Kate Spade (born Katherine Noel Brosnahan in Kansas City, Missouri; December 24, 1962) is the co-founder and namesake of the designer brand, Kate Spade New York.

Education

Spade graduated from St. Teresa's Academy, an all-girl Catholic high school in Kansas City, Missouri. She majored in journalism at Arizona State University, during which time she also worked in a motorcycle bar, and is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Mademoiselle Magazine

In 1986, Spade worked in the accessories department of Mademoiselle in Manhattan, where she was credited in the magazine's masthead as Katy Brosnahan. While at Mademoiselle she met Bradley Carvette who worked in the art department and would become a longtime boyfriend. Together, they were featured in the magazine as part of a photo story on couples and love.

She left Mademoiselle in 1991, with the title of senior fashion editor/head of accessories. While working for Mademoiselle she noticed that the market lacked stylish and sensible handbags, so decided to create her own. With this in mind, Kate browsed local flea markets, began researching different styles, fabrics, production costs, and created a line of handbags with classic shapes, colors, and fabrics.

Andy Spade

Spade met her future husband, Andy Spade (brother of actor and comic, David Spade), a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, while at ASU, working side-by-side as salespersons in a men's clothing store, Carter's Men Shop in Phoenix. They were married in 1994. They had a daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade in February, 2005. They launched their New York-based design company "kate spade handbags" in January 1993, selling mainly handbags. Today Kate Spade sells a variety of items including, stationery, personal organizers, address books, shoes, beauty products, perfume, raincoats, pajamas, eyewear, and in 2004, launched "kate spade at home." The home collection includes bedding, bath items, china, various items for the home and wallpaper.

Jack Spade, a fictional name, is the men's complement to the Kate Spade brand. Its founder and principal designer was Andy Spade. In recent years, Kate Spade has been featuring designs and special editions by guest designers and is no longer the sole artistic vision of the husband and wife team.

Shops

right In 1996, Kate Spade opened its first shop in New York City's SoHo. In 1998, Kate Spade opened its doors in Boston, in 2000, Chicago, San Francisco, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Manhasset, Long Island. In the spring of 2003, one more store opened in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. From there, a wave of boutiques opened in 2004, in Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte, Scottsdale, Dallas, and Boca Raton. The last boutiques that were opened were in Las Vegas, Nevada, Palo Alto, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and Huntsville, Alabama. New stores were planned for Fall 2008 at The Mall at Chestnut Hill in Chestnut Hill, MA, Ross Park Mall in Pittsburgh, Westfield Galleria at Roseville in Roseville, CA and also in Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, CA. The kate spade store at The Westchester in White Plains recently opened. In 2004, the Kate Spade brand went international, opening a store in Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan.