The following article is reprinted with permission from SDVoyager, the original article can be found here.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheryl Wilcox.
Hi Cheryl, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your
story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can
briefly walk us through how you got to where you are
today?
My dear friend Sandi and I are crafters. I’d been wanting to make
some touristy stuff to sell at local markets for a little extra
money. When I told Sandi what I wanted to do she wanted to too.
Sandi is an incredible human being. I was so happy she wanted to
join me on this journey.
When applying for the license to get into the Sunset Market in
Oceanside, we had to come up with a name. Naturally, SeaSters was
it. SeaSters came from my childhood friend of many years, Missy,
and I hanging out at the beach. Not many would go snorkeling with
me. Missy did. She wasn’t scared and took right to it. She did
great and got to see some Leopard sharks too. We’d build a fire and
have coffee and yap, just relax. Having her company at the beach
meant a lot to me. We’ve always called each other seester but it
just turned into SeaSters. I made the first SeaSters shirt for her
a couple Christmas’ ago. The original shirt had three critters on
it. A dolphin, a sea turtle and a seahorse. I don’t think that was
a coincidence that there were three because then Sandi came
along.
Sandi’s love for the sea came from her surfer brother. Everything
revolved around the ocean. He was so happy surfing and she loved
watching him. They would walk, have picnics and just be kids at the
beach. The beach is their peace, security and happy place. It’s
also the reason for her nickname SandiBeach. It makes her happy to
know that people enjoy our beach crafts. Now, Sandi gets to live
her SandiBeach life with her SeaSter (me) that also adores the sea.
SeaSters is born.
SeaSters also applied for a street vending license in Oceanside. While street vending one day, a lady from Oregon asked me, “Why don’t you make SeaSters stuff?”. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. Sandi and I had just made shirts for us because that was the name of our little operation. The lady from Oregon wasn’t the last to say something like that, so Sandi and I started making SeaSters shirts. Now, we are selling more SeaSters stuff than anything else we make.
The response to SeaSters has been overwhelming. It has taken on a life of its own. Every day we are vending someone walks by and says “SeaSters, clever”, “this is going to blow up” or just gets excited about SeaSters. I get emotional when I think about it. Never thought this would happen.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what
are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the
way?
Navigating this adventure has been very interesting. We both work
full-time jobs so we squeeze SeaSters in where we can. We just
started with what we had. Honestly, we love what we are doing. Of
course, there are frustrations here and there like when you mess up
a shirt, the thing you ordered wasn’t what you thought and it
delays an order, you forget your power bank and your phone dies and
figuring out the logistics of everything as you go along. We have
learned A LOT! There’s always trial and error but the reward has
been far greater than any obstacles to overcome. I wanted to do
something different to earn a little extra money. I wanted to do
something fun. I love having the flexibility of running our little
operation when we want to. I tell people I’m selling seashirts by
the seashore. I love being outside close to the ocean. I love
meeting people from all over the world and talking about their
lives and what brought them to Oceanside or La Jolla. I can
yap.
I have to add that I LOVE the Sunset Market. That is the one place
I would go after work to enjoy different types of food, crafts,
art, music and unwind. I praise Mainstreet Oceanside that
facilitates the Sunset Market. There are a little over a hundred
vendors that come together for four hours a week on Thursdays from
5pm-9pm. I understand putting an event like that together.
Mainstreet Oceanside staff and the vendors of Sunset Market have
this down. They get in there and set up and start cooking
seamlessly. Imagine the prep and the set up for all vendors and
Mainstreet Oceanside staff. You know they LOVE what they do to go
to all this trouble for four hours one night a week. It is an
incredible operation & experience. I tell people I’ve been to the
Pike St Market in Seattle WA, the Saturday Market in Portland OR,
even Bourbon St in New Orleans LA. Great Markets and street
experience but the Sunset Market is bigger and better. The proof is
the amount of people that visit the Sunset Market. The things in
particular that I love are the smells of the food, the breeze from
the ocean, the different stages for music and the magnanimous
energy. I also have to mention the City of Oceanside. I absolutely
enjoy the events at the beach. Oceanside truly is everything.
IYKYK, if not, you need to GO. Thank You Oceanside.
Back to the question, with a small business you are everything. You
are doing the designing (most time consuming), ordering (looking
for best deals, different materials needed…etc also time
consuming), making, inventory, bookkeeping, taxes, maintaining
social media, traveling, setting up, tearing down. There is a lot
more that goes into it than people may think. I highly recommend
exploring anything you are drawn to. I’m sure you may have heard
people say if I knew what I was getting into, I probably wouldn’t
have done it. Not me, there is no stopping us and we have recently
filed for trademark. Filing for trademark, yes, that was a
challenge. 🙂
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When I was 16 years old, I had a job after school. When the time
came, my dad tells me, you have to do your taxes… and I was like
huh? So, I went to a tax prep, at the time they wanted $40 to do my
taxes. This was late 80s. Back then you could get instructions and
forms at the library so I got them and sat down and went line by
line and I did my own taxes. Then I thought I was a bad ass and was
telling everyone I can do their taxes. I studied business in High
School and went on to earn two degrees in Community College later
in life (Honors and Honors with distinction, I might add). I
studied software engineering for a year then I started University
to study law but did not finish. Currently, I do work full-time for
a CPA. I have never worked for a better employer in my life. She is
the hardest working person I have ever known. She runs a small
business, is caretaker for her husband, has numerous animals and a
sprawling property that she maintains. I do not think she has taken
a vacation since I have known her. The women around me are truly
inspiring. Hats off to her. She is a true BADASS. I tell clients
that too. That’s my technical side.
I wanted to develop a creative side. I wanted to explore something
different. One of my high school teachers told me my personality
came through in my writing. Another sent me to a leadership
assembly in junior high school. I’ve never forgotten that. Teachers
are incredible influences in their students life. They absolutely
were for me. I feel when you have positive, supportive people in
your life, it encourages you to be better. I’ve always wanted to be
the reason something is better. For example, Kurt Warner taking the
AZ Cardinals to the Superbowl. Even though Artists Alley at the
Sunset Market doesn’t get the traffic the main market gets,
SeaSters wants to be the reason Artist Alley gets as much traffic
as the main market. We are deliberate in our creations. May not
seem like much to some but we enjoy what we do and we want it to be
different, special. Another example, our shark shirt. I didn’t want
just a shape of a shark like every other shop. When I did some
researching I found that the shark represents strength, protection
and guidance to Hawaiian people. I used a mandala design and added
the hibiscus flower not only because it’s Hawaiis’ State flower
(the yellow one) but it was one of my moms favorite flowers. We put
thought into our work. We listen to our customers in what they
suggest. I believe those things have been the driving force of our
success. We are the only makers of true SeaSters. Come see us in
the Artist Alley at the Sunset Market in Oceanside to see for
yourself.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Explore! Again, we had no idea what this would turn into. You never know. I do not know how many times I talked myself out of moving to California. I was born in northern California. My parents moved our family of seven to Phoenix when I was four. Then Dave came along and made us eight. That is where I grew up with my five brothers. I should’ve come back here decades ago. It’s where I feel the best. For some, it could be the mountains, a river or the desert. For me, it’s always been the beach.
Don’t talk yourself out of anything. Explore whatever you’re
drawn to. I say if you’re responsible, you can do whatever the hell
you want. I also say, DO NOT accept that life isn’t fair. I tell
people not to perpetuate that. Of course, some things in life are
not fair but life in general should be fair. What is motivating
about an unfair life?
Do what you want to do. Be who you want to be. Be responsible in
all that you do. Well, be a little, teeny tiny bit, irresponsible
once in a great, great while.
It’s very important to have a business partner you get along with.
Living together or working together can be fatal to personal
relationships. Sandi and I work great together. We respect each
others ideas, creativity and the way to accomplish tasks. She does
some things her way and I do some things my way. Mutual respect,
communication, planning, organizing and doing what you can is how
we are moving along. We do what we can when we can. We take care of
each other. We find ourselves laughing while we’re working
together. That’s what it’s about. It’s really what’s at the heart
of being SeaSters and BrOceans.
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