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BFFs since high school, Abby Kessler and Katie Lubieski do everything together — even taking a performance art class that inspired the name of their bubblegum pink Old City women's boutique, founded in 2005. The girls put the story in their own words:
In our performing arts class, we had to act out a word that had different meanings. We chose "smack." Some time later, we named our wholesale clothing collection SMAK and sold it to stores across the country. After opening our own boutique, we were in the back of the store (the sewing parlour) sewing our Smak collection, so we combined the two words to make Smak Parlour. Many months later, a tourist came into the shop and asked, "Do you know what "smak" means in Swedish?" Our hearts hit the floor! It could've meant anything; we were terrified! She answered, "Good taste!"
· All Name Calling posts [Racked Philly]
· Smak Parlour [Official Site]