"Our atmosphere is as ambitious as my drive to succeed," said Ebony Shaw of Swank. "This is the culture of Swank, excellent customer service and finding truly unique products you won't find anywhere else. That is the culture of Swank."

Fashion-Editor Ebony Shaw is a business owner by fate and a leader by heightened work-ethic. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Ebony lived in an environment where success and failure didn’t have a grey area. Either you were determined to be great or ended up on the lower end of society.

“I’ve always been the type of person that if I put my mind on something, it’s going to happen.” – Ebony Shaw

To know Ebony is to understand her ambition doesn’t have an off-switch. Put her anywhere on Earth, and she’ll find a way to achieve more from an opportunity than anyone else. While working in the field of Accounting, Ebony’s eagerness to learn accompanied by an undaunted state-of-mind brought her to the attention of the CFO. Under the CFO’s tutelage, Ebony honed her business skills and became on book balancing dynamo. But that wasn’t enough. There had to be more. Starting her own business became the solution.

In 2007, Ebony Shaw opened Ful’Filled Hair Salon in Eastpointe. Opening a salon was the progression. But it wasn’t the plan. Although Ebony loved the fact of being a business owner, the books weren’t meeting up to her expectations. “I made minimum profit from Ful’Filled, but it was the springboard,” she said of her first business venture. “One day, a young lady walked in selling products. Her hustle caught my attention. I asked her how much she was making. She told me how much and where she bought the product from. I did my research on it. Got certified and opened up Swank A Posh Boutique.”

The Swank A Posh Boutique (Clothing and Accessories) flagship store opened August 2009 at the 12 Oaks Mall in Novi, Michigan (Nordstrom Wing) location. Swank A Posh Boutique meshed extremely well with Ebony’s personality. But it didn’t come without trials and tribulations. “I made many mistakes,” she said in regards to getting Swank off the ground. “The overhead was too much for me. I was paying rent out of my own pocket before I was buying inventory. Most importantly, I realized I wasn’t in the optimum market to succeed. Many of my customers were commuting from out of town. I decided to bring Swank closer to them.”

In May 2010, the mother of two beautiful daughters reopened Swank A Posh Boutique at 25070 Southfield Road in Southfield, Michigan. Third time became the charm for Ebony as Swank’s momentum grew at such a rapid pace, she couldn’t run both Ful’Filled and Swank while being the best mother she could be to her daughters. Ful’Filled Hair Salon closed soon after.

Today, the future is ‘fluorescent light’ bright for Ebony Shaw and Swank A Posh Boutique. Three months ago, Ebony celebrated the grand opening of a second store located at 15308 East 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan.

As for her next progression, she hopes to change the culture of retail shopping. “When you first walk into Swank, it’s immediately clear you’re not walking into the average mall boutique,” she said. “Swank A Posh Boutique is more than a visual experience. The scent of the boutique plays an important role in your shopping experience. We burn a candle during the day that permeates throughout Swank. Faint aroma from the candle we burn is present in our products. Atmosphere is everything. Atmosphere is the culture of Swank. Excellent Customer Service is the culture of Swank. Finding truly unique product you won’t find anywhere else in Detroit is the culture of Swank.”


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