As a wife, and mother of two very energetic boys, I never expected that in 2017 I would launch my own designer business, creating unique, intuitive and true-to-self styles, with my deeply valued people-centric outlook at heart.
Earlier that same year I had discovered my Grandma's moth-eaten, brown scarf from the 1950s. It was a time when I was embracing so much more of my creativity and finding my maverick edge through art and design.
Finding that family keepsake, underlined to me that dressing in a way that is true to oneself and character is in an outward way of investing in oneself in a smart, savvy and creative way.
I considered wearing her scarf, in that super slow, vintage fashion way - but brown really is not my colour, and to be honest, the design was far too sensible for me. At that time there were no scarves in shops like there are now so I decided to make my own.
I considered wearing her scarf, in that super slow, vintage fashion way - but brown really is not my colour, and to be honest, the design was far too sensible for me. At that time there were no scarves in shops like there are now so I decided to make my own.
My first 8 designs were a statement of invention, a bold and uncompromising, colour-confident array of ME. They were abstracts of which I hadn't seen anything like before.
Wearing the scarf to the hairdressers one morning, led to a beautiful surprise of leaving with my first customer. This confidence-boosting, significant moment for me had led to my putting myself out there as a designer. And it didn't stop there!
Two months later I had gained traction on Instagram, and had received my first order of 18 bespoke scarves. After that investment, I really started to believe that people could love my designs and that there may be something in going bigger.
And so Kate Whyley was born, and it is a continuing adventure that brings so much pleasure and joy!
