Kim Coe carries an amber bracelet worth $362 in her newly opened SEO's Jewelry Boutique, yet what she had in her pocket upon arriving in America could barely buy a meal for herself and her toddler.
''I came to Miami on Dec. 20, 1970,'' said the South Korea native, holding an old black-and-white photo of herself with her 10-month-old daughter.
``I still remember the date. I had my little girl strapped to my waist and $10 in my pocket.''
Coe's journey to the world of turquoise necklaces and fringed leather bags began in the dry cleaning business. For several years she did alterations at a drop-off cleaners in Banyon Bay (now Nirvana Condos) on 64th Street and NE Sixth Avenue.
In 1975 she purchased the business and went on to buy another drop-off cleaners at Charter Club Condos on 36th Street and NE Sixth Avenue.
Ten years later, she opened Kim's Valet Cleaners on 51st Street and Biscayne Boulevard, which she still runs.
SEO's opened in June in the Shops of Midtown, and was named after Coe's sister-in-law Juliana Seo, who does the merchandising.
Little girls, rebel teens, moms and contemporary grannies will find pieces to suit them. There are wooden hooped earrings for $2; airy, pastel-colored pashimas for $12; blood orange straw bags for $28.99; light, summery sweater wraps for $45; shiny, '80s punk yellow leather bags for $47.99 and fringed Italian leather bags for $298.
With an artistic approach, Coe uses half-faced mannequins to exhibit items like turquoise necklaces and shell bags in a bed of sand-colored rocks.
''I wanted to be the owner of a shop that had beautiful things,'' Coe said.
''America's been good to me,'' she added. ``I'm going to write a book about how I got here: Pretty purses, earrings and beautiful customers.''
Source: miamiherald
No comments:
Post a Comment