The Shoppe Seahurst in Burien, WA, is a visual expression of owner Beka Atwood, who opened her shop two and a half years ago. The specialty home goods shop is located in charming Olde Burien where the pace is a bit slower, which Beka says allows her to stay grounded. Before opening The Shoppe Seahurst, Beka designed interiors and big corporate events. Her store is a combination of her passion for spacial design and unique home decor. Beka’s favorite part about owning The Shoppe Seahurst is hearing and seeing people connect with one another.
Get to know Beka and The Shoppe Seahurst in this week’s Business Spotlight Q&A.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s something your customers may not know about you or your business?
Growing up, my mom always allowed me to design whatever space I wanted. I feel like I naturally had this vision — I mean, I had a mural on my wall, my mom let me paint my childhood bathroom turquoise and bright orange. I mean, I’ve done some bad design choices in my life, for sure, but interiors and creating pretty spaces has always kind of been something that I’ve loved to do.
What’s your favorite part about the neighborhood/community your business is in and why?
I love Olde Burien because it really has that neighborhood community. We talk to everyone — I know my mailman by name, I know my FedEx guy by name. It’s very much a community. Everyone looks out for each other and really wants everyone to succeed, which I think sometimes with retail there’s a lot of people that worry another retail space is going to affect your business. And I just feel like the more the merrier. I can’t be the only one on the block. It makes it a better place to be when there’s more people, and my customers and neighbors are really my friends. I care about how their kids are doing in school, I care about their vacations — when we could have vacations [she laughs]. The cool part about Olde Burien is there’s a serious-knit community, and I love it.
Why is it important to you and your business that people #SpendLikeItMatters?
You have got to keep your money in your town. I think, especially [in 2020], people are noticing if you don’t invest in those businesses, they can be gone in a weekend. Once you leave your store, it’s not like you can just turn it off. You’re constantly thinking about it. You’re constantly finding a way to innovate or change. I think there’s a lot of people who do their work from 9 to 5 and can do something else. And being a small business owner, you don’t really get that option. You’ve got to invest in the community that you have.
