Angie Sparks is the owner of Rosie True, a boutique in San Marco. She plans to open a second store in February.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STORE?
“I’d say we’re classically chic with an edge. I want customers to feel special every time they put on something from our store. You can be wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, but you’ll know you have a great belt, nice jewelry and a super pair of boots to go with it. I want people to know they’re in a special spot and I want their purchases to mean something. I want shopping here to make them feel good so that when they leave they can’t wait to wear what they’ve bought.” Sparks said she makes sure to focus on customer service at her store. “Customers know they will be treated kindly by nice, helpful people. I think it’s so important to be good to customers.”
CONSTANT EVOLUTION
When the store opened three years ago, it carried only shoes and a tenth of the merchandise it does today. “I opened with about 10 shelves. When I look back at pictures I can’t believe how bare it seems.” Sparks expanded after nine months, and again in August 2001. “We were turning stock quickly and it allowed for more growth. It’s evolved into what it’s supposed to be. I always intended for it to be a place you could come in and get dressed from head to toe and now it is.”
EXPANSION AND LOCATION
A second Rosie True will open in February in Jacksonville Beach at Third Street Village, a development currently under construction. “I feel like now is the time to move forward. It [the development] is a fantastic project. It has a quaint feel.” The new store will be slightly more casual than the San Marco shop to suit beach lifestyles. “I love being in San Marco. This is the only place I would consider for a first location. There was such a potential for growth.”
SECRET TO SUCCESS
“I think what we’re doing right is offering something that wasn’t offered in Jacksonville before in a unique setting with its own flavor.”
BEGINNINGS
Sparks decided on a business career when she and her husband Matt were living in Seattle. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had worked as a tutor and in schools and I had painted furniture. Then I walked into a boutique downtown and I knew it was what I wanted to do.” Inspired, she wrote the boutique’s owner, who asked Sparks to work in her newly-opened shoe store. For a year and a half Sparks took control of the store, managing bills, doing ordering and learning. “I picked up everything. She [the owner] turned control of the store over to me.” Sparks selected her hometown — Jacksonville — for her own store. “We heard of a vacant space and within two weeks had packed and moved here.”
BUYING PHILOSOPHY
Sparks travels about six times a year to different markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. “I work from a plan. I know how many tops I’ll buy, and how many shoes. I know how much to spend. I only buy what I like and what I would wear because if I didn’t, I know I wouldn’t be able to sell it.”
TEAM WORK
Sparks employs three people at her shop. “I don’t do this alone. I have absolutely the best people around me. It’s a team effort.” Sparks’ mother handles accounting, inventory control and bookkeeping.
CHALLENGES
“I don’t know that there are challenges. Every challenge is a pleasure. They keep you growing and excited, and unless you’re doing that, it’s not fun. I love every aspect of the job. I like the artistic aspect and being able to rearrange the store. I have an artistic side and this job is a way to be self expressive and make a living. I like chatting with customers and I’m really looking forward to what’s to come.”
TYPICAL CLIENTELE?
“My clientele has a wide range of ages. I offer a lot of different things, so this is a place you can come and know you’ll find something.”
HOW DO YOU
DECIDE WHAT GOES
IN YOUR STORE?
“I really try to be on top of different magazines. I’m constantly searching things out, or it’s word of mouth and being resourceful. I buy the lines very deep and it all works together. My relationships with vendors have grown very strong.”
Sparks carries brands such as Calypso, “a beautiful line,” as well as Velvet, Leigh Bantivoglio and the celebrity favorite, Juicy Couture.
GETTING FAMOUS
Rosie True was featured in Lucky Magazine, a national magazine that offers shopping advice. “We were carrying belts made locally by some of my friends. The editor loved them and gave us credit since we were the only ones carrying them at the time.”
EDUCATION
Sparks went to high school in Jacksonville and graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in art and architecture. She also studied interior design for a year at Florida State University. She decorates and remodels her own store, and enjoys changing the look of it. “It seems like once a year I get the itch.”
ON THE ROAD
Sparks and her husband spent three months on the road, traveling the western half of the United States. They now live at the beach.
— by Bailey White