The Amazing Story of Kaela Kay
The Fashion Zone is excited to host the second of this season’s live recordings of Fashion Talks (external link) podcast with Donna Bishop, and the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (external link) .
Fashion Zone welcomed Catherine Addai, founder of stunning womenswear label, Kaela Kay (external link) .
Catherine is a designer grown from passion but built on commitment. Having previously worked in the healthcare industry, it was not easy when during the day she had a great job and great stability, but at every other waking moment, she was thinking about fashion.
“I wanted to stand out. I wanted to design pieces that were creative, modern, but still modest.”
“When I signed the lease, I cried. The night of opening, I cried.”
But not every dream comes easy, and the journey of the Kaela Kay brand came with its own set of challenges, with one being issues with retailers. In the beginning, the retail strategy focused on smaller boutiques. But the feedback that Catherine received was that they were unsure of the fit with the rest of the store, and the fit with the customer.
Fast forward a few years, Kaela Kay opened their first store, in order for customers to get in touch with the brand easier.
Successfully transitioning careers and building a brand is not easy. Now if Catherine was able to do all that, and did we mention the fact that she is also a mother of a family (hence the name Kaela, one of her daughters), this shows that with passion, practise, and perseverance, brands can be built, and you can be the one to do it.