By Sarah Kuper Beth Keplinger is fulfilling a lifetime dream by opening the ladies’ boutique Ryan Reeve in Cahaba Heights. The store will sell casual but sophisticated clothing for women of all ages at varying price points. While Keplinger has a knack for style and a heart for customer service, her dream of owning a boutique goes beyond clothes and shoes. Keplinger’s goal is … [Read more...]
Model Citizens : Birmingham First Responders Moonlight as Models for Hope Lodge
By Emily WilliamsBirmingham Fire and Rescue Service Department member Javier Crayton signed on with the department to help people in need. Last month he added model to his list of first responder duties. The department has released the Magic City Heroes 2017 calendar, which features a few of the department’s everyday heroes dressed, or rather undressed, in their … [Read more...]
The Cutting Edge: Birmingham Fashion Week Showcases Local and National Talent
By Emily Williams Six years have passed since childhood friends Heidi Elnora and Jeana Lee Thompson celebrated their first Birmingham Fashion Week and, according to Thompson, those years of experience haven’t lightened the workload. “Every year has been amazing, but as it’s grown it has become more and more difficult to organize,” Thompson said. “Here at year number six we’re … [Read more...]
On Trend: Style Consultant Tracy James Helps Clients Cultivate Confidence
By Emily WilliamsTracy James never saw Chic Made Simple, her fashion consulting and styling brand, in her future as a young girl growing up in Mountain Brook. “I always had a love of fashion,” she said. “I went to a Montessori school and I remember us doing a project in kindergarten where we drew a picture of what we were most excited to do over the summer and then we … [Read more...]
The Third I: Inside the Uber Creative Mind of Kris Childs
By Todd Childs For more than 20 years, Kris Childs has made it her business to ensure that her clients can be seen as well as they can see. That business is iiis. an optical shop. The New Orleans native turned Birminghamian was the mother of two college-aged daughters when a friend suggested in the early 1990’s that they open an eyewear shop. “I said, ‘Why not?’ I knew … [Read more...]