Kathleen Kirkwood never gave up on shoulder pads. They were the product her company had its roots in since 1983 when Kathleen developed “pints of pads”. Being one of the few successful women in her own start up company, she promoted her product on Oprah and prominent news stations and people began to take notice of this young career woman.
At the time, Kathleen was young and working essentially out of her apartment. She first developed her signature shoulder pads and for lack of better packaging options, placed them in pint-sized ice cream cartons she received from the deli downstairs. They were an instant hit. A few years later, she signed with QVC and the rest is practically history.
Although she refers to her successful-yet-gradual evolution with her company as “pretty darn slow,” Kathleen cites QVC as the one company the pushed her “to up the ante.”
They believe in me.
It was this encouragement that led Kathleen to develop two more equally (if not more successful) products; Bust-Ease and Sonic Slimmers.
Both of these products have been a hit with Kathleen’s celebrity fans. Lauren Conrad gave her models a little extra oomph during her show at L.A. fashion week with Bust-Ease, Helen Mirren wore one as well when she accepted her Oscar and Oprah featured both products on her show.
Bust-Ease works like the traditional “chicken cutlet” pieces but without the uncomfortable stickiness. “I thought of a cool light weight material that is 200% lighter than the gels and will stick to your bra and NOT your skin.”
The bra actually lifts your tissue to create a firmer and fuller top without having to resort to plastic surgery. Two of Kathleen’s favorite celebrities she’s worked with fell in love with Bust-Ease at first sight during the Emmy Awards.
Cheryl Hines was just so interested, Kathleen says. She thinks it is great to have other solutions, so you don’t need to go under the knife.
And [Girls Next Door] Kendra is just a riot; the funniest person I’ve ever met,” she adds. “She was very honest. Maybe she doesn’t need the product because of her implants, but she told me if she had to do it again she would just use Bust-Ease.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Sonic Slimmers helps to smooth out your body all over. Kathleen uses a Lycra-spandex mix to create this “modernized version of Spanx.” The spandex allows the wearer to feel the firmness of the product and the Lycra permits it to retain its shape no matter how many times you wash it.
Spanx are great, Kathleen says.We all love our Spanx, but Sonic Slimmers is a lighter softer version that smoothes out what you have beautifully.”
However, Kathleen isn’t stopping here. She is recently created a line of bras and panties made for older women who want a bit more coverage called Forever Young, and also sold 1.4 million of her new camisoles on QVC in just one day!
The “flirt skirt” is just another product Kathleen plans to debut in the next year. The line will consist of classic slips that have a bit more control in the hip and tummy area. French lace will line the bottom making those embarrassing slip peek-a-boos a thing of the past.
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