After generating buzz through a citywide casting call for her reality makeover television show, Kimberly Anderson, a Hyde Park stylist, is working to add to Cincinnati's tradition of creating home grown local programming.
Anderson is set to launch Kim's Closet this fall, and is in the process of shooting a pilot and securing sponsors for the show. She'll serve double duty as both host and stylist, where she'll makeover Cincinnati men and women in way that works with their lifestyle and can be maintained.
"This is not a typical ambush makeover show. It's for people who have a true desire to get their style back. It's about how they've lost their style and what obstacles there have been in keeping it. … Basically the show is geared toward people on the roller coaster of life," Anderson said.
Anderson's background is in retail and in modeling. She has a degree in fashion merchandising from Bowling Green State. And she previously worked for Jacobson's, a high-end department store in Columbus.
"When I was there, I got experience in fashion shows and management and working with the press," she said.
Growing up, Anderson always was the person friends and family turned to when they needed a fashionable look for a special occasion. Later, when she moved to Cincinnati, to make ends meet, she began making and selling her own handbags and hair accessories. She also "fell into a job" in educational television production.
When that job ended due to the non-profit's financial constraints, she began looking for different work. Anderson went through a series of print modeling, acting and other jobs before finally discovering her passion: Hosting her own fashion reality show.
"I had an idea for a show marrying things I love to do, around an industry I love," she said.
With the support of her agent, she developed a concept. That was followed by a casting call earlier this year, which had a huge response.
"We never expected to meet as many fabulous people in Cincinnati as we did. People said we might be able to find enough people to shoot a pilot. But we were lucky to find enough people for an entire first season. We were amazed at the diversity of the people we found," she said.
Anderson brought on an all-Cincinnati cast of stylists and a photographer to help pull participant's style together. They are Lyndsey Yeager of Glossa in Covington; Leah Spurrier, of HighStreet Lifestyle Store and Studio in downtown Cincinnati; Cassie Dusold, of Hyde Park Hair and Body Works; and Robert Romundo, a local freelance photographer.
The show has found a home in Cincinnati and will be broadcast on WSTR, Channel 64. She's planning shooting episodes this summer with a planned fall broadcast.
Anderson's along with her agent, Kat McEntee of Katalyst Talent Agency in Covington, has plans to eventually pitch the show to major networks. But first, Anderson wants to perfect the show in Cincinnati.
"We really want to grow here before we take it out to the national arena. We want to give back to the community that has embraced the show," Anderson said.
Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Kimberly Anderson, creator Kim's Closet