Kathy Ireland is a supermodel turned super-mogul who founded kathy ireland® Worldwide (kiWW), a world renowned lifestyle brand, listed as the 26th most powerful brand in the world according to License Global magazine. kiWW’s collections range from furniture, fine jewelry, and fashion to intimate apparel and office essentials. Founded in 1993 from Ireland’s kitchen table with just a line of socks, the kiWW® brand now has around 19,000 product SKU’s. Ireland’s conglomerate also owns entertainment companies, including EE1/BMG, which is part of a multi-effort contract with Ireland’s subsidiaries and the entertainment giant BMG, the seventh-largest music company in the world.
At the moment, Ireland is Executive Producer of Blackbird Lennon-McCartney Icons, the album. Ms. Ireland’s artist management group has represented and maintains a roster of icons, including Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Jackson, EGOT nominee Vanessa Williams and Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. Ms. Ireland serves as the International Youth Chair of the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, the Boards of the NFLPI and WNBA, as well as Board of Advisors to Serena Williams and The Madison Institute at Princeton University.
In this exclusive interview with Home Business Magazine, Ireland gives the inside scoop on her business journey with kathy ireland® Worldwide.
HBM: Tell us about your Kathy Ireland furniture brand. What sets it apart from competitors?
KI: “We have so many wonderful categories available for people to explore, from our kathy ireland® HOME collections with Pacific Coast Lighting to our Home and Office collections with Bestar Bush Furniture, to our Nourison rugs and our Home and Garden collections with Twin Star. Our beautiful home collections Michael Amini | kathy ireland designs.
Fashion, quality, value, and safety set our designs apart from every competitor. We work with the very best makers who value quality, as well as incredible people who have the highest standards of work ethic and who honor our human rights contracts that make our partnerships so powerful. We work best with people who have enormous hearts for philanthropy and giving back, to breathe new life into our vision to Teach. Inspire. Empower. Make our World Better. kathy ireland® Home and Office by Bush Furniture is an example of an incredible partner that has been serving families for over six decades.”
HBM: What inspired you to launch your furniture company?
KI: “Design and business have always been a passion. My first job at four-years-old was a combination of both, when I sold painted rocks from my wagon. These rocks were multi- functional, as they could be used as a decorative paper weight — objet d’art — my Granny even used her painted rock for self-defense once. No one messed with our Granny!
We started our fashion brand in 1993 and quickly learned that what women see on the runways in Paris and Milan, they also want to see translated in their homes. Bringing fashion into the home is a joy and a passion. Our team worked around the clock… we worked very hard to earn the respect of the industry and, most importantly, our customers whom we serve.”
HBM: What tips do you have for other entrepreneurs who want to start and run their own furniture brands?
KI: “It is all about people — people before products, so take the time to get to know who it is you are seeking to work with and understand their process. How do they bring products to market? How are employees treated at every level? What goes on inside the factories? Be curious and make sure to ask a lot of questions. Our ‘getting to know you’ process is lengthy and so are our relationships. We’ve been working with the amazing CEO of Pacific Coast Lighting, Clark Linstone, for over two decades! For entrepreneurs, I also encourage you to not be afraid of rejection — ‘no’ means ‘now we are talking’! Seek to learn why you received the ‘no’ and never give up.”
HBM: What are some new, exciting home office design trends you’re seeing?
KI: “As we venture through the challenges that came with this pandemic, we are learning to navigate and adapt to new problems that arise. With new problems come new solutions. We are seeing furniture that is scaled for how people are living today. With COVID-19, families need to create individualized spaces within a room. Students are working from home, while parents are conducting meetings away from the office. As families are figuring out how to balance working from home while having kids home from school, it is so very important to have designated work spaces to help families set boundaries, so that work doesn’t flow into family life.” www.kathyireland.com
