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The smell of cotton candy mixed with freshly popped corn is in the air and around the corner the sounds of rigging equipment can be heard. Along a steel tent mast 30 feet in the air is a young woman checking her harness before finishing the climb to the top to focus a stray spotlight. The setting is the big top of the Big Apple Circus and the young woman is known today as Kimberly Allen, co-founder and Logistics Director of Something Fabulous. A few hours away, another young woman is busy on-set. This is not a circus set, but the fashion set for a special segment of ABC's Good Morning America. As the bustle of the studio goes on around her, this design student from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City prepares for her first television segment. The segment is on the hottest trends for fall. The moment is one of pure excitement and inspiration as an awareness of something great unfolds. This student today is known as Jennifer Charles, co-founder and Design Director for Something Fabulous. From these two scenes was born a passion, one for the technical and logistical and the other for fashion and media.
Fast forward 15 years and you will find Kimberly and Jennifer at their event boutique, where fashion and show business combine to create unique and personal events for a variety of different customers. The latest trends and most popular product lines are essential to the success of the duo who have designed and executed events featured on MTV’s, My Super Sweet Sixteen, as well as feature parties for the NBC’s Detroit affiliate Local 4 and the North American International Auto Show. Creativity and passion is essential to both women and much of their drive and determination is credited to the work ethic that was passed to them through their parents and family examples. This family tie is what brought them back to Michigan from New York in the late 90. “Our grandmother was in her late 80’s at the time and both of us were a little tired from traveling, touring and missing out on being in the family photos,” says Allen. Kimberly and Jennifer are more than partners, but sisters from Michigan with an entrepreneurial dream and the passion to see it come true.
In 2002, the sisters decided to make their dream reality and began a corporate event planning company. After two years of seasonal corporate events, it was time to make a change. That change was a new direction and a better fit, the social component of the business was added in May of 2004 and called Something Fabulous. “I love fashion and beautiful things, but I also know that it takes more than money and design to make a celebration special,” says Charles. “Love is in the details and most guests love to share in those details,” she adds. The boutique fills a need in the wedding and special occasion market for clever, personal and unique items with an emphasis on individuality and customer service. And, although to the eye Something Fabulous looks like a trendy, fun place to shop, once you experience Something Fabulous you know that it is so much more than a stationery store or traditional gift retailer.
An event boutique specializing in the details of entertaining and event planning, Something Fabulous carries everything from note cards, gift cards and invitations to clever gifts and thoughtful mementos. Customers find inspiration in every visit. It is not uncommon for someone to purchase their college graduation invitations and return later for wedding, baby announcements or first birthday invitations. Jennifer and Kimberly believe that their greatest advertisements are word of mouth, and the Something Fabulous team prides themselves on the number of loyal customers retained throughout their history. It is truly a boutique with your moment in mind.
If asked, both women will tell you fond tales of adventures in New York, Miami and towns across the country, but the biggest smiles come from tales of their entrepreneurial adventures, customers who have become friends, and their plans for national expansion. Kimberly Allen is a graduate of Western Michigan University and resides in Rochester, Michigan with her husband Mike, and their daughter, Amelia Naomi. Partner and sister, Jennifer Charles is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology and Wayne State University. Jennifer resides in Arlington, Virginia with her husband, Tommy Charles. Plans for Something Fabulous II are underway for 2008. Mom (Barbara) and grandma (Naomi, 94), reside in Michigan, but the love of family, business and travel keeps everyone close by.
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