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THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Fran Funk is seeking a certain response from customers walking into her new upscale women's clothing boutique in Fort Smith.

"I want the 'Wow!' reaction and I've gotten it," she said. "I've had quite a number of people walk in and say, 'This is Fort Smith? Are we in the Northwest Territories?'"

That was the reaction of people visiting the boutique - Closet Dreams - before it was even officially in business. It was to open on Nov. 12 with a grand opening to follow a week later on Nov. 19.

"It's basically clothing from really creative designers," said Funk. "I love the unconventional construction of clothing and the uniqueness and all of that stuff. It's going to cater to women pretty much of all ages. I sort of geared it towards 30 and up, but I will have items for younger people, as well. It's clothing that you can't find in a shopping mall."

It will be high-end clothing, mixed with unconventional and lower-priced items, along with accessories like jewelry, hats and scarves.

Customers may also sense a European feel to Closet Dreams.

That's because many of the styles Funk will be offering she discovered during her travels in Europe.

"There are many designers in Europe that create the look I'm looking for, and many of these designers are not represented in Canada and I'm working at bringing their creations to my boutique," she said. "Currently, I'm carrying labels from the U.S.A., Canada, France, Turkey and Germany. I will be expanding into some of the more creative, unconventional designs I have found in Croatia, Poland, Germany and Spain. Some of these lines will be in Canada for the first time."

Funk said Closet Dreams has been her dream for several years.

"I have no formal fashion experience, however I have tons of enthusiasm and exciting shopping experiences in Europe, which is my passion," she said. "European travels, particularly in Germany and France, showed me that there were some amazingly creative designers dressing women in extraordinary stylish ways and this somewhat artistic styling seemed not to be present in Canada and in our part of the world in the North."

Her travels to Europe and her introduction to European fashion started just over a decade ago with visits to relatives in Poland.

Although she was born and raised in Fort Smith, Funk's father, the late John Kurszewski, was from Poland. She is the daughter of Maggie Kurszewski, a well-known Metis elder in Fort Smith.

Funk has lofty goals for her new boutique and even plans to expand into Internet sales across North America with European designs.

"We have a very small client base in this town," she explained. "This will sustain me, but I want to look further, as well. I've done a ton of research on it and there's a huge demand for some of these lines, and it's impossible for women to find them in a mall or anywhere else."

She hopes to have a website up and running by March, and to eventually have to hire staff and move into a larger location because she will have to carry more stock for Internet sales.

"I have a good sense that this will work well for myself and for the community," she said.

Funk retired at the end of October from Service Canada, where she was a manager with Aboriginal Human Resources Development Agreements.

Closet Dreams is her first business, she noted. "It's extremely exciting for me because I've had such an excellent response from the community and from people from outside of the community who have come in to have a look at the shop."

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