Fashion, fun and charity join
There are two things that Tami Smith knows will bring women together: fashion and a worthy cause.
Smith, the owner of A.S.K. Clothing, an appointment-only fashion boutique she runs out of her home in Liberty Lake, was one of 30 vendors selling her unique items at a high-tea and fashion show Saturday to benefit the Spokane Valley Community Center.
Smith watched as woman after woman, some wearing fancy wide-brimmed hats, browsed through items like feathery “foof” pins, zebra print jackets, and jeans embellished with sequins and beads.
Across from Smith, there were booths with knock-off designer handbags like Prada and Louis Vuitton, and handmade jewelry.
“This is a great way to connect women with each other,” Smith said. “That is so important now more than ever; everyone is so busy they don’t have time to spend with their friends.”
The event, called the Seasons of Style, was held inside the grand ballroom at the Mirabeau Park Hotel. Vendors like Smith set up a marketplace outside the ballroom, while show attendees found their place at one of the dozens of ornately decorated tables. The tables surrounded a raised walkway for the fashion show.
Sandra Coultrop, the owner of United Coatings in Spokane Valley, reserved two tables for her employees for more than $500. She decorated both tables herself, one for fall and one for Christmas, as table sponsors are asked to do.
“It’s a unique opportunity for us to give back to the community,” Coultrap said. “It’s an incredible cause.”
Proceeds from the event will go to 10 nonprofit agencies that work out of the center, offering GED classes, job fairs and training, resume help, dress clothes and even bus tokens and gas vouchers for people needing transportation to work.
The center also offers emergency assistance for prescriptions, utilities and rent.
“We’ve spent $64,000 preventing utility cutoffs this year already and we’ve not even hit winter yet,” said Mollie Dalpae, the center’s executive director. The center serves about 69,000 people a year, or roughly a third of the population in Spokane County.
In addition to other fund-raisers, the center’s auxiliary also sponsors a tea and quilt show in the spring. This is the first holiday tea and fashion show.
“With utility rates set to go up, it never hurts to have a little padding,” said Anna Henry, a member of the center’s board of directors. “If we raise $10,000 today, I’d be happy.”
Reserved seating for the fashion show was $27 per person; admission only to the marketplace of vendors was $2.
Most people were invited to the show by friends who sponsored a table, such as Kay Lewis and Marianne Jolley.
The two women said they never miss an opportunity to help the community center. Lewis was on the board of directors for eight years. Saturday they teamed up to sponsor and decorate a table, decorated in white and gold, with sparking Christmas trees and twinkling lights in the center.
“There is nothing else like this in the Valley,” Lewis said of the tea. “Anytime you can have fun and help someone, it’s worth it.”