Micah is 16 and Quin is 18. You can probably imagine what life is like at our like at our house. Our children are extremely active and enjoy skiing, football, soccer, lacrosse and mountain biking. Our family is rounded out by our furry children; our Golden Retriever Finley, Sadie is our scruffy dog and our cat Dreamsicle.

What appealed to you about the Made in the Shade opportunity?

Our journey to own a Made in the Shade Franchise was likely different than most. A couple, who are very close friends of ours, decided to sell their marketing business they owned for 20 years and start a new company. They researched looking for a good fit and settled on Made in the Shade of Bellevue. After a year of developing the their Made in the Shade business, personal circumstances made it necessary to sell the business. I have been planning to retire from my 30-year dental career and have been looking for something new. When Erik and I learned of this great opportunity we decided it would be perfect for us. Made in the Shade was an opportunity that we just couldn’t pass up.