Earlier this month, Realtor Jasmine Rock, registered nurse Kemeishia McKenzie and social worker Jessie Elusma officially celebrated the grand opening of their very first Unique Family Fashion Boutique.
This boutique, also known as U•FFaB (pronounced you•fab), offers a wide selection of apparel for men, women, boys and girls that will help you look and feel fabulous.
“We’ve had lots of people who stopped by to find out who we are, based on how the store is laid out,” McKenzie said. “Because some may mention that when they go to a boutique, it’s usually only women’s clothes. But here, we have clothes for the whole family.”
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Whether you’re going on vacation or special event, or looking for something to wear every day, U•FFaB has it for you.
It was during the pandemic that the wheels were set in motion to open U•FFaB.
“We have a charity that we support that focuses on education in Haiti,” McKenzie said. “It’s called Diligent Act of Love for Haiti. During the pandemic, it kind of put a damper on the sponsorship and donations we were getting financially to be able to fulfill that. So that kind of gave rise to look for something that was more sustainable than solely doing it from donors and personal funding. That, of course, is not sustainable.”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in 2017, Elusma founded Diligent Act of Love for Haiti to help cover tuition and educational expenses for children. To date, Diligent Act of Love for Haiti has sponsored nearly 200 children, with a bigger goal of sending 500 ch
Combining a shared interest of fashion, the three women initially looked into opening an online store.
“We did our research, and afterwards, we decided we would like to be in person and open a storefront,” Elusma said.
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But their interest in fashion isn’t the only thing that came together to make U•FFaB happen. With Rock’s eye for real estate and designing a good floor plan, and McKenzie’s belief that feeling good is just as important as looking good, opening U•FFaB has helped them bring all of their unique talents to the table.
“Wherever our strength is, it helps the other show their own strength as well and build from that talent,” Elusma said.
At U•FFaB, it’s all about education and service. Rock is the wife of a U.S. Navy officer, McKenzie is married to an Air Force veteran and Elusma is a social worker with the heart of a caring teacher. Because of this, U•FFaB will soon be introducing Military Mondays as a way to recognize the community.
“We are welcoming of military on any given day, and we are so appreciative of the community and how welcoming they are,” Rock said.
U•FFaB is located at 6675 Pine Forest Road in Pensacola, and is open 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit facebook.com/uffabboutique or call 850-390-8098.
