Talking Shop: A discussion on inclusive spaces

Ayesha Curry: Hi, Sherri!

Sherri McMullen: Hi, Ayesha!

Ayesha Curry: So good to see you.

Sherri McMullen: So good to see you.

Ayesha Curry: My name’s Ayesha Curry, and I am currently at my new flagship location

here in Oakland, California, Sweet July.

Sherri McMullen: I am Sherri McMullen.

I’m the founder of McMullen boutique here in Oakland.

I’ve had the business for 13 years now, and it is a luxury women’s and lifestyle business

focused on emerging designers, female designers, and Black designers.

Founding Inspiration

Sherri McMullen: Well Ayesha, you know, I’ve known you for, you know, well over 10

years now, and it’s just really been such a pleasure, like watching you as a businesswoman

and as a community leader.

Sherri McMullen: Now to see that you have this booming food and lifestyle empire

… a chain of International Smoke Restaurants, a lifestyle line under Sweet July.

What inspired you to start your businesses?

Ayesha Curry: I’ve always seen a void for something that I want to have in my life

or something that I wanted to be a part of and it wouldn’t exist.

Ayesha Curry: I feel like Sweet July is really, like, a culmination of years of

trial and error and triumphs, failures, finding my own voice and finally getting to a place

where this is, this is everything that I’ve had in my head all these years finally coming

to fruition and exactly the way that I want it.

Ayesha Curry: Which I feel like makes me think of you and how we met many, many

Like we said, over a decade ago, I stumbled upon your first location of your store in

I would like to know a little bit about your journey as an entrepreneur and how far you’ve

come because you’re such a powerhouse.

Sherri McMullen: I was always really curious to know about the behind the scenes,

like how did product get into the stores.

And in 2007, I started McMullen

Sherri McMullen: You know, every part of the business was really intentional, from

the mannequins that we had and my family portraits on the wall.

Because for me, it was really important thatif a young Black woman was walking by the

store, she could pass by, come into the store,and also see herself in this industry.

[TITLE CARD] Adjusting During The Pandemic

This is an important one, actually the pandemic — what innovative ways, I guess,

have you come up with to try and keep up with that – to keep things going?

Sherri McMullen: We closed down.

But I think what it did was allow everyone in the industry to slow down, rethink about

how we can do business in a different way that actually made sense.

Sherri McMullen: So we were able to look at our business model and figure out ways

that we can actually enhance certain parts of it and then really pivot to the digital

Sherri McMullen: What we have seen is that we really want to focus on creating that

same story that we have created in the store — really making customers feel like if

they go onto our site, they actually have an overall understanding of who we are as

a company, what our vision is.

Sherri McMullen: So the e-commerce business has – it’s really taken off.

Ayesha Curry: I think you’ve done an amazing job.

Ayesha Curry: I think YouTube was huge for me in the forward-facing nature of my

It gave me a voice and allowed me an avenue to show my personality and tell my own story.

Ayesha Curry: “Hey guys!

Welcome to the International Smoke popup!

Celebrating Inclusion

Sherri McMullen: When you walk into Sweet July, it is, like such a happy space.

I’d love for you to talk about just the curation.

It’s amazing to see so many artisans that you’ve been working with … so many black

designers that you’ve brought into the space.

Can you talk about that?

Ayesha Curry: Yes, I would love to.

For me it’s about inclusivity and diversity on a whole, So making sure that our team looks

like all different types of people.

Ayesha Curry: The best thing that I’ve learned along the way or advice that I’ve

gotten is to realize that with business, it’s not a sprint .. it’s a marathon.

And so if things take a little bit longer, it’s okay because you want to be here to

last … not here today, gone tomorrow.

Ayesha Curry: What are some exciting things or some goals that you have for yourself

looking, let’s say five years ahead?

Sherri McMullen: I really want to continue to grow the McMullen brand and continuing

to bring in these amazing designers from all over the world and really being the leader

in the industry in that way.

Sherri McMullen: How about you, Ayesha?

Ayesha Curry: When it comes to Sweet July, I would love to just make sure we’re

staying on top of what it is we’ve created and staying true to our ethos.

Ayesha Curry: I loved talking to you!

Sherri McMullen: I loved talking to you!

Ayesha Curry: Well thank you, Sherri.

Sherri McMullen: Thank you, Ayesha!