fab’rik: ‘high style, heart’
Melissa Mauceri, left, fab’rik Knoxville store manager, and store stylist Esmeralda Mendoza look over fab’rik’s outfits from its Asher Collection at its 11375 Parkside Drive location in The Pinnacle at Turkey Creek, which opened June 21.
The franchise store, fab’rik Knoxville, had a soft opening June 21 at its location, between Clair’s and Sunglass Hut at 11375 Parkside Drive in The Pinnacle. A grand opening is being planned for August.
The store, created by Dana Spinola, founder/CEO and “chief visionary officer,” offers trendy clothes with prices under $100.
“What Dana was trying to do was fill the gap in fashion retail,” store manager Melissa Mauceri said. “Everything that every fab’rik location carries, outside of Spanx Denim line, is always under $100.”
One of fab’rik’s mantras is “High style with heart.”
“Aside from affordability, another thing they strive to do is ‘wow’ every single customer,” she said. “That’s why we have a staff of personal stylists.
“We want to make sure everybody comes in and then leaves feeling more beautiful and more informed than when they came in,” Mauceri added. “We try to do everything we can just to support the community.”
The company has two major projects to fulfill that support.
“The first thing we do is we have our in-house line, which is designed by in-house designers, called the Asher Collection,” she said. “Our founder adopted her daughter, Asher, from Ethiopia. Asher was saved by Project 82 Kenya.”
Project 82 Kenya specializes in finding children who have been abandoned because the families cannot afford to take care of them and finding forever homes for those children, Mauceri explained.
“(Project 82 Kenya stays) with them throughout their whole life,” she said, adding after Dana adopted Asher, she wanted to find a way to continue supporting the organization. Spinola came up with the clothing line, from which proceeds go toward Project 82 Kenya.
”And every location has an Asher Baby that we know Project 82 Kenya resources are providing for (the baby) and we know (the baby’s story),” Mauceri said.
The Farragut store’s Asher Baby is Mary, 19, who was rescued and grew up being supported by Project 82 Kenya.
The second program is “free fab’rik,” with which offers free shopping sprees for girls and women in need.
Each store has a trunk, which in the Turkey Creek store is in the front of the store. “We fill those trunks with donations from ourselves, our customers or whoever wants to donate,” she said. “Then we will pair with a local organization and not just drop off those donations, but what we will actually do is go to that venue and set up a shopping free for them.”
The store is open from 10 am. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and from noon to 6 p.m., on Sundays. For more information about fab’rik Knoxville, call 865-671-0924.
The event is without price tags, she added. “We will style (the recipients); we’ll make sure they feel great.
“Normally, we typically end the free fab’rik event with a fashion show,” Mauceri said.
The fab’rik franchise is owned by Fowler LLC. She said there are five of the 43 fab’rik stores corporately owned with the rest being franchised.
“(The stores are) all in the U.S.,” Mauceri added. In Tennessee, there are stores in Chattanooga, Brentwood near Franklin and one in Murfreesboro.
However, a majority of the store locations are in Atlanta, where the headquarters is located and the company was founded, she added.
“I believe they really loved the Knoxville-Turkey Creek area,” Mauceri said. “They thought this mall was the perfect location.
“Every fab’rik location is in an outside mall,” she said. “(The stores are) typically 1,800-square-foot venues, and (Turkey Creek) is new for people here and exciting.”
