"It's time for women to stop wearing all those black and shapeless clothes, and become a bi

Hello my Lovelies! I am sure many time you wonder, who is behind our favourite shops?

Who is the heart and the brain, that brings our pin-up/retro dreams into reality?

Today I would like to introduce you to Funni.be.

Funni is a cute, little shop in Ghent. One of the most beautiful and welcoming cities in Belgium.

It is very easy to find and offers an excellent variety of choices, as well as an amazing service.

But enough from me, I give the floor to Mieke from Funni!

Cherry Bee: Please tell me a little bit about yourself? Were you always fans of fashion? Did you study sth fashion related?

Funni: I use to have a small sewing machine, when I was little and I loved to play with it.

I also made small clothes for my dolls. When I was 15, I met a girl who was making dresses etc. herself, and then I started sewing some little projects again.

When I was 18 I had to choose a field of my studies, and after 1 year of studying something that didn't interest me at all, I started a 3 year Fashion Technology training at Hogeschool Gent.

I learned there how to sew, make patterns, constructions etc. and that's how it all started!

After finishing the school, I made a small collection, together with my sister, which we sold at homesales, and like that the idea of opening a small shop popped up in our heads.

ChB:Are you interested in the retro style? What is your favorite era in fashion?

F:I'm a real fan of retro fashion!

To choose a favourite fashion era, it is a bit difficult for me, as I love different eras equally :)

I love the forties and the fifties, because these styles are just so classy and elegant.

The dresses fit beautifully, and that's a huge difference with what is generally available in stores nowadays. Most of the clothing is made in stretch materials now, and is fitted very loosely.

The clothing in that era was made to last and the finishing was perfect.

I think fashion became a bit of a dispointing thing nowadays, and that's really a shame. Furthermore, when looking at pictures from that era, it seems that the women were always dressed up, their hair perfectly styled, all the accessories perfectly matching each other etc.

And then off course I love the cars from these eras as well! Their colours and shapes, just great! An other era I really love is the sixties, with twiggy and the mod fashion, I am a fan of the cut and colours of that era.

So I am lucky to have a whole shop full of clothes and accessoiries that i like, and altough they aren't all mine, it feels like it, and that's good enough for me :D

ChB: Where did the name-Funni come from?

F:Hmm, that one is a bit difficult, as there isn't really a story linked to the name.

My sister just dreamt about it one day and it sounded perfect to us. It sounds cheerful and happy, and that matches with how we want our shop to look and feel.

ChB:When did you open your shop? And why in Ghent?

F:The shop opened 4,5 years ago.

Ghent to us is an obvious location, because all of us live here since our college studies and before that, we went to school here as well. Also Ghent is a very open-minded community with lots of different people, different styles and just a great atmosphere.

ChB:How do you choose brands that you work with?

F:I choose the brands mostly because I like the style,the prints, colours and shapes but how the clothing is made and how they fit is important for me as well.

I also try to choose items that aren't too expensive, as I don't think fashion should be that expensive.

However, I do recognize that if you buy a dress in this style, you can wear it for more than one year, it's a bit of a style that doesn't fade away. You just can't say, if it was last year's collection or not, so for that reason it's a great investment as well ;)

I know some people are bit shy, to wear these kind of dresses at the beginning, but they just get so many compliments when wearing them, that they always come back and buy some more!

I think it's time for women to stop wearing all those black and shapeless clothes, and become a bit more feminine and colourful, especially on rainy and dark days to brighten up the streets a bit!

You'll see, that the dresses bring smiles on lots of people's faces!

ChB: Could you please tell us, what we can expect visiting your shop? Are there any special promotions?

F:You can expect lots of colours and dresses.

I also have all kinds of earrings and other accessories like: scarves, flowers for the hair, handbags and more.

I always try to have matching cardigans and bolero's in stock to go with the dresses, but I also have a big collection of cardigans with fun, original and lovely prints on them.

I sometimes give special promtions, when organising evening shopping events and anyone should certainly ask for our loyalty card as well.

When you reach 8 sales in the shop, you get 10% of the total amount spent as shopping credit. Most of the time that results in a free dress!

You also receive a promotion code, when it's your birthday and from time to time a coupon for your next purchase.

ChB: Can we meet you outside your shop? During Retro/Rockabilly events? Where is the next event you are going to?

F: We do go to events during spring/summer, the next ones where you can find us will be Rockabilly Mayday, Retrorama, Rockabillyday and more to come as well!

ChB: Can you tell us a little bit about the sewing courses that you offer?

F:Since 2010, I organise sewing courses every month.

It's a 3 week course, where we sew an A line skirt at your own measurements.

You can follow this course as beginner but it's suitable for people with a little bit of experience as well.

You bring your own favourite fabric and you can bring your own sewing machine as well,but that is not necessary, as we have machines available for you to use during the course.

At the end of the six hour course you go home with a perfect fitting skirt and a customised pattern that you can use again for more skirts.

The price for this course is €60.

We also organise other sewing courses for adults and for kids.

ChB: I am sure our readers would love to know this: do you have any promotions/ discounts for the new clients with their first order online? What are the payment methods that you accept when shipping abroad?

F: We accept visa/paypal and electronic wire transfer.

We have a special promotion for you. With the first order, when you enter the code: CherryBee, you get a 10% discount and pair of matching earrings!

So wait no more and go to: http://www.funni.be/webshop/