The Exchanges

Q How did you come up, how did you sort of land on the name, Kate Spade?

A Well, that was Andy. Because we were, I was not Kate Spade. I was, um, Kate Brosnahan, and I kept coming up with these names, and Andy kept saying Kate Spade, because we were fifty-fifty partners, and finally I just said, okay, and everyone said, I love it, Kate Spade, New York, and I remember telling, to your point about my Catholic parents, I told my mom, honestly, she burst into flames. I mean, she was like, But you're not Kate Spade. And I said, I know, but, and she said, oh, now you'll never be Kate Spade. Now you've, you know, you've jinxed it, and why would you name it Kate Spade? And I said, well, it's my first name, his last name, and it's like Dolce and Gabbana. And she goes, who the hell's that? And I said, never mind. I said, it'll work. We hope.

AI assessment note: “Well, that was Andy... it's my first name, his last name”

Q And then what did that mean when, when Neiman Marcus bought more than half the company? How did it change Kate Spade?

A We started going into more categories because they were encouraging that, which a lot of the stores, not just Neiman's, you know, it was Saks, all of them were really encouraging us to branch out into other categories. So we did stationary next, which that was right when the phones and emails and all that were replacing people writing notes. And people came to us and they said, well, when we said another category, we didn't mean, you know, a dying category. So I think what they were implying was shoes. They really wanted some Real substantial second categories or third, fourth. So then we started doing shoes, and it really just started, you know, I think it was just a good boost.

AI assessment note: “We started going into more categories because they were encouraging that”

Q And what were you doing? What were you, what did you start to do there?

A Well, it was first assistant with the senior fashion editor, and I Then I was promoted to associate editor, and I was in charge of all the accessories, and I did that for a couple years, and they promoted me to senior fashion editor, and if there's one thing I did learn was how to be very resourceful, and it came in very handy for when we started our business because, I mean, it was do not come back to me with no. I mean, you figure it out. I mean, it would be we have to go on a shoot in two days, and we need eight tickets to the Bahamas, and it was Figure out how to get us all there. I mean, if we're all on different airplanes, I don't care, but get us there. And I was like, make it happen.

AI assessment note: “Well, it was first assistant with the senior fashion editor, and I Then I was promoted”

Q So how did you even start to, to design handbags? I mean, you had no background in design. You didn't, how did you even know what to do, and like, what, And how to sew things, and put rivets in, and all that stuff.

A It's funny, I did not know, and I did start by buying big sheets of white Paper, and I would cut out and tape, honestly, the shape that I wanted, and then I'd look at it, and I'd make it shorter, smaller, cut it, and I went to a pattern maker that I found in the back of Women's Red Daily. She advertised that she made patterns, so I contacted her. She worked out of her apartment, and she was as patient as could be with me, because I didn't know anything, and I remember being really embarrassed about that, That I wasn't, you know, a student from Parsons or RISD or FIT, that I really didn't know what I was doing, and I honestly started with paper, then we'd make a sample out of any kind of fabric, muslin, and then, um, I kind of got the shape down, and I had to find a manufacturer, so I called Women's Word Daily. They connected me to a department that they really said we don't do that, but someone in the fashion department said, oh, it's so odd. I know someone And he had left himself, this production guy, to start his own business.

AI assessment note: “I did start by buying big sheets of white Paper, and I would cut”

Q How did you come up, how did you sort of land on the name, Kate Spade?

A Well, that was Andy. Because we were, I was not Kate Spade. I was, um, Kate Brosnahan, and I kept coming up with these names, and Andy kept saying Kate Spade, because we were fifty-fifty partners. And finally, I just said, okay, and everyone said, I love it. Kate Spade, New York, and I remember telling, to your point about my Catholic parents, I told my mom, honestly, she burst into flames. I mean, she was like, but you're not Kate Spade, and I said, I know, but, and she said, oh, now you'll never be Kate Spade, now you've, you know, you've jinxed it, and why would you name it Kate Spade, and I said, well, it's my first name, his last name, and it's like, Dolce and Gabbana, and she goes, who the hell's that? And I said, never mind. I said, it'll work. We hope.

AI assessment note: “Well, that was Andy... it's my first name, his last name”

Q And Andy was like, you know, bags, you know, like, why don't you try to do this, this on your own?

A Absolutely. He had actually said it before I quit, so I kind of already had it in the back of my mind, and I remember at the very beginning thinking, why didn't I stay? I could have made an income while I was working on this, and someone said to me, The truth is, you would never have done it had you stayed, because I wouldn't have been as scrappy or as, I mean, it was kind of, you know, do or die, so I think if I had still been working, I would have been like, ah, a little bit more lackadaisical about it, whereas when you don't have an income coming in, you are, you're doing whatever you can to make it happen.

AI assessment note: “He had actually said it before I quit, so I kind of already had”

Q Was there something that you guys did, like a business decision that you, you made that, that was the key to turning this around, or was it just more people started to discover it, and you just, you had just persevered through those rough years, and then it finally just kind of on its own, you know, got discovered?

A That's exactly what happened. I mean, it really was just kind of a little bit of a snowball effect. You know, it just got a little bigger, and a little bigger, and a little bigger, and I think At the point where the larger department stores were picking us up, I think then we realized, I think we have a business here. We loved it. We kept getting larger and larger spaces and stores, which is very important. You know, at first you're on a tiny little table, then maybe you get a few bigger space and shelves, and the next thing you know, you have store and store, shop and shop is what they call them, where your name is above it, really big.

AI assessment note: “That's exactly what happened. I mean, it really was just kind of a little bit of a snowball effect.”

Q And Andy was like, you know, bags, you know, like, why don't you try to do this, this on your own?

A Absolutely. He had actually said it before I quit, so I kind of already had it in the back of my mind, and I remember at the very beginning thinking, why didn't I stay? I could have made an income while I was working on this, and someone said to me, The truth is, you would never have done it had you stayed, because I wouldn't have been as scrappy or as, I mean, it was kind of, you know, do or die, so I think if I'd still been working, I would have been like, ah, a little bit more lackadaisical about it, whereas when you don't have an income coming in, you're, you're doing whatever you can to make it happen.

AI assessment note: “Absolutely. He had actually said it before I quit, so I kind of already had it”

Q You're still together. You have a, you created this, these amazing brands, and how do you How do you have a marriage and a business and make it work?

A I mean, I'll say from my perspective, I remember people saying, how do you work together? And I, I was thrilled. And, and Andy one day said, listen, I said, oh, wait up, wait up, I'm not ready yet. And he said, oh, no, no, let me tell you right now, if you think that every day we're going to go to office together and we're going to have lunch together, he said, that's not happening. We actually worked on separate floors for that very reason, because I had a tendency to go into his office, and he'd be on the phone, and I'd say, get off the phone, I have something to tell you, or ask you. And that, we had to really, I had to myself find boundaries, and we had to make a conscious effort not to talk about it twenty-four-seven, which is, as you can tell by how quickly I talk, my tendency. And I also am a very nervous person, I worry a lot, and Andy could not be more different.

AI assessment note: “I had to myself find boundaries, and we had to make a conscious effort”

Q And what were you doing? What were you, what did you start to do there?

A Well, it was first assistant with the senior fashion editor, and, Then I was promoted to associate editor, and I was in charge of all the accessories, and I did that for a couple years, and they promoted me to senior fashion editor, and if there's one thing I did learn was how to be very resourceful, and it came in very handy for when we started our business because, I mean, it was do not come back to me with no. I mean, you figure it out. I mean, it would be we have to go on a shoot in two days, and we need eight tickets to the Bahamas, and it was Figure out how to get us all there. I mean, if we're all on different airplanes, I don't care, but get us there. And I was like, make it happen.

AI assessment note: “Well, it was first assistant with the senior fashion editor”

Q Why did you, why did you want to move to New York?

A Well, it was kind of, I really was expecting to go back to Arizona to be with Andy, but that's where my ticket, it started and ended in New York. And I didn't have the money to get that. So I needed a job in order to do that. So I started at a temp place and I was typing and they said, um, I don't think this is going to work out. And then she called the next day and said, can you get ready right now? Condé Nast called and they have a job in the fashion department. So, uh, they ended up hiring me. They didn't want to because I couldn't type. And my boss said, listen, she's great. And I don't need her to type a lot because we were doing fashion shoots and styling. So Um, it wasn't as, you know.

AI assessment note: “that's where my ticket, it started and ended in New York.”

Q Why did you, why did you want to move to New York?

A Well, it was kind of, I really was expecting to go back to Arizona to be with Andy, but that's where my ticket, it started and ended in New York, and I didn't have the money to get back, so I needed a job in order to do that. So I started at a tent place, and I was typing, and they said, um, I don't think this is going to work out, and then she called the next day and said, can you get ready right now? Condé Nast called, and they have a job in the fashion department. So, uh, they ended up hiring me. They didn't want to because I couldn't type, and my boss said, listen, she's great, and I don't need her to type a lot, because we were doing fashion shoots and styling, so Um, it wasn't as, you know.

AI assessment note: “ticket, it started and ended in New York, and I didn't have the money”

Q Was there something that you guys did, like a business decision that you, you made that, that was the key to turning this around, or was it just more people started to discover it, and you just, you had just persevered through those rough years, and then it finally just kind of on its own, you know, got discovered?

A That's exactly what happened. I mean, it really was just kind of a little bit of a snowball effect. You know, it just got a little bigger, and a little bigger, and a little bigger, and I think At the point where the larger department stores were picking us up, I think then we realized, I think we have a business here. We loved it. We kept getting larger and larger spaces and stores, which is very important. You know, at first you're on a tiny little table, then maybe you get a few bigger space and shelves, and the next thing you know, you have store and store, shop and shop is what they call them, where your name is above it, really big.

AI assessment note: “That's exactly what happened. I mean, it really was just kind of a little bit of a snowball effect.”