Kate Spade and Andy Spade share what they love the most about working with each other over the years. One of the things that Andy says help them work together so well is that they share the same aesthetic and they like the same things. While Kate is very detail oriented, Andy is more conceptual and comes up with ideas.
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Some places he gets his inspiration for a shoe from are from architects and buildings, or even from something on the street. When this inspiration strikes, and he will do a rough sketch of the idea in his mind. He will then “volley” the idea over to Kate, who executes the details of his idea and makes it come to fruition. Fortunately, Kate understands him so well after being together for 30 years that she can decipher these rough sketches and really bring the idea to life.

Kate and Andy (brother of actor and comedian David Spade) met in Manhattan when she was working at Mademoiselle Magazine. When she was working for Mademoiselle, she noticed that the handbag market was lacking in handbags that are both stylish, as well as sensible. This was when she decided to create her own brand. While they began by only designing handbags, they eventually branched into other types of fashion, such as clothing, shoes and jewelry. After taking a number of years off to raise her daughter, Kate and Andy Spade have launched Frances Valentine, a collection of luxury footwear and handbags.