This week we speak with Rebecca and Karin of Something White. These incredibly busy entrepreneurs, wives and moms not only run one of the most charming bridal boutiques in Northeast Ohio, but they also organize fabulous events to partner with other bridal vendors and support other entrepreneurs in our region!
Tell us a little bit about your business?
Something White is a bridal boutique in Northeast Ohio that opened in June of 2010. We opened to provide Cleveland-area brides with a little something different for their big day and offer a curated collection of couture wedding gowns raging in style from vintage, to modern, to whimsical, to preppy. We specialize in boutique designers that can be hard to find elsewhere and were named one of the Top 50 Bridal Salons in the country by Brides Magazine in 2015.We have extended our brick and mortar retail shop to be a resource for couples in all aspects of wedding planning by producing the Boutique Bridal Bazaar, an annual avant-garde bridal event, and writing the Boutique Bridal Book CLE, a source of Cleveland wedding inspiration and top notch wedding pros.
How did you make your way to being an entrepreneur and what has surprised you most about being an entrepreneur?
We went to high school together and even back then talked about opening a business in our hometown of Independence OH. Years later, still friends, post-college and living in Chicago we struck upon the idea of opening a bridal shop. Many of our friends were getting married and traveling outside of the Cleveland area to find the style of wedding gown they were looking for. We knew that this was something we could bring to the Cleveland area so that brides didn’t feel they had to travel to bigger cities to find their gown, and set about learning all we could about starting a business and the bridal industry. About a year and a half later we moved home and opened Something White.Sometimes we look around or shop and think, wow, all of this is ours. Even after 6 years it still seems surreal – especially when we get to enjoy the fringe benefits of trying on pretty wedding dresses whenever we want ?
What apps do you use to keep yourself organized?
Professionally we love Acuity Scheduling – we are by appointment and this has saved us a ton of time by eliminating phone tag and back and forth emails because customers can view our availability online in real time and set up an appointment when it works best for them.We also love Asana for managing large projects and communicating tasks and deadlines for our interns/employees.As working moms it is always a struggle to stay on top of the demands of family life while running a business and Pepperplate is one app that helps us keep family meals organized. We can import recipes, plan our weekly meals and add the ingredients to the shopping list. No more throwing a meal together at the last minute only to discover that we are missing a key ingredient!
What is your spirit animal?
Okay this one stumps me – I’m not really sure what animals we relate to…but if we could pick television characters instead we would be the Gilmore Girls. We loved opening our business in our small hometown, we think (and talk!) fast, and we drink lots and lots (and lots!) of coffee.
How can we find your business?
You can find our shop in downtown Independence Ohio at 6596 Brecksville Rd. – although don’t be fooled when it looks like you have arrived at the Independence Bike shop – our door is on the side of the building. You can schedule an appointment and view our gown collections at www.somethingwhitebridal.com and find our take on planning a CLE wedding at www.clebridalbook.com.
You can also find Something White on Facebook where you can keep track of their events! Their next event is May 13th – 15th and is an Untamed Petals trunk show featuring lots of great hair accessories. Go say hi to these wonderful women, and if you’re trying on a veil or hairpiece, they may even whip up your hair in a fabulous up-do!
