TKI&I

A jewelry and clothing boutique, old and very famous, begun by a Karaka'an and her daughter (Isolde Garreau and Isabeja, respectively). Called "one of the most famous boutiques in the Core," it has a flagship location (and therefore, franchises elsewhere).

Overview

Most people think TKI&I is a clothing retailer, when in fact it is a design boutique. Every year, new collections are released seasonally to the locations, which store them as patterns that can be synthesized for buyers who try them on with holographic daises. Additionally, designers for each location are trained by the business at its atelier. Busy stores (like Starbase Alpha's) will have teams of designers, and will take on large commissions, like local theater companies' costume runs.

While every TKI&I receives the same collections and is expected to use the same signage and conform to some standard practices, the designers (who also typically own the franchise) are expected to give each location its own unique motif/flair. This has made 'TKI&I chaining' a popular pastime for fashionistas, who will pick multiple locations and 'shop-hop' through them to experience various designers' vibes. When a designer retires and hands off their franchise to a new designer, there's a transition party that often attracts reporters and fans; Headquarters sends out a team to do the overhaul within twenty-four hours (designer chooses the opening hour to suit his or her personality/plans).

Full-service TKI&I locations offer the following:

• Cafe - The first TKI&I to have a cafe was Starbase Gamma's, and it proved so popular that every location now has at least a standing coffee bar. Coffee and pastries are never centralized; each location sources their food locally and is expected to create a relationship with local producers. This adds to the sense that each location is not duplicable.
• Clothing (pre-designed) - The clothing, shoe, jewelry collections pushed by the family to each location every season, which customers can see visualized on themselves with one of the daises, and then have produced for them by on-site genies. The Founder's collections remain available at all times: these are the original designs created by Isolde and Isabeja.
• Custom Designer - A designer (or design team) trained by the TKI&I business to do commission work. Usually the owner of the location.

For a while, TKI&I experimented with kiosks, but decided they wanted to specialize in concierge-level service, where customers could have designs modified to suit them, and have those designs produced on-site instead of having to pay a separate genie fee elsewhere to produce the clothes.

History

Started by the Karaka'An Isolde Garreau, one of Akana Ris's first settlers, as a tailor's shop in 182 BA. (At the time, as 'Isolde's'). Very popular boutique. When her miner husband was invalided out during an accident at work, she became the sole breadwinner for her family (then including her first daughter, Isabeja). An investor approached her about expanding her business, which she did with her help. Within five years, when she expressed a desire to move back to the Core, her first investor contacted a second and they fronted her the money to establish a store on Starbase Gamma. Isolde took that deal and opened as TKI&I in 189 BA, named after her investors, and her daughter, and her business exploded. Within two years she and her family had moved to Starbase Gamma. Their success was timely since the Alliance withdrew Fleet's active presence from Akana Ris in 203 BA, which made it a chancy place to do business. While the TKI&I on Akana Ris labored on for several more years, in 210, Isolde decided not to renew the lease and sold off all the stock in the Akana Ris location.

When people think of the "starting location" of TKI&I, they now think either of Starbase Gamma, or Starbase Alpha, which was the third location Isolde opened.

There are now TKI&I locations in most of the major starbases, and on several of the Core worlds. It remains a family business nearly 300 years later.

Mentions

• Pelipenele worked at the Ani branch of TKI&I during her off hours to earn money for school, under Manager Tasey.
• The retiree Seersa couple, Keridwyn and Bodken, plan to visit its first core location during their self-designed "Notable Sites of the Alliance" tour.