8/1/2004
“It’s a Chick Thing” - OMAHA Magazine Feature Story
 “It’s a Chick Thing”
OMAHA Magazine, July/August 2004
Story by Liz Manninger
Photos by www.sitzmanfoto.com
At the Motown 45 TV special, there was a little extra “sol” in the room that night. But it wasn’t from Detroit or L.A. It came from two chicks from Nebraska.
Nikki Kinsey and Christiana Juliano, owners of Omaha-based Sol Chicks Design, attended the May 17th musical event to participate in the Celebrity Retreat. During the show, they represented their company while displaying their glassware, jeans and accessories backstage for Motown legends and other stars who attended the show.
“We were both kinda freaked out about it,” Kinsey says of meeting so many famous individuals.
“But they’re just normal people,” Juliano says.
The women were delighted to have the chance to chat with celebrities such as Gladys Knight, Kelly Rowland and Cameron Diaz. It was a thrill for the designers to see the famous faces, and they loved the opportunity to represent their merchandise.
Juliano says the backstage displays without a representative received much less attention. By being there, she and Kinsey were able to answer questions and discuss the merchandise.
“We’re not selling the product,” Kinsey says. “We’re introducing it to them.”
Kinsey and Juliano say many of the celebrities were very interested in the merchandise. Knight brought her stylist back in to meet with the women and Rowland talked about getting some painted jeans for her upcoming Destiny’s Child Reunion tour. Diaz had her new custom made jeans shipped to her in June.
“It was funny because they all thought we were from L.A.,” Kinsey says.
Despite their West Coast style and recognition, the women both live and work two jobs in Nebraska. Kinsey, 26, earned a graphic design and fine art major from Dana College before getting a job in graphic design in Lincoln. Juliano obtained a marketing degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and now works on e-mail and web marketing in Omaha.
The two had met earlier at a previous job. They spent their free time making plans to open a restaurant, a bar or a store. Without a chance to bring any of their plans into reality, the women moved on with their lives to new jobs. But they remembered what they had talked about.
“One day we just decided to stop talking and do it,” Juliano says. They got back in touch and began preparing details of their new business venture, a design company.
Kinsey had a talent for custom-painted jeans. She says she and a friend saw a pair one day and commented on how cute they were, before seeing the price tag: $3500. She couldn’t afford it, but her friend still wanted a pair. “I could make that,” Kinsey decided. So 10 o’clock at night, Kinsey headed to the store to find the right paint and brushes. She says that although the jeans can take 30 to 50 hours to make, they may cost as little as $300.
Both Juliano and Kinsey work on the glassware for Sol Chicks. They buy the glasses wholesale from a local company, and paint designs on the martini, margarita and other glasses, such as the ones with music notes given out at the Motown 45 special. Prices for the glassware range from $36 for a pitcher, $12 to $25 for drinking glasses and $5 for a shot glass.
Kinsey and Juliano got together with their glassware and jeans in the spring of 2002 and created their Web site www.solchicks.com. The women opted out of normal store for a number of reasons. With their backgrounds, they say starting online was a simple process. As a fledgling company, they enjoyed the extreme low-cost of the online option. It’s expensive to rent or buy a place, to decorate and maintain it, Juliano says. If they hadn’t gone straight online, “We would’ve never gotten where we are.”
As Sol Chicks Design has evolved over the past two years, many other designers have teamed up with Kinsey and Juliano. Handbags, jewelry, cards and journals are also available from solchicks.com.
Kinsey and Juliano say they enjoy finding new talent to add to their company. They have local designers as well as ones from Florida, Kansas and Canada. Kinsey says some have come to Sol Chicks, some have been found through the internet, and some have been recommended.
Kinsey says they like to find artists who fit in with the style of Sol Chicks. Not just the look, but the mentality.
“It’s definitely more than clothing,” she says. “It’s lifestyle choices.”
One of the company’s newest additions is a woman they met at the Motown 45 special. Mami Wheeler of Arizona-based The Inner Realm does not design clothes, but she does offer “Styled Life Consultations.” These assessments identify patterns and aspects of your life to improve your health, well-being and success. Wheeler’s products and services will be available through Sol Chicks’ new section on its Web site, “For the Sol.”
As their success continues online, they’ve found a great deal of the same at local events and national events.
In addition to the Motown 45 special in May, the glassware and handbags from Posh by Tori were featured at the Play Safe in the Sun benefit in New York City. In June, martini glasses were included in the gift baskets at a Martini Magic benefit at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts, and margarita glasses were auctioned off at the River City Roundup Buckaroo Bash in Elkhorn, Neb. In July, the entire line of merchandise will be seen at the Omaha Pacific Pals Classic and the martini glasses will be featured at the L.A. celebrity benefit, A Chocolate Affair to Remember.
Sol Chicks has also had a fair amount of media exposure. In June the company will appear on two Fine Living Network shows. The premiere issue of national Clutch Magazine, due in July, will showcase Level Jewelry’s Carnelian Ring.
As the company grows in sales and recognition, the women are looking toward the future. They would like to eventually open a store in Omaha. Juliano says they could really use the studio and warehouse space as a home base from which they could work and bring clients.
After all the recent publicity, Kinsey and Juliano expect to see some results in the coming months. With that and the eventual opening of a store, they hope to increase sales ad continue to find new artists to expand their company. Their goal, Juliano says, is for Sol Chicks to be their full-time job.
Until then, the two chicks from Nebraska are continuing their mission. They say on their Web site, “We believe that artistic expression can be shown in many ways. We challenge ourselves and those around us, to discover new and innovative ways to showcase this passion, and create functional, everyday art with a distinctively unique flair.”
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