Monday, March 13, 2017

Industry Spotlight: How College Twins Started Their Own Boutique

Abby and Gabby Burbary are only 20-years-old but have managed to start their own online boutique, Bella Gemelli, while balancing school, extracurricular activities and their social lives. Read about how they got their start, what their goals are for the future and more!

Photo Credit: Bella Gemelli
DGG: Tell us about yourselves, Abby and Gabby.
Bella Gemelli: To start off, we are both identical twins and our little sisters are identical twins as well! Family is a huge part of our lives, and we truly believe we wouldn't be who we are without our family’s love and support. We’re extremely close, and we feel that we are stronger together than we are separated—after all, our names are only one letter apart! We are currently students at Michigan State University studying broadcast journalism, and minoring in entrepreneurship and innovation. At MSU, we have tried to be involved in everything campus has to offer! We both are extreme fashion enthusiasts, who love to create and inspire. Our absolute dream is to pursue our passion, help others, and make a positive impact in this world.

DGG: Tell us about Bella Gemelli.
BG: Bella Gemelli is an online clothing brand that we created to represent our love for fashion, and also help a cause that is very close to our hearts. Bella Gemelli strives to carry unique brands and fun Bella Gemelli spirit wear. We want every customer who shops at Bella Gemelli to find something they love, which is why we focus on carrying a range of styles in our store. Every year 5% of our net proceeds are donated to Graham’s Foundation in order to support premature twins, multiples and single births.

DGG: What inspired you guys to create Bella Gemelli?
BG: We started Bella Gemelli because we wanted to turn our passion into our everyday job, while bringing our ideas to life. Both of our parents are entrepreneurs and own their own businesses, so we decided that following in their footsteps was something very important to us.

DGG: What has been the biggest challenge starting your own boutique? 
BG: The biggest challenges we’ve faced in our journey so far are trying to be full-time students and business owners, while also being involved in multiple organizations on campus. Sometimes the many responsibilities become difficult to juggle, but we know it will be worth it in the end.

DGG: Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
BG: In 5 years, we hope that we are able to put a smile on even more faces and continue providing a new way to look at fashion. We are also in the process of creating our own designs, which will be featured on Bella Gemelli and include a unique twist. Our goal is to have these complete within the next year, and we believe the designs will help enhance the Bella Gemelli brand even more. Additionally, we would love to have our first store front for Bella Gemelli.

Photo Credit: Bella Gemelli

DGG: Describe your style.
BG: Abby’s style tends to leans more toward edgy finishes and neutral-toned colors, where Gabby’s style gravitates toward lace and ruffle finishes, with lighter-toned colors. Although opposite at times, we both wear a large mix of the two styles.

DGG: How do you take your coffee? 
BG: We both actually do not love the taste of plain coffee, although it smells so good! At Starbucks we always order an iced caramel macchiato with only a single shot of espresso and extra caramel drizzle. Basically, it is all sugar with a side of coffee.

DGG: Fall or summer fashion?
BG: We love both seasons for different reasons. For fall fashion, we love the look of cozy sweaters and jackets together. In the summer, we enjoy the bright coloring of swimsuits, tops, dresses, and shorts.  

DGG: Dressing up or dressing more casual? 
BG: We always try to stick with a balanced mix of both dressing up, and dressing casual. We love fashion and creating outfits; however, we rock the baggy sweatshirt and messy bun look at least four days a week when attending classes. We always say that one can love fashion without having to dress up every single day— that’s the beauty of it!

Photo Credit: Bella Gemelli

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