What I am about to tell you is one of the most wonderful Pittsburgh Experience I have ever had thus far. In part, it brought to me by a wonderful lady. More so, it was about China and the deep cultural heritage of Asia.
First time I met Suzi and appreciated her elegant antique store Asian Influences from within was in early January. Although Asian Influences is a neighbor to Pittsburgh Cares, where I have my office while working on the HandsOn Tech program, I have many times passed by the store and been captivated by the thick cultural atmosphere since late 2013, I never made the attempt to walk in because of the expectations of my monthly paycheck during this service year :(. However, in the spirits of a new year, I promised myself to break some psychological limits. One manifestation is to get to know the store nearby and the master behind it, for I feel they both are too special to be passed by without recognition. I am glad that I did open that door on 3513 Butler street during a lunch walk.
On the 23rd of January, Suzi and I sat down in her store. Courtesy of her openness, I got to learn some of her life’s story and the creation of the antique store she has managed for 7 years. When she told me that managing a business is of no big difference from managing a household and it takes patience to go through those down-time, she reminded me of my Mother who was also an entrepreneur, and my own dream of running a business in the future. Then I knew I was lucky to know her, because she is someone I want to be when I “grow up”, and her journey would be of reference to the one under my shoes.
Nobody had ever told Suzi that she couldn’t do anything, so off she went and had a rich life with a plethora of experience.
After high school, she went to New York and spent the following 16 years on the Wall Street. Except a 10-month fly attendant “digression”, she had gradually worked her way up to the ladder in a male-dominant industry. Starting at the stock desk, Suzi worked in budget department in the back office, then government desk, and eventually became a trader herself.
During those years in New York City, she always liked the dynamics of that City and would wander around during her leisure time to explore those shops in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. On the side, she also took some interior design class and nurtured her artistic capacity in a professional way. She believed that it was those years’ experience that rooted her interest in antiques, and anything that is beautiful and has a depth of cultural heritage.
In late 1980s, she left New York City for her hometown Pittsburgh to be closer with family. She decided to be a Mother and devoted 19 years of her life to her beloved son thereafter. When Suzi told me this part of her life, I wondered whether or not she was working at the same time while she brought up her son. But then I was amazed by her answer, because she told me she had been a full-time Mom for all those years her son was growing up. I scratched my head and thought how can a person preserve such level of sharpness and professionalism after living in a completely different world of raising a child? If you have the opportunity to meet Suzi, you would know why I was shocked much.
In 2006, her son left home for his own exploration of life’s possibilities. Then Suzi started to brew the idea of starting her own business. Not only did she think about the idea, but also she took actions and did something about it by taking on a shopping tour to some antique towns, such as Adamsville in Pennsylvania, and several other towns in Florida, in the same year. Meantime, she was also looking for a space to house her business. At the time, Lawrenceville was a revitalized neighborhood for business to set up their roots. So Suzi picked her current location and worked with the landlord and designers to set up the space for the Asian Influences antique store. In October 2007, she had the “soft opening” (family, friends, and other business owners in the neighborhood were invited to come), which marked the start of her entrepreneurial experience around the block. I was amused when she told me that during the soft opening, she only had few furnitures on the display. They were just enough to roughly cover the space of the store. If one piece was sold then, she would enter a panic mode because the entire store would look too empty to be a real credible business.
In the past almost seven years, Suzi’s Asian Influences gallery collection has expanded from furniture to art pieces to fabrics. When 2010 a woman brought in a box of fabric from China which were collected by her grandparents when they were in China on a missionary tour, Suzi was immediately captivated by the craftsmanship in those fabrics. I was in awe when Suzi explained the complex of Forbidden Stitch to me. At the same time, I felt so proud to be a Chinese and be part of the timeless cultural heritage. Although many things have changed for better or worse, some treasures have been lost among younger generations, Suzi’s knowledge, appreciation, and understanding of the culture of my Motherland reminded me of an identity that I was born to have and will need to constantly nurture to preserve. Until this day, fabric remains as her focus to expand the store.
Suzi has been a loyal participant of Lawrenceville Corps, an organization that she speaks highly of and helps business owners to promote their business. In conjunction with Suzi’s dedication to her store and the selection of those pieces, Over time, Suzi has developed a group of loyal customers, and accumulated a great deal of collectable pieces that she no longer needs to panic if many products were sold quickly, and they are. However, she still would feel “heartbroken” when those pieces were sold as if she was parting with a beloved one forever.
Currently Suzi is working closely with her photographer Francis Crisafio to put together her annual sales event. It would last a whole month of March, during which all products would be on a 50% discount. Suzi said she can use this opportunity to appreciate those loyal customer’s business, to attract new customers, and to clear up her inventory, which can ultimately justify her shopping trips in a new accounting year. “I really want to go on another shopping trip to see what’s out there.” Suzi confessed smiling.
I have to say, I am tempted and would go to check the store out in March because after those discounts I would be able to afford a piece or two for my new home. I need something Chinese in the house to serve as a visual clue. To see is to think. Ignorance and willful blindness is of most scary. Enn……..I think my trip to Suzi’s Asian Influences is just justified. :) Alas, Women do have something in common, such as shopping for beautiful things regardless of their practicality.
It was a juicy 2-hour long interview. In the end, we were joined by her dog Booth whom she adopted from an animal rescue center a year ago.
Besides being a business owner, Suzi is also a grateful Grandma to a three-year-old granddaughter. I can tell from her eyes that she is Suzi’s light of life. The smile Suzi has whenever she talks about her granddaughter resembles so much with that when she talks about her antique store. Then I knew for sure I just had a fortune to be introduced to something somebody cherishes the most in her life.
Thank you Suzi for giving me such a privilege to know you and your store. This is indeed an A+ Pittsburgh Experience.
Beer winning trivia @ Asian Influences, Lawrenceville
1. Suzi (Susan Fisher) hold a design certificate from Parsons School of Design in Manhattan and her store Asian Influences is an industry partner of ASID, the American Society of Interior Designers, the oldest and largest professional organization for interior designers. With more than 42,000 practitioners, students and industry partner members, ASID establishes a common identify for professionals and businesses in the field of interior design.
2. Since the beginning of the 21st century, artists and other creative types have bought into the Lawrenceville's dirt-cheap storefronts and turn-of-the-last-century brick row houses, and opened galleries, boutiques and interior design shops along Butler Street. Today, it's a hub for an arts, fashion and interior design district called the 16:62 Design Zone that begins at the 16th Street Bridge in the adjacent Strip District and extends to the 62nd Street Bridge in Lawrenceville. Throw in some good restaurants and other ancillary amenities, and Butler Street is slowly becoming a go-to destination.
ID@ Asian Influences
What’s the slogan of Asian Influence store both on its website and its Ad board outside the store? Is it “Why Travel the world?”
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