Model Agency Reaches Out -- Future Stars Tries To Find Small-Town Talent In Tukwila

TUKWILA - Last month, Naomi Torres perused Drug Emporium's latest makeup, perhaps a lucky move, because Torres, 20, was hunted down by Carol Rushing in the parking lot.

"I was walking out of Drug Emporium, and Carol is just, like, jumping out the door," recalled the 5-foot-6 strawberry blonde who lives in Tukwila.

Three years ago, Rushing and her mother, Fran Smith, spent $100,000 and opened Future Stars Model & Talent Specialists at 17340 Southcenter Parkway, squeezed between Drug Emporium and America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses.

Though the tiny Tukwila agency is wedged into the shopping district, it has reached out in finding local talent in this city of about 15,000.

"Oh, we have beautiful people down here," Smith said. Future Stars has attracted talent from Spokane, she said, and its oldest client is 62. But sometimes all it takes is someone to walk past the agency's window.

Rushing's flattery flabbergasted Torres when she was discovered. "I was turning bright red. I could feel it," said the Horizon Air luggage-ramp agent.

"I'm constantly sitting in my office, and I'm always picking up people," said Rushing. You don't have to be taller than 5-foot-7 to model, she said. Modeling for catalogs or advertisements is also available, said the 5-foot-5 former Washington Miss Teen and model.

Modeling salaries can range from $7.50 to $100 an hour, and some catalog models can earn as much as $300,000 a year in big

markets such as Chicago, said Rushing and Smith.

Modeling agencies such as Elite and LA Models, and film producers, have been interested in Future Stars' talent, Rushing said. The agency has more than 200 clients, about 20 of whom live in Tukwila, she said.

As many as 14 instructors teach courses ranging from acting to nutrition to makeup application. Some sessions begin around $100, and 60-hour training programs cost about $1,500. And, if necessary, the agency offers financial help.

"It's not just for high-income families," Rushing said, and one doesn't have to go as far as Seattle or the Eastside to be represented.

Talent isn't found only in big markets, such as New York and Los Angeles, said Cameron Vessey, an agent for International Modeling & Talent Association, or IMTA, in Phoenix. In Washington state, about six agency and training centers - including Future Stars - are IMTA members, Vessey said. "We find so many fantastic people in the smaller markets," she said.

Finding an affordable agency in Tukwila was what Paula Cabunoc and her daughter, Marita, 13, wanted. Cabunoc had been taking Marita to a Kirkland model agency until Rushing rushed up to them in August outside Drug Emporium.

But Marita, a Chinook Middle School student, was cautious. "OK, how much is this going to cost?" she thought to herself.

Rushing, however, had seen Marita before. The Cabunocs have lived in Tukwila since 1972. In the past two years, Marita has already worked with LA Models and has gone to Milan, Italy. She's also been featured in Teen Magazine.

Of course, with success comes caution. Family support is important, and "parents should really check out any agency and training facility," Vessey said.

The Better Business Bureau of Western Washington offers an automated telephone service that discloses a business's track record in dealing with clients and complaints.

It also lists whether a business is a member of the bureau and maintains the bureau's standards, such as not having a high number of client complaints. The Better Business Bureau's number is 206-431-2222.

Cheryl Harris' phone message number is 253-946-3979.