And what’s next for her beach-to-table brand Walker & Wade.
I know so many people who deserve to be celebrated. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by what’s happening in the news, so I thought I’d tell you about some truly extraordinary women in my life who I’m so proud of in a new series called Leading Ladies.
Today, it’s my friend Laurie Kittle, the creative force behind the clothing company Walker & Wade (named using her two sons’ middle names). The clothing brand is known for its “beach-to-table” resort wear. Think pretty patterned sundresses and airy coverups that are worthy of wearing off the beach, too. The designs appeal to all ages, and they have menswear as well! Laurie has shown me that it’s never too late to follow your dreams and the secret to starting a thriving business after your 60th trip around the sun.
Walker & Wade is offering Katie Couric Media readers a 15 percent discount with code WAKEUP15.
Katie Couric: You’re celebrating 10 years of Walker & Wade — congratulations, Laurie! First off, why did you want to start Walker & Wade when you were 60 years old? That’s when many people start thinking about retirement!
Laurie Kittle: I feel very grateful that what I love to do happens to count as “work.” Without knowing it, I think my whole life has been a journey preparing me for starting a resort wear line, and it just happens that all the ingredients didn’t fall into place until I was 60. W&W combines all of my passions: painting, design, travel, my family and friends, the ocean, and beach life. In that sense, I couldn’t imagine a better “retirement.” It seems to be a perfect fit to design clothes for the beach-to-table lifestyle that my family lives.
What are some of your skills and experience that made starting this company a great fit for you?
Color is the language I speak best. It all started at the Rhode Island School of Design. I had a rigorous schedule learning painting, drawing, and color theory. RISD pushed me to be a perfectionist and to be creatively unconstrained. I worked out of college in the garment district as a trained colorist and print designer, the hardest job I’ve ever had, but an experience that I still draw on today. And, of course, raising two boys was great practice for me as well, not only because I can deal with chaos but because I feel at my age that I have a great grounding and sense of what really matters, which allows me to minimize any challenges we face.
What are some of the important lessons you’ve learned since starting the company?
Learning how to hand off responsibilities to people on our team. In the beginning, I loved doing everything, from designing to packing orders with handwritten notes. But as we grew, it became important to let these things go. My business partner, Molly van der Griend, who came on eight years ago, took control of the business and sales aspects so I could focus on my strengths of design and connecting with customers. I was reluctant to hand over control of the business, but you learn that the results are so much better when you divide and conquer. Molly is much younger and has a natural style and great fashion experience, so it was a fantastic opportunity to design together. This has expanded our customer base to many generations. Molly has built our wholesale business and manages operations with our team so I’m free to focus on where I add the most value.
The clothes are made in Bali. Why Bali and what has it meant to you and your employees to work in this beautiful place?
Our history with Bali goes back to 1977 when my husband lived there. Our son Cody also lived there after college. Cody was there to surf, but he found a master tailor to make him suits and shirts. We all went back to Bali for a family surf trip in 2014, where we had clothes made with that same master tailor we work with today. I designed a few pieces but never thought I’d sell them! I wanted to make some coverups that could take me from the beach right out to dinner. And that’s how our “beach-to-table” motto was born! I came to understand the spiritual beauty and passion for the arts that makes Bali so magical. Their fabrics are stunning, and I was especially inspired by the hand-painted Batik designs that have been handed down for hundreds of generations.
We love our team in Bali. Bali makes almost all of its money from tourism. Our team told us that if not for Walker & Wade, their families would have gone hungry during Covid. It was so important to keep everyone working from home so all the moms that work for us could support their children. We’re all a family now, and we’re in awe of the kind-hearted and caring Balinese people.
How important has social media been to the success of the business?
We love social media, particularly Instagram. It gives us access to more of our customers than we would otherwise have. We love showcasing our designs. We read every comment. We’ve even built friendships with some customers we met through Instagram. But we also love good old-fashioned real-life connections. One of my favorite things to do is call customers out of the blue just to hear how they like the product and get ideas on what we can do better. So, I think it’s healthy to live outside of the social media world as well.
This is a real family affair, isn’t it? Your husband and sons are involved, and your partner in crime Molly is like a daughter to you. How have they been instrumental in the success of Walker & Wade?
My son Cody was the one who pushed me to fly back to Bali alone to design more dresses. He suggested this after I told him about all the compliments I was getting on pieces I had designed for myself. Cody was instrumental in setting up the supply chain and business side in those early years. My husband Kit is a professional photographer and, naturally, does all of our photography. My other son Henry, who runs a digital marketing agency, actually handles all of our online marketing. Meanwhile, Molly really runs the business today, which allows me to spend all of my time focused on customers and design. Molly’s mom Kelly, who’s been my friend for 30 years, also works for us. Our team in Bali consists of three large families with many sisters and cousins. We love that when one person gets involved, they quickly get their family involved, too. That sort of love and passion is key to our success.
How has your brand grown? Where did it start, and where are you now?
We launched 10 years ago with a modest trunk show at a best friend’s home in Greenwich, CT. Today, we are in more than 175 stores, have sold more than 100,000 dresses, have a warehouse, and have a team of 12 amazing women in the U.S. The growth felt very gradual, and then all of a sudden — boom! I still think we are just getting started.
What advice would you give someone who’s a bit older when it comes to starting your own business?
Don’t let fear stop you. Age is not an obstacle. In fact, with age comes a better network, more wisdom, a greater degree of stability in your life, and all the character traits that are helpful, like more resilience and patience. But for starting a business, what you need is an angle, an advantage you have for serving other people. Start with baby steps, so you can gradually build an understanding of what you can do for others. We started with one trunk show, and it worked, so we did another. And we crept up from there. With each step, we learned, listened, and iterated. If you love what you do and are passionate about it, you’ll connect with your customers, and that kind of energy will shoot you forward.
My son Cody once said to me, “Mom, there’s room for everyone.” Never worry that other people are doing it bigger and more successfully than you. Appreciate that you can learn from them. Focus on your ability to do great things for your customers and not on what other brands are doing
Who’s your favorite Walker & Wade model?
Katie Couric!!!
Do you think you’ll expand the brand or stick mostly with dresses and coverups?
For us, it’s less about expanding for expanding’s sake and more about the joy we get from making our customers feel beautiful and confident. We love listening to feedback from customers and enjoy being able to make their requests a reality. We have exciting new collections on the horizon and will keep going until our customers tell us to stop. We’ve expanded into other categories like occasion wear, with our Elizabeth dress in viscose silk being a top seller, to our natural linen collection. We introduced a Mommy & Me line six years ago, which has been popular. We’ve been adding to our teen designs with our two-piece sets, and we just launched men’s party shirts for our 10-year anniversary.
This summer, we opened our first flagship retail store in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, and have added accessories such as beaded handbags, beach sweaters, and home goods. Our customers span the ages of 2 to 92, my mom being our oldest customer at 92. Our team has played a huge role in our growth and expansion. We didn’t realize what a labor of love and wild ride this had been until Molly and I cut the ribbon and looked at each other with big tears of joy and almost disbelief, surrounded by our family, friends, and team.
Coming full circle back to our family surf trip in Bali — it’s like my son Henry always says: “To catch the big wave, you have to fully commit.”
The brand is offering a 15 percent discount with code WAKEUP15.
