Sandy Gingras Shows Us How to Live

If you travel to the south end of Long Beach Island, you’ll find two spots that are sure to bring out the best in you: How to Live and How to Live Bayside, two stores that provide more than just a retail experience. Sandy Gingras, the owner of both shops, hopes that a visit evokes a sense of happiness and makes people truly feel alive. How to Live, the older of the two, has a true beach- feel quality to it and sparks joy for all who step through the doors. Across the street, How to Live Bayside, has a more earthy feel to it, with a sense of calm and peacefulness noticed immediately when you walk in. Gingras looks back and is amazed that’s she been at this for thirty-two years.

Initially inspired by both a sense of wanting to set a good example for her young son and demonstrate to him ways to stand for something, and by a poster from the artist Sark entitled “How to be an Artist,” Gingras put her love of doodling to work and created “How to Live on an Island,” her own “little philosophy of life with a couple of little doodles.” She put the design on a t-shirt and brought it around to craft fairs where it truly resonated with people. Next came a single greeting card design which Gingras hand-lettered and hand-painted “and all of a sudden I had a little business,” she modestly explains. Despite her fears and insecurities, as Gingras notes, she continued to grow the business, from working out of her bedroom to turning her garage into a mini warehouse to the full retail shops running today on LBI. “It never felt real to me because I was never driven to create a business, it just kind of happened. I opened the door and just kept walking…it’s beautiful,” she proudly says.

What started as a small retail shop featuring a handful of Sandy’s designs has developed into two storefronts that sell merchandise from over four hundred companies, in addition to the extensive line of products with Sandy’s designs she continues to add to. Among them, beautiful and thoughtful gifts including cards, stationery, a yearly calendar and books. An author with a wide range of published material including a novel, it’s the tiny gift books which offer reflections on life that Sandy is particularly proud of. “Just saying what you love is a really powerful thing.” Having sold over a million copies of her thoughts about a variety of topics, Gingras believes there are beautiful connections formed through the message of love that comes across in all her writing. Gingras is also thoughtful about the items she brings in and explains, “I wanted to go back to that whole simplicity idea; handmade, smaller companies…there’s just so much more heart in it.”

Gingras has come a long way from the days where her doodles remained just that and is pleased her work has reached so many people across the world. Open about her struggles with depression, Gingras has learned that through all the years of creating her business How to Live, she was teaching herself how to do just that. “A lot of things press us down in life…I think self - expression is the antidote to [it] all. It’s a powerful healing and growth tool that we all have within us.” Gingras says much of her joy these days comes from her work that touches people. When people visit the stores, “it’s an experience…people come in and share a little something about what’s going on in their life, it’s so moving.” Sharing in Sandy’s sentiments are the twenty- two staff members who work at the stores, some of whom have been with her for years and feel more like family. “It’s a ton of work but it’s all really fun.”

Having spent summers on LBI as a child, Gingras has been a part of the LBI community for years and loves the small town feel the island offers and appreciates getting to know people in the community. In addition to connecting with people through her business, Gingras is stepping out into the community with plans to create butterfly gardens at Veterans Bicentennial Park in Beach Haven. “I’ve always felt like I had to give back to the island because it’s given me so much joy, and in some ways this business is me doing that, trying to connect with people.” Having always held environmental issues close to her heart, Gingras is proud to work on the pollinator gardens and remarks, “You just have to do things in life; people care, they really do. They just need to know what to do.”

Besides loving what she does, Sandy also ensures there’s time to enjoy the beautiful coastal setting she’s surrounded by. “I love living on an island; it’s really a peaceful little gem. I smell the marsh, and that’s home to me. I see the sun setting every day and it forces [you] to just be, and that is just so exciting; it’s such a fragile little place.” Through it all, Gingras exudes a sense of positivity in showing not only us, but herself, how to live.

About How to Live: You can visit their website for more information on the shop and store hours. You can also purchase Sandy’s books and art via their website.

About the writer: Brielle Bleeker has been vacationing on LBI since childhood and is happy to continue the tradition with her husband and children. As a freelance writer, Brielle has published articles related to books, travel, food, and wellness. She counts down all year long to summertime on the sandbar.