Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Powers.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After having two children and spending 11 years working in college athletics administration, I began my journey as an entreprenuer in 2016 when I opened Leeta Ruth Boutique. Growing a clothing boutique was an incredible experience and allowed me to learn so much about both founding and owning a business and about myself as a person. Through that time I grew and changed so much, both as a woman and as an entrepreneur and in the spring of 2025 I made the decision to close Leeta Ruth and allow myself to creatively go in a different direction. In October of 2025 I opened Allumer in the same space in Ludlow, KY that previously held Leeta Ruth. Allumer means “to light up” or “to turn on” in French and the word is the basis behind my goal for Allumer, which is to inspire women to connect with their own inner light through a sensory retail experience and gathering space. My personal journey is a story of reconnecting with my own body and developing practices and rituals that ground me in the present. My goal for Allumer is that it provides the inspiration for other women to do the same.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think entrepreneurship is ever a smooth road as you can never predict the direction that your business may grow in, or the challenges that you will encounter along the way. Surviving and thriving as a small business is no easy task. One challenge I have experienced is being located in an area that doesn’t have a lot of foot traffic. That has required me as a business owner to prove to my customer that I have something worth making a trip for. My businesses have always been destinations. I’d say another challenge has been balancing the demands of motherhood with those of running a business. I am incredibly intentional about my time and energy and being present wherever I am, whether that is with the kids or at work. But often there is no escaping the pull of both schedules and I do end up running from place to place a lot!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I would say first and foremost I am interested in women, how we exist in the world, how we grow over time, and how we impact our communities and the world. Both of my businesses have had women and connection at the forefront behind the guise of fashion and beautiful things:) I think that one thing I do very well is to hold a vision for women that they may not be able to see themselves. I have always naturally seen the highest value in the women around me, their talent, their beauty, their strength, their power. I will say that learning to see these things in myself more has allowed me to see it more clearly in other women as well.
I think that I bring an intentional ear and a creative eye to both of my businesses. I pay attention to my customer, what they like, what they want in their life, and I also have an eye for quality and style in regards to clothing and other items. I know what I like and what I don’t. Purchasing for the shop is a very easy decision for me and I can also recognize what looks good on women and I feel comfortable communicating that.
What were you like growing up?
I would say that I was a cheerful, shy, attentive, ambitious, high achieving child. I did very well in school and became involved in the sport of diving at the age of 8, which significantly impacted the direction of my life. I joined the local club diving team in Cincinnati at the age of 9 and from there began to compete in national and then international competitions. I was a member of the US National Diving Team for five years and then accepted a full scholarship to dive at Stanford University. This then eventually led me to work in college athletics, a field that I was already intimately familiar with. I was also creative as a child and devoted a good deal of time to making my own jewelry and starting small businesses to sell my “creations”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.heyallumer.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyallumer
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/allumer
