Interview with Katie Evans: designer at Kate Spade New York

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Interview with Katie Evans: designer at Kate Spade New York

Pinterest interviews are back! I’m happy to introduce Katie Evans. Katie is a designer at Kate Spade, designs her own line of stationary, and has lots of popular pinboards. You can check out her beautiful work on her website: http://hellohellodesign.com/

Hi Katie! So tell me about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do?
I am from North Palm Beach, Florida where we have spring and summer all year long. I lived there until I went to college at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, MD. My first winter was a disaster. I didn’t know how to dress and I got one of the those lights that felt like the sun. I would sit in front of it everyday. It was a big adjustment, but I love it now. Getting to have all of the different seasons is so fun, and I love looking forward to the next change in weather. I am a graphic designer and illustrator at kate spade new york. I design stationery, shop windows, and fun novelty product like our famous mittens. I also have my own stationery line that I sell on etsy.

(Samples of Katie’s stationary. You can buy it on her Etsy shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop/hellohellodesign)

I think for lots of women, doing design at kate spade new york is a dream job! How did you find yourself there?
It is a dream job!!! There are a bunch of MICA alumni working at kate spade new york. While I was a student one of the girls came back to visit the college and talk about her job. I introduced myself, we exchanged information and I sent her my resume and portfolio. She told me they had an internship position available that summer and I immediately applied! I was accepted and worked there the summer before my senior year. I fell in love with the brand, the creative marketing team and New York City. When my college career was coming to an end, I received a surprise phone call that a position was available and they were offering it to me! I accepted and couldn’t wait to start my graphic design career. The day after I finished my last exam I moved to New York and started my job. It’s been amazing, and I can’t imagine working anywhere else.

(A few pieces Katie designed for Kate Spade)

How would you describe your personal style? Is there anyone that has really inspired you or informed your taste?
I love dressing up, whatever the occasion. You will rarely find me in jeans and a t-shirt. Dressing up makes me feel fancy and happy.

“I like to wear something sparkly on Mondays because it makes Mondays more exciting.”

I also enjoying mixing stripes and sequins any chance I get. My grandmothers were both very stylish women. They were the kind of ladies that would put on their best just to go to the library. I also work with a bunch of stylish women at kate spade new york. We all have different styles and love dressing up in our own ways. It’s fun to inspire each other to try something new — we’re always looking for excuses to dress up: cocktails after work, birthday parties in the office, an impromptu photo shoot with props from the closet…

How do you use Pinterest day to day? What did you use before you had Pinterest?
Pinterest is one of the tabs that I keep up on screen all day long with twitter, tumblr and gmail. It’s one of the sites that I get lost in, going from pin to pin and finding new boards to follow. I love exploring what other people are posting. The content that people are bringing to the site is so great and inspirational. I feel like we all share design styles and aesthetics. I love how we all organize our ideas and it’s so easy to search for something. Before pinterest I was a sporadic user of ffffound.com, searching blog by blog for my inspiration.

Who would you like us to interview next from Pinterest? Anybody you’ve found that have amazing style?
Kristen Appenbrink has fun stuff. She works at real simple. Erin Loechner is another good one as well as Jules Lawn Party.