What happens when a Seattle gal named Sabrina falls in love with a Britt named Shane? Sabrina Shane is born.

This husband and wife team, each raised in families of artists — painters, jewelry designers, dancers and writers — were perhaps individually destined to land in creative career fields. But when they found each other, their mutual love for the lovely things in life sent them off on a global lifestyle to explore the world.

Sabrina and Shane Ibrahim, husband/wife design team of Sabrina Shane and owners of two Seattle boutiques have been designing clothes since 1993. It began with their shared love affair for Indonesian fabrics, taking them to the London markets where they peddled their creations of clothing, scarves and hats.

Soon, the design label Sabrina Shane of London and Seattle was born.

Returning to the states in 2000, it was during the birth of their daughter that Wish on Greenwood and 77th opened. (They recently launched a new shop in the Ravenna District.)

“We opened Wish for settling reasons,” Sabrina says. “I love to make displays and not take them down. We still do festivals, and I love them. I love seeing people’s reactions (to our clothes), but set up and take down is tough.”

Sabrina credits Shane with the coolest color schemes. “He’s amazing with color and putting things together,” she says, adoringly. “I’ll be thinking of doing something in a design, then he will suggest a little tweak and poof, the design goes into motion.”

A recent creation displayed in the windows of Wish was a vintage-inspired long sweater coat. Embellished with floral surface stitching in a rainbow yarn, it contrasts the black knit. The eccentric appeal of the coat is enhanced with a fluffy white faux-fur collar.

Sabrina’s designs are complex, and busy with an artistic feel to every item. “My goal is to put something wonderful, visually into my designs.” She enjoys being a little different and does so on purpose — like putting a diagonal zipper into a jacket. Or a tunic sweater with a combo of red, black white and grey popcorn knit with asymmetric accents of nylon mesh. Gold and red beads and buttons dot the neck.

Sabrina’s desire, clearly, is to be a little funky, a little unique. It sets her patrons apart yet won’t intimidate the conservative dresser.

“Visual beauty is important. I want our clothing to have a beautiful edge to it,” Sabrina says. “We want (our patrons) to feel sexy and artistic at the same time, to not be afraid to be a little different, and don’t mind standing out.”

Take, for example, the Lucy Coat, a medium-weight cotton-printed coat dress with Mandarin collar. Tailored in panels of solid gold, browns and black, Lucy Coat is accented with matching print panels. “I like to take a vintage design like this and infuse some color into it,” she says. She runs her finger down the center of the dress stopping on the 1-inch round buttons — an array of red, pink and blue vintage metal art, each one unique – “Like we did here in the buttons. Everyone needs a spot of color to lift their mood.”

Sabrina’s designs both flatter and fit. A petite girl, Sabrina is considerate that bodies are different, that women are curvy. And she seeks to celebrate that in her designs by creating clothes that are form fitting, tailored.

“We will work to make something that just fits better,” Sabrina says. “I think wanting things well tailored is a goal for everyone.”

Both Sabrina and Shane agree that designing clothes and shop owning “may have been subconscious” all along. “I was having so much fun with this,” gushes Sabrina. “It grew out of joy. We work completely as a team. It never felt like a job.”

We could only wish the same for everyone. (Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves.)

Visit Wish in Greenwood | 7700 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle WA 98103 | (206) 782-7770