Cambri Rolfes, Elkhorn South High School Class of 2021
Interview conducted by Ann Huddleston, Alumni Relations
Meet Cambri Rolfes, Elkhorn South class of 2021 graduate, who quickly turned her passion for fashion into a small business. She owns a clothing store, Frankie Dee, that operates online, in store, and through a mobile pop-up-van. As a vendor at the College World Series in Omaha, she’s expanding her reach and growing the Frankie Dee brand one market at a time. If you see this in time, Cambri will be in a tent right behind the Oakley booth behind the beer garden in the Omaha Baseball Village!
What do you think of when you think of Elkhorn?
When I think of Elkhorn, I really just think HOME. My family moved to Elkhorn when I was in second grade, and it is the majority of what I know from growing up and becoming the person I am today. Elkhorn is such a special community and I have met so many amazing people, had so many opportunities, learned so much, and grown in myself infinitely throughout the years.
Do you have any memorable experiences you’d want to share in your time at school?
Being four years out of high school, everything from school feels like such a blur and like it was yesterday, but also a lifetime ago. One of the most notable is traveling to Orlando with the ESHS cheer team the winter of my junior year right before COVID. We were the first team to compete on the nationals floor for the school and being able to have that experience before the rest of my high school career was altered so significantly is something I am forever grateful for.
Who was your favorite teacher/teachers?
This is such a hard question for me because there are so many teachers who left such an impression on me for so many different reasons, and each phase of my schooling taught me so many different things about myself.
Starting in elementary school at Skyline, Mrs. Champion was one of the best influences for me and my twin brother going through school. In 5th grade alone, I remember her helping us cope so well with my mom going through surgery for breast cancer and also allowing us to help start and run an event for the Kindness Committee.
Going into middle school at EVVMS, Mrs. Zumbrennan was my homeroom and history teacher 8th grade year, and I will never forget how much she cared for her students and made school so FUN while also never letting us settle for anything less than excellence.
There are several teachers at Elkhorn South that I also would say were my favorite. Mr. Sutter and Mrs. Lucks are two who I had all four years in different capacities during art classes, and they were such a special part of my high school career. Art classes were always my get-away classes to feel more tuned into my creative side while also challenging myself in projects and mediums I had never touched before. Encouraging doesn’t even start to explain how they are with each and every one of their students. Mrs. Blythe is another one of my favorites, not only for being a great teacher but my cheer coach. She was so passionate about success and motivating us always, no matter if it was in the classroom, on the sideline, or on the mat at competitions.
What inspired you to start your business?
I have had some sort of inspiration for the business I have built for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I loved all things fashion, dress up, and clothes. I started sewing when I was 8, did camps with Omaha Fashion Week, and was constantly making outfits for my barbies and American Girl Dolls with scrap fabric and fashion design books my Gigi got me for my birthday. My parents are also entrepreneurs, so when I got to high school and really started thinking about what I wanted my life to look life after graduation, I kept going back to wanting to be my own boss and being able to have the flexibility to adjust my work life to raise a family one day, like my mom was able to.
Frankie Dee became more of a reality in high school when I dreamed more specifically of opening a boutique, and it was the only name idea that I brainstormed that ever stuck. Doing marketing & business management classes in high school over the exact business I own now (thank you Mr. Dolesh & Mr. Shanahan) really sealed the deal that this was what I wanted to do with my life.
How did you start?
Trying to nail down exactly where and how I started is harder than I thought!! After high school, I attended UNO for a year after receiving the Regents scholarship and wanting to give college a chance, almost as a back-up plan. About half way through, I realized that college was just not my scene and I was mentally not in a good place. I was cheating my way through classes and not respecting the academic journey, which was NOT me at all after graduating high school with straight A’s and always valuing honesty in my academic journey. After a lot of thought, prayer, and conversation, I made the decision to drop out of school and pursue the business I was dreaming of starting. I pulled inspiration from small businesses and boutique locally and on social media to see where I wanted to start and exactly how to get there. I was inspired by Jill with Hello Ruby and her fashion truck since I was 15 years old, and found inspiration from Franklin & Rose based in Bartow, Florida during COVID through social media. With money saved and set aside from tuition that I didn’t have to pay because of scholarships, my dad and I found a truck to buy for my little storefront on wheels and I got my business registered in the state of Nebraska. The spring of 2022, I went to market, which is a trade show in the fashion and boutique industry to meet and buy from vendors, for the first time in Nashville and that only solidified my belief that this industry is where I wanted to be. Over that summer, I worked out all the details with my branding, planning a buying trip to market that August in Las Vegas, and renovating the truck before having my opening pop-up at Ko & Co Studios on October 8th, 2022, the day before my 20th birthday!
Why the name Frankie Dee? Is Gigi grandma?
Yes! Gigi is my grandma on my mom’s side!! She is actually half the namesake of my business, so that ties into why I went with Frankie Dee for the name. So Frankie is my mom’s mom, and my middle name is Dee, which I got from my dad’s mom, Nancy Dee. So, the whole name of my business is in honor of two women in my life who taught me so much about myself, walking with God through life, and were just two role models in my life. As of August 2023, both of my grandmas have gone home to be with Jesus so not only are they the name sake of my business, but my guardian angels with me always.
What is your process for picking the next fashion to highlight?
I wouldn’t say I have a set process for what it looks like to bring in new products and styles. I do a lot of scrolling honestly to stay on top of what is “in”, trending, or what key themes are for upcoming seasons. Going to market twice a year has become a really important part of what I do as a buyer in trying to project what people will be buying for in the next few seasons, but the more I do it, the more I realize it’s like a gut feeling or skill to curate collections and products that my customers will love and want to shop from me. Sometimes it’s harder than others because we are often buying for 2-8 months out when going to markets, so being able to think about what my customers will want for Christmas in August can be a little tricky, but it truly is so so fun.
Do you have any exciting plans in the works to tell us about?
At the moment, I am really focusing on growing where I’m at currently. Since opening two and a half years ago, I have not only had the truck, but also moved into my shop/warehouse/office that I call my studio in Waterloo, NE (just before Yutan), grown my social media, become a vendor at the Omaha Baseball Village at the CWS, and am constantly adding more and more pop-up events to my calendar. Sometimes it’s easy to get wrapped up in always looking for what’s next, but there truly is joy and peace in the waiting and living content in the days and the blessings the Lord has given me now.
What is your advice to current high school students thinking about their future?
My advice to current high schoolers is to not let the status quo impact your dreams and your goals. My plan was to never to go college and just start my business right away, but the fear of the “what if’s” and what other people at school and other places were saying led me to step into the traditional path. Now, I don’t regret my time in school at all. It taught me a lot about myself, led me to meet so many amazing people, and is still opening doors for me for opportunity, but it was always a plan B for me. Dropping out of college was one of the best decisions I made for myself and my business, and it is also kind of fun to tell people, especially for how unexpected it was of me!! The Lord has good good plans for each and everyone on this planet and they will never be identical to another, so don’t let being different scare you from stepping into your calling.
