I have a diversified career path that led to creating my business today. I studied marketing at Fordham University in the Bronx, NY. While there, I had some amazing college internships in the fashion industry. I interned in special events at Vogue and sat very close to Anna Wintour’s office! I had the privilege to work the Met Gala for four consecutive years. I also worked in the fashion closet at Hearst for O, The Oprah Magazine, and continued to do more events for Gucci. It was a whirlwind experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world!

Early in my career in NYC, however, I felt a little unsettled. I worked as an EA at Bergdorf Goodman for my first full time job and it felt terrifying to me, so I left only after a few months. I then worked for a non-profit called The Luxury Education Foundation where I learned about retail, as it offered career development programs to Columbia MBA students and Parsons School of Design students who were interested in pursuing roles within the industry. Finally, I moved onto PR for Moda Operandi, which felt like a place where I belonged and had aspired towards with all of my prior experiences.

While at Moda, things were pretty good and my personal life blossomed. I met my now husband who lived in Philadelphia at the time, which is where I’m originally from as well. While my experience in NYC was glamorous at the surface level, the low paying yet glitzy lifestyle was challenging for me. I felt like I could never keep up, so I decided to prioritize my personal life by moving to Philadelphia. It was a pivotal shift and while I do sometimes wonder what would have been if I stayed in NYC, I am really pleased with where it led me to! I’m happily married now, so I’d say it all worked out!

My move to Philly meant finding new work in a city that was not one of the largest epicenters of global fashion. I got a job doing special events for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. While it had nothing to do with fashion, I was able to use my past skills to coordinate large scale fundraising events across the country that supported pediatric cancer research. Working there felt like I was part of a family. I met some of my closest friends who I still have relationships with today and the meaningful cause was very inspiring. Some of those deeper sentiments lacked in my previous jobs. But all that aside, I still missed fashion! I love the creative aspects of styling, trends, and color palettes. That same year in 2017, was the inception of Spruce Lane, my blog & Instagram where I would write about boutique owners and photograph their stores. It was inspired by The Infatuation (the popular blog about city restaurants), but I wanted to apply that to a retail perspective.

Spruce Lane was a fun side hobby that ebbed and flowed over the years. I held onto it because it was a creative outlet and people seemed to enjoy it! Fast forward from 2017 to 2024 – the pandemic happened, events temporarily disappeared, I started doing professional photography in Philly, got married, and bought my first house with my husband in a beach town near Cape May, NJ. Our move to the shore was another seismic shift that I wasn’t really planning on. It was a result of the crazy housing market.

The scenario felt eerily similar to when I left NYC. Moving to a new place meant another career re-evaluation. My job in Philly required full time in-person work, so I either would find a new one or finally take the plunge into entrepreneurship. At that point, I had many years of work experience under my belt and was in a stable place personally, so developing Spruce Lane into something more seemed feasible and not like a pipe dream.

My biggest fear with starting was always financially driven, that I would run out of money and go broke. I didn’t account for the idea that maybe I would be successful and people would like what I do. In the fall of 2023, I created Spruce Lane Shoppe, a concept where I sell locally made things (housewares, decor, gifts) that are inspired by coastal living. I left my job and went all in on my business. Now I have an e-comm site and do pop ups at local businesses around the Jersey Shore area and occasionally in Philly. People ask me all the time, how’s business going? I am still figuring it out so I don’t know how to fully answer that yet, but what I can say is that I love finally being able to work for myself, being freely creative, and immersing myself in my community even more than I had been when just blogging. I recently picked up a part time job working for an event planner in the area as I navigate Spruce Lane, which has been great too.

To sum it up, the takeaways from my story are:
Never give up on what you are passionate about, even if it takes a long time to get to where you want to be. This includes building confidence within that you CAN do it – Treanna Oliveri of Divas with the Details was one of the people who helped me with that. Stay hungry and keep hustling!

Don’t be afraid to take risks and go in new directions. I never thought I’d live in Cape May, but thanks to a crazy housing market and a love for the beach, here I am.

You don’t have to have it all figured out to get started. Life is a big evolution, personally and professionally. A lot with what I am doing with Spruce Lane is gut instinct at this point since it is so new. Some things click, some things don’t, so I adapt. I can’t wait to see how it continues to grow over time and am so glad I decided to give it a go!