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My Closet Italia Happiness is a $10 Tee On Eiman Hamza’s first day of math @ FIDM, the only seat left in the classroom was next to Merchandise Product Development student, Michael Scarpellini in 2007. “It all started then and there,” says Eiman, who fell in love with and later married Michael in 2009. Eiman and Michael are the entrepreneurs behind the successful chain of My Closet boutiques in Italy and the clothing line Happiness is a $10 Tee. “All of our boutiques are vertically integrated with our factory, so we are able to oversee production, design ourselves, and we have everything accessible to all of our boutiques,” Michael explains about his family-owned factory in Rimini, Italy. “We have very high turnover with fast production. We buy brands from showrooms as well.”
When it came time to talk about bringing the successful boutique to the states, Michael was the one who thought of their friend Gabriela Valenzuela, a 2007 FIDM Merchandise Product Development Grad who was also a bridesmaid at Eiman and Michael's wedding. “It will stay similar to the concept we have provided Italy, but we will push the Italian lifestyle much harder for LA,” Eiman explains about the store that opened up in the fall of 2010 on Melrose Avenue. Gabriela, who has worked as an assistant designer in the past, was itching to open her own business. “I could not pass up this golden opportunity,” Gabriela says. “Once the store is all set I want to start designing my own line to be produced in Italy. I could not be any happier with the business I am opening or with the people I am opening it with.”
Eiman says that FIDM helped to pave the way for her success. “Every single class I have ever taken at FIDM has been put to use every single day since I graduated,” she says. “Michael and I talk about what we learned at FIDM while in the process of creating projects.” Gabriela adds that, “We were inspired, challenged, and educated by our instructors and fellow students at FIDM. I would say that Eiman, Michael, and I are the perfect example of this.”
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