Pictured: Immediately after her first visit to Sarasota, Malia Price designed The Sarasota Style logo and began planning her brand. Photo provided by Malia Price.

This November, Malia Price will venture to open her first business, The Sarasota Style, on St. Armands Circle. Price, who has always hoped to open her own business, is excited to bring in a new brand she designed specifically for Sarasota.

Price grew up in Alabama and graduated with a degree in business administration from Auburn University in 2023 with the hope of opening her own business. After working at a retail store close to home for a while, Price embarked on a road trip to research the perfect location for her own store. “Sarasota was one of the areas that I ended up stopping by. It was the first time I had ever been here, and I drove on to St. Armands Circle. I walked around, went into all the stores and talked to the employees and people on the street. And I really just fell in love with the area. I thought it was super unique and just a beautiful environment in general,” says Price.

She immediately decided to move to Sarasota and began designing a lifestyle brand for the area, which she named The Sarasota Style. “It's a locally inspired lifestyle brand, so I designed a logo, trademarked it, started rolling out my business plan, designing my merchandise collection and looking for a storefront location,” says Price. “I was dead set on St. Armands Circle. It’s the perfect place for a store.”

Price’s plans were slowed by last year’s hurricanes, but now, she has finally found a storefront location on St. Armands and is preparing for the opening of her very own business. The store, which Price has spent the past several months preparing and decorating, will feature a collection of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, hats and drinkware. Each item features Price’s own design, which says “Sarasota” and features a sketch of the sun in place of the “O.”

“I just hope that the locals accept the brand and really grow to love it, and it just creates a sense of community among the people living in Sarasota and the people that are visiting Sarasota,” says Price. “I know from the tons of people I've talked to that families come to Sarasota and come to St. Armands Circle year after year. It's really a tradition, and I hope I can add a little something to Sarasota for people who have lived here for a lot longer than I have, are visiting, and also people who love this place as much as I've come to love this place.”

The Sarasota Style, 410 St Armands Cir, Sarasota, FL, sarasotastyle.com

Pictured: Immediately after her first visit to Sarasota, Malia Price designed The Sarasota Style logo and began planning her brand. Photo provided by Malia Price.