When Charmaine Tang, a 36-year-old former Wall Street investment banker, and Amy Zicarelli, a 33-year-old former family therapist, met on a playground two years ago, an instant friendship began. Both were stay-at-home moms living in Preston Hollow. Both had a son and a daughter. And both, apparently, had big dreams.
Earlier this year, Charmaine and Amy opened the first Kidville location in Texas. Situated in a Dallas strip mall on the northeast corner of Preston and Royal, Kidville is a one-stop shop where kids from birth to age 6 can take classes, play, attend preschool, get a haircut, and shop for boutique-style clothes and toys. Business is booming, but both ladies still find that motherhood is their most important job.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROOTS.
Charmaine: I’m a native New Yorker. [My husband, George Tang, and I] met at NYU. He went to J.J. Pearce High School, and had fond memories of growing up in Dallas. When we had our children … we made the bold move and uprooted from New York. From a lifestyle and quality of life perspective … we chose Dallas. I love it!
Amy: I grew up in Ennis, south of Dallas, went to SMU, met my husband [Mike Zicarelli] after college, and we settled down here. [We] had our kids here, and stayed in the area. So I’m a local Dallas mom.
HOW OLD ARE YOUR CHILDREN?
Charmaine: Son Tyler, 4 ½; daughter Charlotte, 2 ½
Amy: Son Luke, 5; daughter Lyla, 3
WHAT’S THE HARDEST PART OF PARENTING?
Charmaine: My son was a NICU baby. He was born with clubbed feet, and he had lungs that were collapsing when he was born. He was a very sick kid. So I think that was a big game-changer for my husband and me, to really step back and say … do we want to look back at our life and say I was a successful investment banker? No, I want my epitaph to read "Great Mother, Great Wife, Great Friend." I could care less what I did professionally. That’s nothing.
Amy: Both of my kids have chronic illness, so … it’s important to me to have those special times with them when they’re feeling good. My son has four chronic diseases that can hinder how he’s feeling. I like to think that Mike and I have done a good job of trying to help him feel as normal as possible in this crazy world. With both my kids, I’m just really encouraging, letting them know that nothing, whether it be health or anything else, can get them down.
WHY DID YOU OPEN KIDVILLE?
Charmaine: We were stay-at-home moms when we met, and … we knew what kids were looking for, and what moms needed. And Kidville is just so different. I saw what it was like in New York and thought Dallas would be a great place to have something similar. [If you’re] a stay-at-home mom seven days a week, you need things like a Kidville to go to—no matter how big your playroom is!
Amy: In Dallas, we didn’t have anything like this. Not one place where you can go and try different classes and shop and get a haircut—the whole thing. I knew we had to have [a branch] in Dallas.
HOW HAVE YOUR PREVIOUS CAREERS HELPED WITH RUNNING THE ALL-IN-ONE ESTABLISHMENT?
Charmaine: I use a lot of my business knowledge to make sure we’re doing things as efficiently as we can. I’m kind of a stickler. But I do a lot on the customer service side. You will see me at that front desk! I know almost every mom’s name.
Amy: Psychology in general I think helps in any field, but especially working with families. Also, working with the teachers and the classes, hiring staffing, interviewing … all of those things align well with my background. Probably the best experience that both of us have … is being a mom. The master’s helps, Charmaine’s Wall Street-smarts help, but in the end, it’s being a mom [that makes the business thrive].
DESCRIBE EACH OTHER IN THREE WORDS:
Charmaine: Amy is compassionate, generous and unstoppable.
Amy: Charmaine is driven, confident and electrifying.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE GROWN-UP PLAYDATE?
Charmaine: We’re actually great friends outside of this! Our husbands [are] BFFs. We [all] love to dance. We’re the four you’re always going to see on the dance floor!
ANY TIME FOR SPLURGES?
Charmaine: Every free moment we’re trying to go see our kids and spend time with our family. But [when I do have a bit of time] I get my hair done—it’s normalizing.
Amy: I love a good manicure and pedicure, and getting my hair done. I got it done this afternoon, but it had been a long time. I told Charmaine, no more interviews or pictures until I get this hair done!
WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO VACATION?
Charmaine: Vermont
Amy: Grand Caymans, Cedar Creek Lake
YOU’VE BOTH SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN NEW YORK. WHAT DO YOU MISS ABOUT THE BIG APPLE?
Charmaine: I love going shopping in New York. I miss my New York walks and boutiques on the Upper West Side, or down in Soho.
Amy: We spent a lot of time up there in the fall, and I could have shopped forever. Just walking down the sidewalk and going from shop to shop is the best. I wish we had that here.
HERE AT HOME, WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOP ?
Charmaine: Nordstrom
Amy: Nordstrom, Melanie Gayle in Snider Plaza
FAVORITE KIDS’ BOOKS?
Charmaine: In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
Amy: The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister; Pinkalicious by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann
WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN IT COMES TO BEING A MOM?
Charmaine: Having unconditional love.
Amy: Spending quality time with my kids
