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| Photo Courtesy of smakparlour.com |
Abby and Katie, best friends since high school, created their own clothing line at a very young age. They created something that is uniquely them and uniquely Philly. They opened their Old City boutique in 2005 and their website followed in 2011. Recently I was able to ask them some questions.
1. What college did you both attend?
Drexel University
2. What made you start your own line?
A passion for design and fashion and a love of entrepreneurship.
3. What do you do to find inspiration?
We find inspiration from each other, as corny as that sounds. We've developed a unified and distinctive aesthetic through the years. We design and carry what we want to wear and hope other people want it too!
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| Split neck dress, 76.00 smakparlour.com |
4. Is it hard being business partners and friends?
No. We've been bf's and practically inseparable since we were 16 years old. We fundamentally understand each other and work very well together.
5. Why start a boutique in Philadelphia?
We love Philly and feel that the girls of Philly needed some SMAK. Old City is a great spot for us being amongst other indie boutiques.
6. Is there a chance that you will open another location?
In the future, maybe, but [we're] not thinking about that now. We're devoting all of our spare time and energy to the website.
7.
What is some advice that you could give to people who want to get into the business?
Its hard work to own a shop and design clothing. You put in long hours and have to be sure you're willing to put in the work and time required in order to be an entrepreneur! We wouldn't trade it for anything though.
If you have a passion and a dream, go for it. There were many people that didn't believe we could do it on our own and actually be successful. Its scary taking the plunge but you only live once (don't listen to dream- crushers).
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| Old City Store |
You can shop their collection on their website smakparlour.com
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