JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Shane Breeden and Tiffany Young, along with their Yorkshire Terrier Vinny, have moved back to Hawaii after living in Los Angeles for a decade to open their new clothing boutique Bamboo Sky today.
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Bamboo Sky offers hand-picked designer pieces
WOMAN cannot live on one boutique alone for the simple reason that most boutiques possess a singular P.O.V. that reflects a designer/design team's highest ideal, day in and day out. Who lives like that?
Certainly not Tiffany Young, who defines her style as "eclectic," and that's the way she defines the boutique she co-owns with Shane Breeden. Bamboo Sky opens its doors today with jewelry, accessories and racks of Miss Me, 7 for all Mankind and Rock & Republic denim, boutique labels out of California and New York, hand-picked designer pieces, and camisoles sewn from vintage silk, a mix of high and low that defines today's urban chic.
"That's the way I like to shop and dress," said Young, who also made it a goal to carry pieces that are affordable, as opposed to other stylish boutiques, where prices might start at about $125 with a steady upward trajectory. "I want people to be able to find something they like and be able to buy it," she said.
The boutique marks a homecoming for the two, who graduated from Mid-Pacific Institute three years apart and didn't meet until being introduced by friends in L.A.
"It's only been in the last two or three years that we thought we wanted to open a business together, and we spent the past year preparing," said Young, who spent five years in retail management at Bebe and Bisou Bisou before going to work for Suzanne Somers as an assistant production manager, helping to design and market the former "Three's Company" star's clothing line on the Home Shopping Network.
On her own, Young developed a line of fine hand-shaped, gold-filled wire and crystal jewelry which will be carried at Bamboo Sky and will continue to be featured on her Web site, tiffanymeijewelry.com.
"Both our experiences helped a lot," said Breeden, who grew up around jewelry. His family founded Royal Hawaiian Heritage Jewelry, and if Shane looks familiar, it's because you've probably seen him on TV commercials for the family business.
Shane's made his own way as a distributor/wholesaler for Swarovski crystal jewelry and gift items, and his skill set also includes building rehab and renovation, which is how he was able to convert a drab, windowless storeroom adjacent to the lounge Koi, into a boutique worthy of the fussiest shopping fanatic.
From the guy P.O.V., it was probably Breeden's idea as well to have a window opening from the lounge to the boutique.
"That way, the girls can be trying on clothes and wave to her guy who's having a beer on the other side, and he'll be like, 'OK honey, get it,'" he said, giving two thumbs up.
"It's not a cookie-cutter boutique," said Breeden. "We don't want to sell the labels everyone else has. We have everything from no-name to big-name labels. We've been away 10 years so hopefully we have something that's a little bit different from everyone else."
Of course, several stand-alone boutiques have opened since the two started their research trips back here, and when they returned to see the competition, their initial reaction was, "Uh-oh," before remembering their old stomping grounds in Santa Monica.
"It's still not like L.A. where there might be 15 to 20 trendy boutiques on one street," Young said. "This is the right time for Hawaii."
Bamboo Sky is at 1700 Kapiolani Blvd., next to Koi. Call 941-0033.