When Jenny Kuehneman and Jeff Flaschberger started Posh Milwaukee four years ago it was, essentially, the ultimate girls' night out. Held monthly at hip nightclubs around town, Posh events were public pampering parties offering women a litany of aesthetic services in a social setting for a base fee.
When Kuehneman moved to London last year, the group went on hiatus until members BreAnna Diaz, Andrea Harmon and Kate Ziebell -- with the help of Flaschberger -- were motivated to reorganize, reevaluate and revamp.
As of last month, Posh Milwaukee is back on the scene, but with a new mission that merges the fun of outer beauty with the fulfillment of inner beauty. Now a non-profit organization, Posh Milwaukee is focused on a bigger purpose: giving back to the community.
"We all really missed Posh when it went away so we wanted to bring it back, but first we made some changes," says Ziebell, Posh's co-vice president of operations and marketing. "Now we pick a charity to support every month and they receive 100 percent of the proceeds from our events."
Last month's kick off at Moct raised $1,000 for the Companion Animal Resource Center, a no-kill shelter at Southridge Mall that houses hard-to-adopt animals. Guests paid a minimum $15 donation and were treated to an evening of make up, hair styling, manicures, eyebrow waxing, massage, henna tattoos and psychic and tarot card readings. The girls call it "selfless spoiling."
"The reason we decided to do charity events is because we wanted to help smaller organizations that don't always get big donations," says Diaz, Posh's other co-vice president. "The Companion Animal Resource Center, for example, is a lot smaller than the Humane Society and isn't as well-known. It's just a way for all of us to come together and give back to our community."
Ziebell adds that Posh is also doing its part to help spread the word on local, independent companies that don't have the funding options larger ones do.
"It's a symbiotic relationship," she says. "As we're marking ourselves as Posh, we're helping other small businesses and entrepreneurs market themselves as well. We feed off each other."
Although their provided services -- and even their name -- implies a certain femininity, the organizers say the new Posh plans to be more gender equal.
"In the beginning, it was definitely geared toward women," says Diaz. "Now that we're doing it for charity, we're trying to make it for everyone. At the last event we had some men get manicures, get their eyebrows done, get massages. They were into it. But we are thinking about doing an event that is specifically for men, as well."
Upcoming events:
Wednesday, June 25
7-10 p.m.
Tutto, 1033 Old World Third St.
Charity Sponsored: Adaptive Community Approach Center, a group home and assisted living center for women in Waukesha County.
Wednesday, July 30
7-10 p.m.
Aqua, 1011 N. Astor St.
Charity Sponsored: The Joy House of the Milwaukee Rescue Mission, which provides help for the homeless and poor of Milwaukee.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
