Caren Lewis

Custom wedding gowns evolve from dressmaker's dream

Caren Lewis, founder of Cc. elaine's Salon Bride Chic, combines a flair for fashion design with training in small business management and a passion for her work. Like many successful small business owners, she's found her niche. Her custom designed wedding gowns appeal to brides seeking a one of a kind look.

Dream to Reality

Lewis comes from a long line of dressmakers. Her passion for fashion design developed in junior high school. "I developed an interest in fashion design so that I could create the kinds of clothes that I visualize for myself."

Following graduation from Indianapolis' Arlington High School, Lewis studied the art of fashion in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta. After receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design from Atlanta's American Intercontinental University, she set her sights on establishing Cc.elaine Couture, designing contemporary high fashion apparel for Atlanta's socialites and entertainment-industry types.

Lewis' interest in wedding gown design developed from her own wedding experience. Frustrated by her search for a wedding gown that exemplified her unique style, Lewis designed her own cutting edge master-piece, for her 1993 nuptials held at the Indianapolis Art League, in the park along side the river.

Lewis' 2002 move from Atlanta to Indianapolis further spurred her interest in wedding gown design. Realizing that many women shared in her difficulty finding the "right dress", Lewis redirected her focus. "Indianapolis' entertainment industry is much smaller than Atlanta's. Someone asked me to do a wedding dress and it took off from there. So I decided to do bridal and Cc. elaine's Salon Bride Chic was born in February 2002."

Cc. elaine's Salon Bride Chic offers an eclectic mix of custom designed bridal wear, original hand-crafted hair ornaments, jewelry, headpieces and accessories.

Customer Focus

Lewis targets her marketing to the "modern bride who dares to be different." She describes her typical client as:

Age 25 - 35
Career oriented
Creative
Somewhat non-traditional in life style, but has a definite sense of fashion and style
College educated

Lewis also targets mothers of the bride who are often involved in planning their daughter's wedding. "They want to be involved. I target mothers who usually pass the information along to the bride."

Lewis communicates with potential clients by doing fashion and bridal shows and advertises in wedding guides. She's appeared on Fox 59's Morning Show, Indy's Music Channel and the Sister Talk radio show. She also speaks to groups about careers in fashion and Cc.elaine's.

Most Cc. elaine clients are from the Indianapolis area, but Lewis' client list includes brides from as far away as Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. Other clients have come from Terre Haute, Bloomington and Ft. Wayne.

One of a Kind Look

It's a six to nine month process for Lewis to design and complete a wedding gown. The process starts with a consultation with the client to get to know her personality and style. From there, Lewis sketches three dress designs. After the client picks one, Lewis takes her measurements and orders the fabric. Next, the pattern is made and the fabric cut. Each client has three fittings with Lewis. Final alterations are made about three weeks prior to the wedding.

Small Business Training

After starting Cc. elaine's, Lewis enrolled in the Business Ownership Initiative of Indiana's (BOI) Business Beginnings course. The course covers such topics as goal setting, business planning, marketing, legal forms of business, insurance, product and service pricing and financial management.

Lewis found the BOI course helpful. "My business needed more structure. I didn't know what was coming in and going out of the business. I needed to learn how to track my operations. I benefited from the bookkeeping and accounting portion of the Business Beginnings course. I also formed key relationships with BOI's Executive Director and Board members." Today, Lewis serves on the BOI Board of Directors.

Success Formula

Lewis credits her success to a strong belief in God and passion for her work. "I try to be fair and honest. I am so passionate about what I do. I give it 1,000 percent of my energy."

She wants to build on her success with Cc. elaine's. "I'd like to develop greater name recognition. During the next ten years I'd like to establish a chain of couture (custom bridal) salons throughout the U.S. I would offer the bride the opportunity to select from the Cc. elaine collection, design her own gown or have a couture gown designed just for her. I'm ready to go to the next stage. I'm prepared."