Meet Kate Pascoe and Kate Pascoe Squires, sisters-in-law who decided to create a home goods brand in 2013 called Kate&Kate (appropriately named, right?). Their designs are impeccably modern and perfect for cozying up by the fireplace this winter.
Photo by Francoise Baudet and Megan Morton
TWe absolutely adore your designs and find your story so sweet too. What inspired both of you to come up with a home goods brand?
We pretty much came up with Kate & Kate by accident. Kate and I were both exploring other business ideas when we came across our manufacturers. Within a few minutes of meeting them, we had decided that we would go into business together and blankets would be our thing.
Who has the manufacturing background? Because we know how tough the technical aspects of businesses can be!
Would you believe neither of us has a manufacturing background?! Although Kate(Pascoe) probably started off with more knowledge than me! It’s definitely been a steep learning curve for both of us, but sometimes our ‘greeness' has worked to our advantage. We don’t believe that anything is impossible – we just push to make things happen.
How is each blanket made? What makes it different from other blankets on the market?
Our cotton blankets are knitted by our amazing manufacturers in India. We visited their facility in January and it was incredible to see how many hands are needed to produce one of our blankets. Each person has a specific skill that’s put to use. It’s such a special process. The resulting Kate & Kate blankets are different to others on the market, as all our designs are unique to us. The blankets are all 100% cotton, machine washable/tumble dry. In everything we do, we try to combine the design aesthetics with functionality.
Would you say that your own homes reflect a lot of the blankets' designs? Are your personal styles minimal, modern, etc?
Absolutely. We can’t help but design what appeals to our own tastes. Kate and I often make the same choices with homewares, fashion… you name it! Our personal styles are both quite modern and mine is definitely minimal. We both love geometric patterns, monochrome palates, but there is always room to explore and bust out. We like to keep things interesting.
Photo by Francoise Baudet and Megan Morton
What do you hope new customers would think of your products? What is your goal for each recipient of a blanket?
We want all of our customers to fall in love with their blankets – everything about it. The design, the hand feel, the story behind it… we put our heart and soul into each blanket in the hope that this will be the outcome.
You have been featured just about everywhere! Were you at all surprised with the response?
Absolutely. The support we’ve received since launching just over a year ago has been very humbling. We couldn’t be more thankful.
What would you say has been the best experience with Kate&Kate so far?
It’s been a pretty amazing year! Just being able to see the business come alive has been incredible. Working with the best people – amazing retailers, designers, media… we are having the best time.
And where do you see the brand going in the next 5, 10 years? What are your plans?
Sky’s the limit! Ha! We will be launching new products as part of our Winter 15 collection in February, so we are just concentrating on getting everything spot on… it’s not that far away now! From there, I’m not sure… let’s just get over February and then we can talk about the next 5-10 years.