Seattle barista from "Project Runway" headed back to coffeehouse

Richard Blayne Walsh, the local barista who was noted more for his catchphrases than his designs on Project Runway, was booted off in Wednesday's episode — but not before he got in one last "Holla atcha boy."

Coming off his 15 minutes, the perpetually tan Seattle resident plans to move to Los Angeles within three to six months to pursue his fashion career, though he admits leaving Seattle will be hard.

In the meantime, he plans to keep his job at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse in West Seattle.

He loves the down-to-earth folks there, and "there is a lot of love in Seattle for me. No matter where I end up, Seattle will always be home," he said Thursday by phone. He spoke from New York City, where he was on a marathon promotional tour for Bravo, which airs the show.

The experience has been surreal for the 23-year-old Yakima native, who moved here to attend the Art Institute of Seattle. He graduated a few years ago, and auditioned for Project Runway in March in Los Angeles, after seeing an ad. He was chosen for the show and suddenly found his life altered after it began airing in July.

"Going out has changed," he said. "Totally. Free drinks. No getting in line. Lots of VIP tables."

He recently was a guest at Trinity nightclub in downtown with the Playboy Playmate of the Year ("No, I'm not dating her."), and soon he will be a guest at the H&M store opening in downtown Seattle.

"My people just tell me where to go, and I show up," he said.

But not all of the attention has been pleasant.

He has been skewered on blogs and celebrity Web sites for trying to be like last year's flamboyant contestant Christian Siriano and trying too hard to push his catchphrases "Holla atcha boy" and "girlicious."

But in Walsh's final episode, judge Michael Kors was the one who dished the show's memorable line — at Walsh's expense.

After seeing a model strut down the runway in Walsh's design — an ivory white lingerie-like outfit with colorful ruffles dangling down her derrière and right leg, Kors remarked, "She is pooping fabric."

And the next minute, Walsh and another contestant, Terri Stevens, were out.

Walsh recognizes that the publicity he's received has created a small window for him to push his "modern streetwear" line while his name remains fresh in people's mind. He hopes to unveil his latest collection — jeans, hoodies and jackets — in a downtown fashion show around November.

During the fifth season premiere of "Project Runway," the "Tom Ford for Prez" T-shirt he wore generated buzz around New York as fans Googled and scanned Craigslist for the T-shirt that Walsh helped design with his Seattle roommate Logan Neitzel. (Bloggers and fashion critics snickered that T-shirt, featuring fashion icon Ford, was Walsh's best work on the show.)

While hundreds of the T-shirts were sold online, Walsh said he'll still return to steaming milk at the West Seattle coffeehouse — possibly as early as Sunday.

He may have found fame, but fortune? Not yet.

"He's still got to pay his bills," said his mother, Pam Warren.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com