Boutique of the Week: Nancy King
Last month I had the pleasure of interviewing Sharni Lindsay owner of Nancy King boutique in Bisbane Australia. Lindsay also owns an awesome online store called E-robe.
MB: So, you have a physical location in Brisbane called Nancy King and an online store called E-robe, or are they one in the same?
SL: We stock all labels online as we do in store. With some labels on e-Robe we aren’t allowed to sell so we have a function set up to email us for more information which allows the customers to do an over the phone or email purchase instead.
MB: Why the name Nancy King?
SL: Nancy King was our grandmother’s name. She represented everything we believed in, including fashion. She had the most amazing wardrobe and we still have some of her special pieces including her fur jackets. Sadly after we opened Nancy King she unexpectedly passed away but we were lucky enough to get her in store and dress her head to toe in clothing from the store.
MB: How long have you been open, both physical location and online?
SL: Nancy King has been opened for 3.5 years. Then almost 2 years ago my sister Brooke (co owner) decided we should have an online store to reach our interstate and overseas customers. We recently started shipping overseas so it’s nice to know the name is getting out there.
MB: What made you want to open your own boutique?
SL: When we were young our mother had a gorgeous children’s wear store in a little country town we grew up in. We were always decked out in the latest fashions and would spend our afternoons playing dress ups in store. So I guess it just grew into us. Mum is such a huge help to us and our number 1 customer so its nice having such a great support system.
MB: What type of customer shop at your boutique?
SL: We have such a broad range of customers in store and online. I would say our most common customer are the mothers and daughters. We have great fun dresses for low price points which the daughters can buy then we have amazing “pieces” which are higher priced but the mother is happy to indulge in. Then some of mum’s friends aged 65 will buy something from the store. Its nice to have pieces of clothing that reach such a vast age group whether you’re a lover of all things fashion or simply looking for clothing!
MB: Favorite part about owning your own boutique is?
SL: Walking into a huge wardrobe every morning. Although I try to stop myself it’s hard not to have a new outfit for every occasion!
MB: Least favorite part about owning your own boutique is?
SL: Paperwork and budgets. I’m not sure anyone actually enjoys that part of a business but it has to be done!
MB: What lines do you carry?
SL: We stock Clothing, Shoes, Handbags and Accessories. The labels we carry are International and Australian. We also recently started manufacturing our own Handbags and Shoe label which is so much fun to design and have in store and online!
MB: How do you pick the lines you carry in your boutique?
SL: We like to have a wide range of labels in store so there is something for every customer. I want to be able to dress a girl going to a music festival then someone looking for a black tie gown. I think having a diverse range of labels in store doesn’t limit those who want to go shopping!
If you are in or are going to the Brisbane area you can find them at or check them out at www.e-robe.com. CHEERS!!
The Nancy King Boutique
161 Grey St.| South Bank| Brisbane |4101
(07)3844-4968|
Fashion Backstage: Meet Jendayi Setorie-Collingwood
Name: Jendayi Setorie-Collingwood
Company: Phoenix Fashion Week
Title: Assistant Director of Designers and Buyers Team
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Describe Phoenix Fashion Week: The goal of Phoenix Fashion Week is to bridge designers and buyers. And that is what we do. We produce events, conferences, and seminars designed to bring together designers, retailers, and sponsors and to drive sales for all of them.
What is your role at Phoenix Fashion Week: I am the assistant director of the Designers and Buyers team. My team deals directly with designers and retailers. We recruit designers to showcase their brands and we recruit retailers who are interested in expanding their designer selections inside their stores. We also provide fashionable eduction to both designers and buyers from industry experts.
What did you do before Phoenix Fashion Week: I am currently a student at University of Arizona. I learned about Phoenix Fashion Week through one of my teachers.
What makes Phoenix Fashion Week different from other fashion weeks? We at Phoenix Fashion Week, ACTUALLY focus on REALLY bridging designers and buyers.
What are some of you favorite Designers featured at Phoenix Fashion Week? Stop Staring, 7 Diamonds, Prvcy Premium Denim, and Local Celebrity (I love their tees!)
What is your number one fashion source? Umm, this is a really good question. My number one fashion source would probably be Elle.com. I’m addicted.
Describe your Style: My personal style varies from day to day. It really depends on what kind of mood I’m in. I am West Indian, so I’m really fascinated and obsessed with bright, bold color and patterns. Sometimes, I like to be really comfy in some jeans and kicks. But, most days, I like to be very girly and flirty. I love dresses and skirts! I’m addicted to shoes and accessories. Give me ruffles and lace any day!
Check them out at www.phoenixfashionweek.com
Fashion Backstage: Meet Andy Karuza of Seattle Fashion Week
Name: Andy Karuza
Company: Lush Life Entertainment
Title: Owner
Location: Seattle
Briefly Describe Seattle Fashion Week:
SFW is a progressive movement in local fashion scene. Our brand mission (R) evolution is two-fold; the education of local Seattlites about the importance of fashion as a source of self-expression and a platform for launching successful careers for our local designers, models, and music artists.
Did you start Seattle Fashion Week, if so why?
I became involved with Gabriel Choy’s Seattle Fashion Week last year as part of an internship that turned out to be so much more for me. I’ve been involved in small business marketing and promotions for several years while I attend (And still do) Western Washington University in Bellingham. I’m the type of person that is never content so naturally I find myself attracted to projects that have a BIG vision and the ability to employ my entrepenurial attitude. I don’t care what has been done but rather what can be done. Gabe Choy has that BIG vision and that is why I have invested my time in his project.
What did you do before Seattle Fashion Week?
I’ve done many small business marketing projects to working with large corporate stores on the local level. Promotions and marketing have been at the top of my list for the last 4-5 years. Back in my childhood years there was a business on the corner of my street that would always go out of business (Due to it’s bad location). I felt bad for the owners and since vowed myself professionally to help that to never happen to people like this again. Part of the answer to this problem is good marketing and customer/business relationships and that is what I preach to business owners.
What makes Seattle Fashion Week different from other fashion weeks?
The area of Seattle is not very condusive to a fashion scene and so it’s been hard for boutiques, models, and designers to make a living off it. Seattle Fashion Week stands as an opportunity to create a fashion awareness movement that will truly help these people out and change the general population’s view on the importance of fashion. Our fashion week is also designed around building a strong connection with the local population through PR. Most other cities have a more established fashion scene so they don’t have to interact as much with the population. SFW seeks to promote local up and coming student designers, encourage local participation, work with local small businesses, and inspire the idea of fashion to everybody in general.
What are some of you favorite Designers featured at Seattle Fashion Week?
Personally, I’m excited for 7 Jeans and Ducati. The Ducati motorcycle brand is the ONLY brand that I’ll say I’m loyal too, and that means a lot coming from a marketing guy. There is a lot of buzz about the designer from Ecaudor as well so naturally I’m excited to see what she’s got.
What is your number one fashion source?
Ebay…just kidding. I like getting my fashion from Nordstrom.
Describe your Style 
My style is rebellious-professional. I believe in dressing the part, maintaining comfort, avoiding the norm, and doing something fresh. My typical outfit is designer jeans, a custom blazer, and my puma slip-ons. Individuality is the most important fashion statement for myself and I absolutely do not like trends that are the classic “This is how your supposed to look to be this?” An example are ties and full business suits. I must have forgot where they wrote it down that you have to wear a tie (Symbolized as form of obediance to your job) and suit to be considered a professional. Live a little and let your actions and integrity in business speak for themselves rather than have a static suit style do it for you.
Fashion Backstage: Meet Chris Cone of Portland Fashion Week
Name: Chris Cone 
Company: PFW Productions, LLC
Title: Principal
Location: Portland, OR
Briefly Describe Portland Fashion Week:
PFW is a “traditional” fashion week in the sense that we launch the next-season’s collections of designers, market designers to the media, to wholesale buyers, and direct-to-consumer. We emphasize and stage eco-responsible and independent fashion, as well as some lager labels who have shown with us like Nike and Icebreaker, and draw international attention to what we think of as Portland’s unique intersection of art.
What did you do before Portland Fashion Week?
I was a “Corporate Services Supervisor” at a large wind energy systems company. I was producing small, one-off events and charity findraisers at local bars & clubs, and was only a fashion whore as a consumer at the time.
What makes Portland Fashion Week different from other fashion weeks?
We not only stage significant numbers of eco-fashion designers on the runway, but employ those practices in what has become the only comprehensively green production of a fashion week event. We’ve done a unique job, I think, of building direct personal and organizational ties to real industry players in New York, LA, Europe, and Asia, and are one of the few such fashion weeks who don’t just feature local talent to a local audience and local media, but draw both designers, press, buyers, and high-level industry attendees from outside our market, from places as regionally close as Seattle & LA, and as far flung as New York, Chicago, the U.K. Italy, Paris, Sweden, …even places like Vienna and Pakistan.
What are some of your favorite Designers featured at Portland Fashion Week?
This is probably the hardest question to answer! My head swims with “what am I forgetting” every time I get asked. If you really love fashion, then every season has new answers!
Anna Cohen made probably my favorite single collection so far with her Cuba-inspired looks from SS/08.
Lizzie Parker, an eco designer… her evolution has been blowing me away.
Leanne Marshall, who won Project Runway Season 5, made her runway debut at PFW, and her work has always been one of my favorites to grace our shows.
Christopher Bevans menswear…. wow.
Amai Unmei, Idom… …and Suzabelle has been turning out the tightest, most stylish jackets lately. I really could go on & on, but these are some designers that jump to mind right now who have showed at PFW.
What is your number one fashion source?
These days there is just so much going on at once that I honestly do not have a number one source In addition to my work on Portland Fashion Week, I cover fashion for Examiner.com, and as a contributing writer at EcoFashionWorld.com, so I am on probably a hundred different fashion-related mailing lists and just try to gobble up as much news as I can without drowning. My work as a producer and writer also ends up simply exposing me first-hand to a lot of the people and stories that I end up covering or working with at fashion week.
Describe your Style:
I mix it up, but day-to-day you’ll see me in designer denim mixed with graphic tees & blazers with chunky belts. I’m a complete man-shoe-whore. I have “too many” shoes and they tend to match elements of my clothes, along with watches in a wide variety of colors and styles. The whole “military-chic” thing has come on particularly strong lately, and will even more-so this Fall, and I confess I’m liking a lot of it. I really look for pieces that are unique enough so that most guys aren’t confident enough to dare it, but are still stylish. “
RSS Feed
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Flickr