Looking for something cool and unusual? Here’s where you’ll likely find it.
Moving through my days at turbo speed is a way of life I’ve yet to shed. This typically puts me at least three paces and conversations ahead of my neighbors. That is, until I sink down next to Novato-based super-couple, Angie and Charles Ansanelli, co-founders of the Treasure Island Flea, an outdoor, open-air, upscale boutique market.
With New York City as my training ground, I’ve wound up on the short list of fast talkers living and working in the North Bay, but seconds into my discussion with Charles, a native Long Island, New Yorker, I’m robbed of my crown. His wife, Angie, originally from Illinois, is no slouch, either. Twenty-five years of marriage to Charles has made her an equally skilled swift talker. The only thing that seems to trump the speed at which this enthusiastic pair speaks is how swiftly their business has skyrocketed.
Coffee with the Ansanellis feels a bit like being back in middle school, hanging around a friend’s locker, everyone jockeying to tell their stories, enthusiasm abounding. In this case, Angie and Charles overlap and complete each other’s sentences as I attempt to keep up. “What you can get is, my husband and I are both passionate about this. That’s why we’re always talking over each other,” says Angie. The frenetic energy between them could easily ignite the couple’s hometown of Novato—and probably San Francisco, too.
Multiplying like fleas
They met in 1985 in San Francisco, where Charles had opened a shop on Pier 39. “It was the only store not selling t-shirts. Men were [at the tourist attraction] with wives and girlfriends who were spending up a storm, but there wasn’t anything for them. So I created a store for the men called Men at Work. “Miami Vice” was in, so I had that look. Whatever was in—hip and trendy—I had it.” Cultivating thecool and unusual soon became a business mantra, best evidenced at the Treasure Island Flea, now in its second year. The monthly, two-day, open air flea market is held on the last Saturday and Sunday of every month and draws one-of-a-kind indie designers, artists and musicians, along with attracting droves of shoppers…and even dogs. “We have all these little doggie pit stops, where they get bones, water bowls and biscuits,” says Charles. “We’ve taken the concept of flea markets that were all antiques and made it hip. We’ve kind of shaken it up and made it different.”
Indeed, this is no ordinary flea market. Much like the speed at which its founders speak, the Treasure Island Flea took off when it opened over Memorial Weekend 2011, and the buzz has yet to wane. “Lots of vendors told us, ‘What a terrible time to open, usually our sales are half.’ But we decided to open on that weekend anyway,” says Charles. “Our fear became our motivation.”
Turns out there was nothing to fear as the first weekend drew more than 15,000 people. “We frickin’ rocked it,” Angie enthuses. That they did. With calculated measures of New York guerrilla street marketing mixed with equally aggressive social networking tactics, the word spread as quickly as, well, a pack of fleas. The grassroots effort erupted all over the Bay Area, causing attendance to soar, vendors to clamor to exhibit, and a flea market of a different variety to emerge.
Attracting the unusual
Charles credits the market’s success to a rigorous vendor selection process and an interactive approach to merchandising, both tactics gleaned from his more than 20 years of retailing experience. “Without being unruly, we’re picky about our exhibitors. We try to make sure it’s a good fit for everybody. Because people have to do a lot to come out [to Treasure Island], we don’t want them to be disappointed,” he says.
Charles’ entrepreneurial spirit was born on Long Island and continued to sprout over time. “When I was a kid growing up, I had a landscaping business in the summer, but in the winter, we got snow. During the off season, I was introduced by a friend of a friend to sell product at an open-air market.” Soon enough, the side business took over the landscaping and, in 1985, Charles moved to San Francisco to open the Pier 39 store. It was at that same time Angie took her first airplane ride, coincidentally, to San Francisco.
The couple met and soon married. The business grew, locations were added and a manufacturing business was born. “We wanted to make products ourselves so we could offer more unique things and give people more reasons to shop with us.” By 1993, the couple had sold their stores and developed a successful patriotic line that was fueled by the 1994 Olympics. The venture thrived for many years until the recent economic downturn took its hold.
“We’d been successful at trade shows in Las Vegas and New York and had been in every major catalog retailer in the United States,” says Charles, “but then it started to go down as the economy tanked. Trade shows became more prohibitive to do, very expensive.”
Angie adds, “And we had four kids and were living in Marin.” The couple realized they needed to modify their business. The idea was apparent, but implementing it wasn’t so simple.
“We knew we wanted to sell some of our products at an open-air market [like those in New York] but we found they were very expensive here,” says Charles. “Then we asked ourselves, ‘If we’re having this problem, what are other people doing?’”
Never willing to wait for opportunity to come knocking, they devised a plan. “We envisioned an open-air market as a platform for entrepreneurs, since so many stores were closing. We thought it would be a great idea, if we had the energy, to create this market that didn’t exist.” In my limited time with the Ansanellis, it’s clear energy is never lacking, so the real treasure hunt began.
The hunt for the cool and unusual
Angie and Charles began researching the feasibility of creating a different kind of open-air market for the Bay Area. “I was dragging around my 15-year-old son from show to show, and he was bored out of his mind. I realized we had to make something for the younger generation and for those with families.” Committed to ditching the conventions of staid antiques and tchotchke-filled flea markets, the pursuit of the cool and unusual emerged. “I attended so many shows, I began to see a sea of sameness, so we went for curated but not snobby.”
In much the same way that shows like “American Idol” and “Survivor” have a set of measures to decide who’s on and off the show, the Ansanellis created a formula of their own to determine which exhibitors make the cut, “If it’s cool and unusual, you’re in. If it’s boring, you’re not. There are so many creative people, I’m just blown away,” says Angie.
“We look for people and personalities. If you’re a sourpuss, you’re probably not right for our show,” Charles adds.
At the same time, the couple was meeting with potential exhibitors, they also worked to locate the ideal space to host the event. For a while, they had trouble finding a location that would permit the type of site use they had in mind. “We started to work with the city council and the mayor’s office, creating business plans with all kinds of breakdowns, as far as exhibitors, shoppers tax, revenues and the incubator-ness for entrepreneurs looking for a play in this economy,” says Charles. “What we were envisioning had never been done here so nobody could really put their hands around it.”
The persistence eventually paid off when Treasure Island called with an offer in September 2010. While they were excited at the prospect of finding a venue, the location wasn’t optimal. “As a husband and wife with a new concept and vision, the last thing we wanted to do was start it off in a place that most people had never been to—where you have to get in a car, pay a toll and go over a bridge before you even start. But after a year and a half trying to find a location, we had to start something,” says Charles.
Running low on budget but high on determination, Angie and Charles hit the streets, armed with thousands of postcards and an arsenal of fast talk, to get the word out. They sent out press announcements, conducted interviews and even offered deals on Living Social. “In the beginning, you have a vision: Getting people there. Then you need to make it successful month after month. The exhibitors have to be what you want them to be [cool and hip], because that dictates the quality of shoppers that want to come to the show.”
Santa Rosa-based exhibitor Urban Gypsy speaks to the allure of the market. “There are a lot of kids from San Francisco who come over. Angie and Charles have really targeted the young kids. By being really focused on social media, they’re catering to the younger generation, which is the future of this business,” says owner Randy St. Jean.
While others might have stopped after garnering soaring attendance figures (an average of 12,000 to 15,000 people attend monthly) in a sought-after demographic, for Charles and Angie, the instant popularity fueled them to diversify. “Next we enlisted the hottest gourmet food trucks from San Francisco. That was a tremendous draw, so we thought, ‘Why don’t we have some world class wine?’”
The razzle dazzle
As the market nears the end of its second year of operation, a lot has changed, which is exactly how Angie and Charles intend to keep things—ever-changing. Charles speaks to the growth-evolution curve, “The quality has increased tenfold. I go to every single show in Northern California looking for the cool and unusual and to make sure our presence is known. I’ve met with more than 2,000 vendors to date.” The first market showcased 100 vendors, a figure that’s since grown to more than 300.
North Bay exhibitor, artist Barbara Lawrence, speaks to the draw of Treasure Island Flea, “The thing that makes it so wonderful and unique is the location—being on an island and seeing the beautiful skyline. And it’s dog-friendly.” Lawrence attracts a crowd offering custom pet portraits and often uses her dog “Muttisse” as a model. In addition to painting professionally for the last 15 years, Lawrence, who’s studio is at Art Works Downtown in San Rafael, is a teacher at Rileystreet Art Supply and the College of Marin. For her, the event is about raising awareness for her art and teaching.
Success is gauged not only by numbers but diversity. “It’s never the same twice,” says Angie. “The vendors are always different. We constantly add flare and bedazzle, like DIY [do it yourself] classes, which continue to evolve. And we have local indie bands play. People get to hear them here first before they become big.”
Charles explains the catalyst for the “keeping it fresh” approach, “The fact that you can’t see Treasure Island from the highway is why the market has to remain ever-changing. We’re always trying to incubate fresh new talent.”
The never-ending hunt
The market diversifies itself further by offering a different type of experience for its shoppers and exhibitors. “It’s not just a flea market, there’s food and music; this has much more of a creative edge than most markets,” says Jeanne St. Jean of Urban Gypsy. “It’s also a much slower and relaxed show, versus the Alameda [Flea Market], where you have people attacking you at 4 a.m.”
This decidedly different experience wasn’t accidental, just another part of the master plan. “We’ve been to the other shows with the runway effect,” says Charles. “But we wanted a true retail experience in a boutique setting, with atmosphere and ambience and nice places to sit and eat, where parking is free.”
Angie adds, “Where you’re not pressured, you can sit on the lawn, participate in a DIY class, and come in and out.”
The vibe on the open lawn, where food trucks are serving gourmet eats with the San Francisco skyline as the backdrop, is indeed relaxing. Angie describes average attendees as, “Hip, urban and tech-savvy, 20- to 31-year-olds with good jobs. We also have young families managing careers and kids.” Charles adds, “The older crowds love to come and enjoy, too. You can look at the bay and talk because it’s not too loud.” The ambiance seems to agree with people, as the average shopper spends between four to six hours there.
While the event has gained traction since its 2011 opening, the Ansanellis aren’t inclined to just sit back and let market life roll on, as is. “We had this tremendous amount of growth in the first year, but we’re continuing to redefine it. We see future expansion,” says Charles. “Now that we’ve laid the blue print and people can put their hands around it, it’s afforded us the opportunity to look at other locations besides Treasure Island. There might be one in Marin, not as large in scale as Treasure Island, but with the same core components.”
While some markets wind down for winter, the Ansanellis will roll on, pop-up style, inside the historic One Avenue of the Palms, which is Treasure Island’s last standing and usable building from the 1939 San Francisco World’s Fair.
Getting a word in
It’s hard to draw this interview to a close, because the exuberance levels are running just as high now as when we said our initial hellos. But I have a burning question: How did the Ansanellis manage to not only survive a faltering economy but thrive in it? They clamor to answer…and, inadvertently, out talk each other. “We had to reinvent ourselves,” Charles offers.
“That’s what we do best. We just dive in and figure it out as we go, we just keeping plowing along,” Angie adds.
They sit still for only a second as if to digest this. Then Charles adds, “I’m proud of how we created something out of nothing.”
Angie nuzzles in with, “In the beginning, we couldn’t even get a place [to hold the market], and now everybody wants us.”
They share a “go figure” shrug and charge out the door at turbo speed. I’m still trying to keep up.
