visit: aprilpulcifer.cabionline.com
Eva: “I would like to introduce April Pulcifer, she is an amazing stylist and recently received a business card redesign with BrushPic. April loves to bring life into women’s wardrobes and bring a new excitement into the shopping experience with her Cabi parties. I knew I had to share Aprils story for the first BrushPic video interview because her work is not only about clothing but it has a lot to do with helping people less fortunate get started with their business goals.”
Eva: “How did you get started in your career as a stylist”
April: “Well I feel like I’ve been styling since high school… I started even before that. My brother David, he was much older than me, and back then in the 80’s it was called GQ or GHQ and he would have all of his suits, all lined up, and he would have all of his dress shirts, dress pants and an arsenal of ties. So, he would say ‘pick a tie out for me’ and I would go through and say ‘this one’ and he would say ‘no wrong answer!’ and I would say ‘well why?’ he would say look at the pinstripe, ‘what color is that? it could be blue, it could be white, it could be teal. He would say ‘you want to pull out the most muted color so that way the tie would play of the suit, and then I would see it, it was like a hidden image, only the most discerning eye could tell, so then I got it.”
Eva: “Who is your biggest inspiration when it comes to style and fashion?”
April: “Well, there are a couple, but for me number one is Gwen Stefani. She is from the same area as me in California. She’s actually from Anaheim, California and where I was born and raised in Santa Ana, California. So I feel like when she sings the song she sings about Harbor Boulevard. Like, that was the next street over from where I live. So I feel like her and I are from the same cloth. I mean, if it was even a thing to be as fashionable as just a Gwen Stephane here in Alaska, I would be sporting those exact same styles.”
Eva: “What made you want to focus on being a cabi stylist?”
April: “So I have a lot of different interests and I felt like I helped so many different women at Nordstrom with their beauty, with their skin care, with makeup, and I would tour the whole store with them and it would just be their whole look. It was if you change their face and now they look ten years younger, the way they’re dressing doesn’t match. So then we have to go and get a new look to match their new makeup and in Nordstrom, my area of expertise at Nordstrom was makeup and cosmetics, but it just made sense to start my own business and clothing because I already have the relationships with them in the cosmetic department. Now it could just grow from that and be the whole front to top to bottom (A-to-z).”
Eva: “What are Cabi parties?”
April: You know, Cabi, parties can be very intimate and small. You and your two best friends. So instead of having to go downtown, look for parking at a mall, that’s kind of hard to shop at. It’s not fun. I mean, you’re you yourself aren’t from here. Where I’m from a mall doesn’t look like the one downtown, from California it’s immense. You can have anything you want. Any price range you want in any direction. So I have parties where there’s a new hostess and the benefits of being a hostess is different than going to the mall with all your friends. One, if you have all these ladies, come to your house and buy clothes from me, the hostess gets all her clothes at 50 percent off, whereas they’re paying full price. They’re getting a service. The essentially a stylist and the mall is coming to you. So you’re having a trunk show at your house. There’s wine, there’s food, there’s clothing. I mean, what more could you ask for?”
Watch the interview highlights on our youtube channel:
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Eva: “Tell me about the Cabi mission?”
April: “Well, it’s not a small mission, but it has impacted so many women all around the world. I come from a background where it’s not as limited as women in third world countries and where I’m from, If you have a background where you’re not educated, you can get educated, find it funded for you, different types of classes and courses to help you. If you have a family, they have things to aid you. In third world countries, Cabi is partnered with Opportunity International and Opportunity International gives women micro loans and these micro loans help them in so many ways. They give them trust groups. So when they’re paying back these micro loans that helped them, let’s say a seamstress wants to buy a new sewing machine or maybe more than one sewing machine. Textile supplies. This micro-loan will help her get these supplies. Therefore, making more money, helping her provide for her family. Opportunity International also educates her on how to run a business, how to pay off debt and health insurance savings in her bank account, and so much more so. Then, once she has paid back her loan to Opportunity International, they turn around, take that money and they give it to another woman. So there’s so many different countries that are affected as a Cabi is one. Estelle’s opens for business. She has a sister entrepreneur. So they give us a bio of our sister entrepreneur in our third world country and tells us what is she going to do with this money. Mine Raelia, she is from the Philippines and she’s got a little market, and in the market she’s got various items, kind of like a little teeny tiny corner store. But from that, she’s been able to provide education for her family and her family’s big.”
Eva: “Do you have any style tips for us?”
April: “So if you have darker skin like. Let’s say J-Lo, more than, more caramel or pop white jewelry against your skin. Big statement pieces because it makes your skin just glow. Now, if you’re not one to show a lot of skin, if you want to show some skin, I suggest showing your wrists. Why? Because the wrists are the skinniest part of your body. So when you walk into a room, have your cuffs whipped up bangles or watch, long nails, and then everyone will be like, wow, she’s really put together. There’s something about that. Just makes a girl look fresh.”
Eva: “:) Thank you April.”
About the Interviewer
Eva Ohenewa Anno is the founder of BrushPic™. Eva is a multi talented digital artist and entrepreneur with a passion for helping others show up as their best version.
