Anna Wiggins opens Surseen Boutique to help women feel “authentically seen”
The business owner, Anna Wiggins is a serial business-owner who has a passion for helping women feel seen and beautiful.
Despite a wave of retail closures across the United States in recent years, Anna Wiggins is betting big on brick and mortar in the Bearden neighborhood of Knoxville.
“It’s terrifying to open a brick-and-mortar right now,” she said. “Every time I turn around, there’s a news article about a local store closing.”
But, Wiggins believes the future of retail isn’t exclusively online. She still views clothing shopping as a way to slow down, connect, and be present with those around you. That conviction led her to open Surseen Boutique, a second-hand fashion shop off Kingston Pike, focused on personal styling and outfit curation.
“We serve women with curated second-hand fashion without the stress,” she said.
Growing and selling her first brick-and-mortar
Surseen marks Wiggins’ return to brick-and-mortar retail. Her first shop, Loveliest Bridal, opened in 2016 and gave her a deep connection to women preparing for milestone moments.
“I absolutely loved working with brides and serving them,” she said.
In 2022, after becoming a mother and navigating the pandemic, Wiggins felt it was time to transition out of the business. She sold Loveliest Bridal to a mother-daughter duo who had previously purchased a gown from her. The shop continues to operate in South Knoxville.
But stepping away from entrepreneurship did not last long.
“As soon as I sold it, I was already wondering, what is going to be my next business? I’m just an entrepreneur at heart,” Wiggins said. “I realized how much I missed helping women feel beautiful.”
Above all else, she wants women to be seen
After selling Loveliest Bridal, Wiggins supported female founders through the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center and Aught, a community created by Erica Biddix for women business owners. She enjoyed serving others, but the idea of returning to a storefront stayed with her.
In early 2026, she launched Surseen to help women in a new capacity.
“The name Surseen is a made-up word. The prefix ‘Sur’ means above. And above all else, I want women to feel authentically seen,” she said.
The mission is personal. Wiggins often thinks of her own mother and of her five-year-old daughter, Luna, who is watching her build a business from the ground up.
“I just really want to make a good impression on my daughter with how I talk about myself, how I think about myself, and how I carry myself,” she said. “I want to show up authentically as me, and I want that for every woman around me, no matter what age or stage of life.”
Building community in a shifting retail landscape
Surseen officially opened on February 7. Wiggins said early traffic has been mixed, with most of her energy currently focused on marketing and community engagement. Her strongest supporters so far have been fellow female entrepreneurs.
“I feel like we are really lucky in Knoxville to have the community of entrepreneurs that we do,” she said. “So many of us embody the spirit of community over competition and genuinely want to support one another.”
She looks forward to hosting joint events, curating new collections, and growing alongside the region’s other second-hand shops.
While opening a boutique in today’s retail climate is not necessarily the safest or easiest choice, Wiggins sees Surseen as more than a business. It is a place where women can feel confident, supported, and truly seen. And in a period when many stores are closing their doors, she is opening hers, betting that connection still matters.
“It is second-hand shopping without the stress,” she said.
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