My Little Sunshine: New York, New York

My Little Sunshine: New York, New York

After growing up watching her father run a men’s retail business for more than 40 years in New York City, it was only natural for Tara Figotin to open her own children’s store. The inspiration came when Figotin moved to Chelsea more than 15 years ago and watched as the neighborhood evolved into a very family-oriented area. After her son came along and she kept having to leave the neighborhood to buy apparel and toys, a lightbulb went off. Figotin recalls thinking to herself: “A children’s store would do great here.” Enter My Little Sunshine.

The cheery, 750-square-foot space opened in 2010 followed by a second similarly-sized location in Tribeca in Spring 2013. The boutique carries such stylish upscale labels as Morley, Bobo Choses, Tocotó Vintage, Blu Pony Vintage, Tane Organics, Mini Rodini, Scotch Shrunk and Dagmar Daley. And, sympathetic to the hectic lives of moms, Figotin aimed to make My Little Sunshine locations one-stop shops including apparel, toys and even haircuts. “I like to consider it as a modern-day mom-and-pop shop,” she says. “It is important to us to have created a warm and welcoming atmosphere for both parents and children by reflecting our own personal style in the store.”   

What are your bestsellers? That’s tough actually because it changes from season to season. I can tell you baby stuff across the board is by far the bestselling category, between the ages of newborn to 4 years. I guess my favorite brands would be Tocotó Vintage, Bobo Choses, Imps & Elfs, Little Creative Factory… I have a ton. For toys, we try to sell things that are a little different. Even with popular lines found everywhere, I still try to be unique with my buy. We carry Moulin Roty, Seedling, Manny & Simon, Vilac and of course Jellycat—can’t have a store without Jellycat! I really try to stay loyal to the people I buy from.

How do you select your buy? I don’t need to travel much for any of the brands. Between the two major shows that come to New York—Playtime and Children’s Club, plus several showrooms in the fashion district, I am able to find plenty of brands locally. I buy from New York, but the lines come from all over the world.

What inspired you to double as a destination for kids’ haircuts? I always thought the concept of kids’ haircuts was cool. I hadn’t seen many places that exclusively offered that service, and those that did were very chaotic to the point that I would’ve been nervous to bring my own kids there. It’s a helpful concept and a great way bring people into the store. Both locations have haircuts available, however business at the Chelsea location has been a challenge. I think there are a lot of barber shops in that neighborhood, and boys are more likely to go with Dad. But I don’t have that same challenge in Tribeca. The haircut in my Tribeca business is booming. So in Chelsea we have it only on the weekends and in Tribeca we have someone there five days a week. We have a little red airplane “barber chair” in each store that the kids sit in. We try to make it an organic experience.

What is the smartest business decision you’ve ever made? Doing something that I love. Because when you love something, you do it well.

Anything new for 2017? There aren’t any new lines that we picked up for 2017, but I can tell you I feel like it will be a really strong season. The color palettes are always funny. Of course designers don’t consult each other, but they always seem to come out with similar hues. For 2017, I saw a lot of salmon and sage. The best part about kidswear is there really aren’t trends anymore. Everything seems to be in. There’s no ‘short is in’ or ‘long is in.’ I don’t see much innovation from season to season, but I understand people have been in fashion a long time—it’s hard to come up with something new all the time. So while there are weaker seasons than others, next spring will be a strong one.

If you have a free afternoon, what do you do? I don’t have a lot of free afternoons because I’m with my kids. I’m very thankful I get to work at the store until 3 p.m. and make it so I can be with my children. That has always been my priority. However, if I do anything for myself, my favorite activity is salsa dancing.