Kismet Clothing & Jewellery is more of a friend in the Calgary community of Kensington than a shop. Kismet stocks high quality, unique boutique clothing brands for working women who appreciate unique styles, but a shopping spree in the store feels more like hanging out with your best girlfriends than spending money. The curated and personal touch of the store can largely be attributed to the journey and vision of its owner, Annabel Tully.
Annabel's travels through Bali and India inspired her to open Kismet in November 1997. “I had been travelling and started buying clothes to sell when I came back,” Annabel says. While travelling back and forth, Annabel sold her items at lots of temporary locations, like pop-ups at festivals and universities. But though she has travelled all around the world, Annabel has always loved the neighbourhood of Kensington. “This spot came available, and it pushed us to jump on it,” she says. When Kismet first opened, Annabel stocked most items from Bali and India and even produced a clothing label in-store. Many original shoppers still frequent the store.
The name Kismet also came to Annabel through her travels, like much of the original wares she sold. “When I was backpacking in India I heard the word kismet, but I wasn’t sure what it meant,” she says. “When I was starting the business, I learned that it meant fate (and) destiny.”
