About the Founders
Every piece here has a story. So do the people who found it, made it, and wrote the story down.
Carissa's Collection is a museum first. The exhibits are researched, documented, and kept on permanent record, and some of them happen to be available to purchase. It started with one person's magpie instincts. It did not stay a one-person operation for long.
Carissa
Founder and owner, Carissa’s Collection
I’m Carissa, and Carissa’s Collection is where my magpie instincts became a business.
I hunt down vintage and antique jewelry, textiles and clothing with past lives, and curiosities that range from ancient bronze to glowing uranium glass. Some pieces come from estate sales and auctions. Some practically find me. Every one of them gets researched and honestly described before it is listed, and lovingly restored when appropriate. Fragile pieces and artifacts are preserved as found.
I am as interested in the mystery as the merchandise. A color-shifting stone that might be alexandrite or might be spinel? I will get the refractometer and find out. A bronze clasp made 2,400 years ago on the Eurasian steppe? I will tell you what it is, where it comes from, and what was happening in the world when it was new. And when I do not know something yet, I will tell you that too.
That habit did not come out of nowhere. I have spent roughly three decades in technology, in enterprise architecture, product management, program leadership, healthcare technology, and AI, and I am also Co-Founder and Head of Growth at Hireko.ai. Systems thinking is how I approach an unidentified hallmark, too: look for the evidence, test the competing explanations, and change the conclusion when the evidence changes.
I also founded Uranium Fever, a public community for uranium glass collectors, in 2021, and I make the small-batch goods sold under Carissa's Apothecary, including Body Puddin' and Carissa's Hair Whip.
Carissa's Collection, LLC is my business, a single-member LLC based in the Seattle area. If you buy from me, you get the full story along with the object. That is the whole point.
Meet the Founder: Tanner Buchanan (aka Tokar)
Co-Founder, Leatherworker & Resident Muscle
Every great collection needs a craftsman, and every great adventure needs a little muscle. At Carissa's Collection, Tanner Buchanan, better known as Tokar, is both, and he brings a healthy dose of humor, creativity, and larger-than-life personality along with him.
A skilled leatherworker, maker, and enthusiastic warrior, Tanner is the creative force behind Tokar's Treasures, the handcrafted arm of Carissa's Collection. His work ranges from custom leather goods, historical garb, and shields to handcrafted weapons and whimsical creations like the Wee Whacker, and it combines traditional craftsmanship with a playful appreciation for history.
A familiar face at Renaissance fairs and medieval events, Tanner is as comfortable wielding an axe as he is working leather. You might find him demonstrating his latest creation, entertaining a crowd with a story, or challenging festivalgoers to ring Larry the Troll's bell at the Hammer Strike.
Behind the scenes, he is also the muscle that brings Carissa's Collection to life: hauling treasures, building displays, setting up at markets, and turning an ambitious idea into something tangible. He is the hands-on strength behind the vision.
Together, Tanner and Carissa share a love of history, craftsmanship, storytelling, and preserving the beauty of things made to last. Where Carissa discovers the stories hidden in forgotten treasures, Tanner creates new pieces with stories of their own.
Part craftsman, part warrior, part bard, and entirely Tokar.
How we work together
Carissa curates, researches, documents, and runs the Collection. Tokar makes.
Family members help with Carissa's Collection and make things for it, and the Collection is still Carissa's: a single-member LLC, owned by her alone. Calling this page About the Founders is about who built this place, not about ownership on paper.
Objects arrive. They are examined, photographed, researched, and recorded. Some stay. Some leave with new owners. The record remains.
Based in the Pacific Northwest, in the Skyway area of Seattle and unincorporated South King County, Washington. Wearers of many hats. Some of them are literal hats.