Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisaun Crenshaw.
Hi Alisaun, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It began where I grew up, Varnville, SC., a small Lowcountry town. Forrest Gump’s “Greenbow, AL” was filmed on Main Street in our small town. Ironically Varnville, SC is one of the most recognizable towns in America- most people have seen this movie but have no idea where it was filmed. This made an impression on me growing up as I thought that if the word got out, it would bring more interest and extra revenue to the town’s small businesses, which had a lot of turnover on the tiny Main Street. I left Varnville to go to college in one direction but came out with another. I pursued Missions Studies, but after graduation, I found employment with a large real estate company. I started leasing apartments and quickly realized I had found a different passion- business, and management. I worked my way up with this company and, over 12 years, moved my way into a Senior Management position of multi-million dollar multi-family properties. During this time in my career, I saw many renovations, construction issues, design challenges, and the like. It got my feet wet for what was ahead.
Fast forward to the end of that 12 years, I realized that I was not completely satisfied with my life or work; something was missing. Long hours, a lot of travel to take on new projects, and burnout made me realize I needed a break. I quit for a couple of years and threw myself into our newly-married blended family life. It was a respite from the corporate world, but after a couple of years, I needed another outlet. I started to feel creativity flourish and began to paint, make jewelry and signs, and sell them to friends and family. Eventually, I sold items at shows in the Upstate. During this period, I gained a lot of respect for local artists and makers. My husband Mike also kept encouraging me to open a store. I blew it off every time and told him there was not enough time in the day for me to have a business like that and do everything else we had going on. Every time he mentioned it, I thought in the back of my mind that it could work if I could make my hours and have the right location. Eventually, I came around, and we began to look for investment property.
I had a vision. I wanted a cute Hallmark-like store that smelled good and had friendly staff and a warm environment. I remember walking into other stores in small towns, and the atmosphere made me linger. We could succeed with the right combination of location, atmosphere, and marketing. The building we settled on was far from that goal. It was historic (1889), run-down, neglected, and smelled horrible. We chose it for its size and location- it is on a busy corner on Main Street in Walhalla, SC. The mountains, lakes, historic sites, and countless waterfalls are within driving distance in all directions. Walhalla is also unique in that there is no bypass through town. You have to slow down and drive through Main. This, to us, was perfect.
The renovation process was difficult and sometimes slow. We started during the Pandemic, and the demo was an outlet during a difficult time in our country. Layers upon layers had to be removed to make it habitable. We had several construction companies turn us down for the project. Eventually, we managed it ourselves with the help of a project manager and my husband’s crew from his construction company. We spent several thousand dollars bringing it to code, as it had to be gutted from top to bottom. The project seemed to be never-ending. During this period, I remember thinking we would never get through it. Eventually, it started to come together, and we opened in phases. The building is 6000 square feet with 2000 square feet upstairs. We separated the downstairs into 3 retail spaces and 2 rentable luxury vacation apartments upstairs. We had renters lined up for 2 of the retail spaces before we even finished. My store Sunni Ann Mercantile Co. finally opened in our first rental space in May of 21 and has had incredible sales ever since. Although I no longer make any items, we support local artisans in our store along with hundreds of brands. We have expanded 3 times into all 3 of our rental spaces after our renters moved onto other opportunities. I think we accomplished the atmosphere I wanted. We recently had a customer tell us our store is like being in a Hallmark movie at Christmas! Plus, the store now smells like our artisan candles. The renovation was hard and often made us want to quit- but we powered through. We are so happy with how it turned out and have story after story of amazing finds inside and of the renovation nightmares. I often say that hardship can either kill you or make you stronger. We are still here and hope to be for years to come.
We have other projects in the works with properties we have purchased, and I have opened a micro retail store with luxury consignment bags inside one of our spaces. This is my 3rd business venture- Glam Gal Luxury Brands. Every day I walk into a business that is mine and feels a sense of accomplishment. I have to pinch that it came together the way it did, and I am so thankful we did not quit!
Looking back, I never imagined that this was how my life would turn out. Sometimes we think we have it all together and know exactly what we want to do, but life takes a different turn. We may need help understanding the journey then, but it is exactly where we were meant to go. It is not where we have been that matters but where we are going.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We hit some of our hardest and worst challenges while renovating 300 Main, our oldest historic building. My design inspiration often clashed with construction logic. That- plus strange engineering issues from the building age- was very challenging. Since our building is so large, we also had to add at least 100K in fire safety equipment, sprinklers, fire alarms, and the like. Some may have given up at that point. During these challenging times, we thought about quitting. We decided the vision was worth the investment, and we would finish no matter what it took. If we had quit, we would not have half the knowledge we have now and would not have taken on the new projects in the works.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sunni Ann Mercantile Co. For our readers who might need to become more familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
Sunni Ann is a Mercantile. I tell people we are a true Mercantile, with a little bit of everything: food, gifts, clothing, and more. We have a lot of brands that people in Walhalla can buy directly from us instead of in other towns. We proudly feature Simply Southern, Southern Fried Cotton, Local Boy, Reef sandals, Buckwear Jeep, Lazy One, Brumate, Rumpl, and many other brands. We also have local artisan items. Our store is about 4500 square feet and is filled with goodies. We are also at a stop on the way to the mountains and feature snacks and other offerings for the journey.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those just starting.
Do not despise small beginnings! You are still determining where your life journey will take you. You will likely use that experience in the future. All experience is just that- experience. Whether it is good or bad, it teaches you something you can use in your next adventure, whether in life or a different job. Also, there is no reward without some risk in business. It is ok to fear failure, but you never know how it will go until you try. If you do fail, pick yourself up and try again. Just don’t give up! This is important. So many people quit after the first failure. It is a part of life, and you can’t avoid it. Those that succeed keep at it and try again. And if you don’t fail the first time, great! You are blessed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sunniannmercantile.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/sunniannmercantile
- Facebook: facebook.com/sunniannmercantile
- Other: www.glamgalbrands.com
Image Credits
Tamara McCants
