This week Bleecker Street Beat meets up with Sunni Spencer.  Her “Après Sea store (371 Bleecker) is for people who want to live the beach lifestyle every day. Sunni just celebrated her first year on Bleecker Street.  The transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

BY CYBELE POLICASTRO

Where are you from and what brought you to New York?

I am from Tampa, Florida. I moved here in 1997 because I wanted to pursue my dreams. I wanted to be one of three things, an actress, a singer or in the fashion industry.

So how did you find the space on Bleecker Street?

Well, it's actually a really cool story because I had a dream where I saw Intermix; I saw another brand and then an empty space. And I was like, what the heck does that mean.  My husband, Andrew and I had been all over the city looking for pop-up spaces. I was looking at Meatpacking, I was looking Upper East Side and just everything was blocked.

And so we get invited to an event in the West Village and we're in a cab and Andrew's like, let's get out. There are all these empty spaces on Bleecker Street, so we get out of the cab and it was Intermix, Burberry and a blank space. And I was like, this is the dream. It's like I'm supposed to be here. And I basically borrowed money from my 401k to make it happen.  I thought it was just going to be a month.

What was the evolution of Sunni Spencer?

I started working at Bergdorf Goodman.  I was supposed to be a specialist for a brand and the day I started they told me that fell through but we're going to have you be a floating salesperson on the couture floor for fourteen dollars an hour!

I moved here thinking I had this high-roller job and I was kind of flipping out but I started selling and a few months later I went to the store manager and was like can you give me an opportunity in management? And she created an assistant manager position for me.  I think I got four promotions.  I was running the couture floor by the time I was 25.  I got to meet some of the most fabulous people in the world.  It was really interesting.  

So I learned to navigate, like was a good manager, was I a good salesperson? When I saw gaps in the merchandise,  it would be painful for me to see.  And so I went to my boss who was the general manager of the store and I was like, I want to be a buyer. They created a unique role for me. I taught myself, through the resources around me how to be a buyer.

And then eventually a fashion trade show company scooped me up. I did that for five years and got to travel to Paris, Berlin, Milan, and I had to search for these cool brands to sell to the shows. And so I got to see a lot of product.

I grew their business a lot and I thought outside of the box and created a special show within a show.  I had this vision for every season it would change to be a different destination. So the first destination was vintage Hawaii.

So I curated these lounges and hired my friend who has a floral design and event company in LA and they brought in these huge 10 foot Areca palms and white curtains, beautiful Hawaiian décor and I curated like the top 25 brands that I could find to make it interesting for retailers. And, people loved it.

My inspiration was the Viceroy and Anguilla because I love Kelly Wearstler and her design aesthetic, so we use that as inspiration to create the look and feel of the show and that is where I got the real inspiration to open a store that had the combination of home accessories and ready to wear all in one place.  The beach lifestyle vibe was kind of born that way.

So where was your first store?

I knew I needed to be in a beach destination. So I opened up the Hamptons in June 2016.  It was going to be a three-month pop up. Everyone asked me to stay.  I had no store permanent store until Bleecker Street. 

There have been a lot of store closings, not just on Bleecker Street, where did you get the gumption to take a risk and open a store?

Well, I actually heard from God to do it. Everyone told me not to open the store. They're like; you're going to open a store, why would you do that? And I'll tell you why I did it - I see the gaps, I see the lack of interesting stores, all the stores that I went into when I was traveling for my career all had the same brands and the little guys don't have a chance.  I really don't carry big box brands for the most part because I want people to discover something new.

I love the beach. I love the sunshine and it's a real pain that we have to suffer through at least six months of horrible weather. So I wanted to create this oasis in the middle of a dark, cold city and to create a space for people to come and feel like they're on a staycation.

Do you produce your own products?

The only thing that I have that's my label is kaftans and I just started the design process to come out with my own line. So work in progress. The goal is to have Sunni Spencer products across all categories. I've been working on developing a candle.

What is the most rewarding aspect of running your business?

Freedom.  I was in corporate for 18 years and it was just the political drama that I had to go through to be in a leadership position.  This whole Time's Up is a real thing. The thing is freedom doesn't mean working less. I actually work a lot more from a time standpoint, but it doesn't feel like work. I always wanted to be able to say thank God it's Monday.

Sunni Spencer seems to be part of a wave on non-corporate stores that seem to be opening up on Bleecker Street

I think that's going to be the next trend.  The mom and pop shop model, Marc Jacobs drove out all those people. I have a book full of quotes from people who come into my store; they don't want to shop at Kate Spade. So there's a reason why that didn't last.

So speaking more about Bleecker Street, what would you like to see open around you to make it feel more vibrant or more like the kind of place that you'd like to see?

Restaurants. More restaurants, but also cool stores like Saturdays,  that have a cult following. We need  stores that have a really good social media presence because that is what's going to drive the traffic to the street. The type of clientele that comes to my store, they are looking for something unique and different.  We don't need copycats. We need people that came up with something,  that are really different.

I feel that there is major potential for Bleecker Street.   I decided to stay on Bleecker because I believe in the street. I believe in the response that I was getting.  So I really believe that it will bounce back.