From a distance — 32 Thoughts resembles a utility van, or one of those cult-favorite food trucks. 

But step closer and you'll see it's a world within itself. A world on wheels created solely to make a positive impact through fashion, one-on-one guidance and the drive to give back.

Brentwood teens Chapel and Charis Forte founded 32 Thoughts, a mobile boutique, with their mother, Christine. 

It all started just over three years ago when Chapel Forte, then a freshman at Ravenwood High School, began selling handmade jewelry to fund a church mission trip to Haiti. She found that through creativity and style, she could give back to a cause she cared for.

"I ended up selling more than enough and I had enough money that I could give to the program," she said. 

Meanwhile, empowering clothing brands became an obsession for then 13-year-old Charis Forte, who found that one in particular just "made (her) feel so good." 

"Anytime I saw it in a store, I'd want to be around is as much as I could," Charis Forte added. "I went to (Chapel and Christine) one day and said, 'I really want to do something that does this for other people.'"

So, the fashion-loving trio created  a blend of everything that made their hearts and minds tick.

"We're good at putting our minds together and thinking of creative ways to sell and saw how excited people got that it was for a cause," Christine Forte said. "And so putting all of that together, we thought, 'Let's turn this into something bigger.'"

Today, 32 Thoughts sets up shop at public and private events. Proceeds are funneled to a charity of the host's choice. They also periodically choose their own charities.

To this day, they've donated to around 40 local and national charities. Organizations such as Gilda's Club, St. Jude's and One Generation Away. 

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The Fortes have an affinity for style and styling others. But Christine Forte has naturally imparted on her daughters a love of service. 

As a 15-year cancer survivor, she knows the power of lending a hand, both physically and financially. 

"That really threw me into being involved in local and national level charities for breast cancer organizations," Christine Forte said. "And now we just all have branched out to learn about so much more, because we see what an impact it makes."

And the name is just an extension of that drive. 32 is Christine's favorite number, but they arrived on the word "thoughts" for a few reasons.

"One reason is that it's a one-on-one experience inside the boutique and we try to make and really get to know shoppers," Chapel Forte said. "And the other part is that the goal is to give back to the community.

"So the experience feels thoughtful."

And the little details inside the store only help fuel their mission of thoughtfulness. 

The walls inside the boutique's two dressing rooms are covered in wallpaper full of words in script font, like "love," "live loud," and "be-YOU-tiful," meant to inspire care and confidence to every shopper, as well as similar hand-written messages on mirrors and on notes added to every bag that leaves with a shopper.

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32 Thoughts has taken many shapes since its founding. When it first started it was a trailer. And since then, the Fortes have had pop-up stores at Cool Springs Galleria.

In 2020, though, they decided to find and create a drivable mobile boutique, mainly for it to be easier to maneuver and park. Though with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this meant doing most of the handy work themselves to get to the truck they operate today. 

"(Chapel and Charis) have learned so much as young women and about being a part of the community and running a business," Christine Forte said. 

In just three years, the Fortes boutique experience has transformed the teens into young business owners entrusted by their mom to run much of the day-to-day work — building and managing a website, working with vendors and more.

For Chapel Forte, who embarks on her first year at Florida State University in just a few weeks, she hopes to be able to transport her family boutique to help philanthropy efforts when she joins a sorority. 

 Charis Forte now has her hopes set on pursuing a career in the event planning industry.

"Doing this made me realize that I definitely want to do something with people. I love just having a connection with people," she said.

"I love finding (events) I love like coordinating them. And so it's been great because I've now been going through high school knowing what I want to do."

If you'd like to get a slot on 32 Thought's calendar, visit https://32thoughts.com/ for more information. Follow the Forte's and their mobile boutique and showroom on Instagram too @shop32thoughts. 

Anika Exum is a reporter covering Williamson County for The Tennessean and the USA Today Network Tennessee. Reach her at 615-347-7313, via email at aexum@tennessean.com or on Twitter @aniexum.

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