Mindy Hargesheimer (00:00):
Hey everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. I have a really special guest today. I have Elyce Aarons, she is the co-founder of Kate Spade. She is the author of, We Might Just Make It After All, my Best Friendship with Kate Spade. And she is also the founder and CEO of Frances Valentine. When I found out that Elyce and Kate were actually both Kansas natives, I couldn't wait to get Elyce on the podcast to talk about her friendship with Kate Spade, what they went through. The book goes into a lot of detail about how they went to school together at ku, how they moved to New York City together. They started the Kate Spade brand and eventually started the Frances Valentine brand. And we had a very inspiring conversation about the meaning of their friendship and what that did for them, about their drive to create the brands that they created and their love of New York City. And I hope that you guys find a lot of joy in this conversation that I had with Elyce . She's such a bright light and she's such an inspiration, and I think you're really gonna enjoy the conversation that we had.
(01:08):
Well, I'm so excited to have you on. Thank you so much. I'm really honored to have you here. You know, I, I mentioned that we moved here from Chicago, and when I moved here, I started learning all the things. Yeah. Even though I went to ku I didn't know all the different connections of Kansas City and a lot of national brands and faces and all this stuff. And so at some point when I moved here, I learned about Kate being from Kansas City, you being from Kansas, your whole story. We'll get into that. But when I started the podcast, I was like, clearly, I have to have you guys come on and then backstory, or have you come on and backstory is that I was a Chi Omega a KU, and I saw you at the 100 year anniversary that we had last fall. Right. and I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. And in fact, I hadn't even started the podcast then. But I remember everyone talking about you being there. And then I think I read that you hadn't been back for like 40 years.
Elyce Arons (02:05):
Yeah, it'd been a long time. And it was my gosh, so nice. Mm-Hmm
Elyce Arons (02:09):
To go home.
Mindy Hargesheimer (02:11):
Oh, good. Yeah. So did they get in touch with you to come back? I think you did some speaking with some locals there, maybe in Lawrence or something, is that right?
Elyce Arons (02:18):
Well, I'm not sure if you know it, but I was voted Person of the year last year.
Mindy Hargesheimer (02:23):
Oh my gosh.
Elyce Arons (02:24):
Somehow
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Mindy Hargesheimer (02:24):
That
Elyce Arons (02:24):
Did
Mindy Hargesheimer (02:25):
Not come up in my research, I don't think. Congratulations. How do you get that ?
Elyce Arons (02:29):
I don't think there's a lot of press on it. I, I had a big ceremony in Washington DC mm-hmm . Because it's all of the Kansas businesses, educational folks and all of that. Who came to that in DC Okay. For the state of Kansas. And then I was invited to KU for the weekend. Love it. For a home game to speak. I had several speaking engagements at ku and then I made a visit to Halls.
Mindy Hargesheimer (02:57):
To where?
Elyce Arons (02:58):
To Halls.
Mindy Hargesheimer (02:59):
Oh, halls great.
(03:00):
Oh, man, that would've been fun to see you there. Yeah. So you sell there Frances Valentine, I would imagine. Yes. Okay, good. Yes. Good. I love it. Well, good. Well, as we're speaking Elyce Aarons, you are the co-founder of Frances Valentine and CEO and of course the co-founder of Kate Spade. But thank you again for coming on. Do you wanna kind of share a little bit more about who you are, what you're doing now, and then we can kind of get into the backstory of you growing up in Kansas? 'cause I wanna hear a little bit about where
Elyce Arons (03:26):
You're from
Mindy Hargesheimer (03:26):
Okay. And how that kind of kickstarted your journey in life.
Elyce Arons (03:30):
Sure. So we started Kate Spade in 1993. Mm-Hmm . Ended up selling at 13 years later in 2006. And left there in 2007. Katie and I both had just had children and decided to take off and really spend time with her families. Mm-Hmm . So she got involved with her children's school. I got involved with mine. I became PA president, I became board chair at the school. We built a high school. It was such a rewarding period in which I learned so much, but we both missed fashion. So we started talking about starting something new 'cause we missed creating things. Yeah. And that's how Frances Valentine was born. We started it in I'd say 2014.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (04:20):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (04:21):
And launched it in 2016. Yep. Creating handbags and shoes. Mm-Hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (04:25):
.
Elyce Arons (04:26):
And in 2018 is when we sadly lost Katie.
Mindy Hargesheimer (04:31):
Yes.
Elyce Arons (04:31):
And I wanted to create something that was sort of a tribute to her
Mindy Hargesheimer (04:35):
Mm-Hmm .
Elyce Arons (04:35):
So she and I had been huge vintage shoppers all of our lives.
Mindy Hargesheimer (04:40):
I love that. Like, looking at pictures
Elyce Arons (04:42):
Of
Mindy Hargesheimer (04:42):
You guys is amazing. All of your apparel and everything. It's fabulous.
Elyce Arons (04:46):
We, I pulled out two of her favorite pieces that she'd worn forever. Mm-Hmm . One was a calf tan, one was an aborted sweater, and we remade those and they sold out immediately. Of course.
Mindy Hargesheimer (04:59):
I'm sure they did.
Elyce Arons (05:00):
And we reordered them. They sold out again and again and again. Mm-Hmm . So people started asking us for all of the things we were using in our ad campaigns, which were all the vintage pieces that we had collected together over all those years. Yeah. And we started making swing coats and
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cigarette pants and all sorts of things that we had in our archives. Uhhuh, and cut to today, Frances Valentine, probably 70% of our business is apparel. Yep. And we still have a very strong accessories business with shoes, handbags, and jewelry.
Mindy Hargesheimer (05:39):
Yes.
Elyce Arons (05:40):
But apparel's one of the main things that people come to us for.
Mindy Hargesheimer (05:43):
Yeah. And I, and what's so great about the Frances Valentine brand is the colors. Right. I mean, the styles are amazing. The designs are amazing. I love the, the bold colors. And I have to be honest with you, your handbags are my favorite. I love the raffia bag. There's like this bright green bag that I saw the other day
that I was just like, oh my gosh, that's like the perfect time of year to have this. And so it's such a beautiful brand and the way that you, you market it is, is so great with it's just, it's very positive and it's very poppy and it's very uplifting and everything. So I I, everybody needs to go check it out. Of course. And you're based outta New York City in your studio.
Elyce Arons (06:18):
Our mantra is what makes you
Mindy Hargesheimer (06:20):
Happy. Yeah.
Elyce Arons (06:21):
So
Mindy Hargesheimer (06:22):
, that's perfect. That's perfect. Okay, good. So I wanted to tell you, so of course I read your book that came out last summer, I think, right? 2025. Yes. Which everybody needs to go read. So we might just make it after all my best friendship with Kate Spade. So we'll talk about that. But what I wanted to acknowledge is that that book was really an opportunity to, and what we'll talk about here is to celebrate Kate's legacy and to celebrate who she was as a person and to really tell her story and and your story of friendship. And I have to tell you, I did the audiobook and I loved, I love audiobooks because I can hear the people when they're usually the firsthand storyteller like you are. I felt like I was in the moment, in the friendship with you when you were telling the story.
(07:11):
Like you did such a great job sharing, you know, the day that you met through, you know, you know, to today Right. With Frances Valentine. And you just, you kind of brought you into the moment. And I think there was such a great aspect of feeling the love of the friendship that you had and then the, the fun that you guys were having and then getting into business and then families coming together and all of this stuff like you just really consumed me into the storytelling. So I wanted to recognize that because I felt
Elyce Arons (07:43):
Like
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Mindy Hargesheimer (07:44):
I walked away feeling like, man, a lot of people could take away from this you know, how to have such a beautiful friendship with somebody. Right. so as I mentioned, I think you wanted to share, you know, for people to hear more about Kate, but what prompted you to finally write the book? What was that process like writing the book and how has it been kind of being, being on your, I guess, book tour that you
probably have been doing since then?
Elyce Arons (08:07):
? Yeah. I have. And it's not ending.
Mindy Hargesheimer (08:09):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (08:11):
You know, I really hesitated for a long time Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (08:14):
Before
Elyce Arons (08:15):
I wrote the book. And it wasn't because I didn't know what to say.
Mindy Hargesheimer (08:19):
Sure.
Elyce Arons (08:20):
It was that I just felt so many emotions were going to flood back and I didn't know if I was prepared for it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (08:25):
Sure.
Elyce Arons (08:26):
Because she was such a huge part of my life.
Mindy Hargesheimer (08:29):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (08:29):
And we shared, you know, nearly 40 years together.
Mindy Hargesheimer (08:34):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (08:34):
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And so once I got started though, it was really more about the fun times we had and all of these great stories and two businesses that we started together. And, you know, it was so rewarding for me when I finished mm-hmm . That it helped me. What I realized is it helped me with my grief,
Mindy Hargesheimer (08:57):
Cathartic. And
Elyce Arons (08:58):
I think it's helped a lot of other people with grief who have lost and close to them. Yeah. And it's a really uplifting story and not just about entrepreneurship or New York City in the nineties, which was so gritty and
Mindy Hargesheimer (09:13):
I know I wanna hear about that ,
Elyce Arons (09:15):
But probably the main thing is the story about best friendship. Mm-Hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (09:20):
.
Elyce Arons (09:21):
And if you have a girlfriend who you're close to and you're lucky enough to have a relationship like I did Yeah. Then cherish it. And if you don't live in the same city, call her and tell her you love her today.
Mindy Hargesheimer (09:32):
Yeah. Yeah. And obviously, you know, we couldn't get into all the details here. Everybody needs to read the book for themselves, but just everything from you guys immediately clicking, you lived at GSP right.
Elyce Arons (09:42):
At KU
Mindy Hargesheimer (09:44):
And then you were there for a couple years and then you have your story of moving on to Arizona and everything. But you know, just the thing, like the aspect of her traveling around Europe and then getting to the airport with $5 or whatever it was and calling you, you know, and then it was just everything was meant to be for you guys to stick together from then on out, create the brands that you guys did. All of that. So I think, yeah, I really think that the story of friendship is incredible. And in a world where people might feel lonelier than ever, or people are divided more than ever, I think it really is such a great space for people to read that book, do a book club about it, you know, with your girlfriends or fellow moms. And I think there's a lot of takeaways from it, so I love that. Okay. So let's go back. You're from Sedgwick, Kansas, is that correct?
Elyce Arons (10:25):
Correct.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (10:26):
Okay. So I've never been to Sedgwick, Kansas. I believe it is somewhere near Wichita, if that is correct. , it's
Mindy Hargesheimer (10:32):
Growing up on a farm, was fashion ever on your mind? How was it growing up there? Do you miss it? Do you go back? What was that like for you?
Elyce Arons (10:40):
I was the youngest of four daughters. Mm-Hmm . And so no sons to work on the farm. Farm. So we had to of course, do all the farm work.
Mindy Hargesheimer (10:48):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (10:49):
But my mother was from the east coast, is from the east coast.
Mindy Hargesheimer (10:52):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (10:52):
And met my father on a plane, Uhhuh from Kansas City to Wichita, got married. I don't know if she knew what she was getting into when she got married.
Mindy Hargesheimer (11:03):
, where from the East Coast was she from, by the way?
Elyce Arons (11:05):
Pennsylvania.
Mindy Hargesheimer (11:06):
Pennsylvania. Okay.
Elyce Arons (11:08):
And she is an illustrator and artist, but my mom created like all the costumes for community theater growing up. Okay. And she created illustrations for all of the local retailers at Wichita or the Wichita Eagle Beacon. Okay. She was an incredible cook. She did everything. Basically she made all of our clothes from patterns.
Mindy Hargesheimer (11:35):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (11:36):
So she was very talented. She took a subscription to Women for Daily that I read every single day.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (11:42):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (11:42):
And I had three older sisters. Yeah. Who took Vogue Magazine or 17 Magazine. And so I had a lot of influences in my life. One of the things that was really critical was that my sisters and I would go vintage shopping Yeah. In Wichita.
Mindy Hargesheimer (11:58):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (11:58):
And go to Salvation Army and Goodwill and find these incredible pieces that were hands beaded and that were, you know, from the twenties or forties. Right. Gorgeous. Mm-Hmm . And it was probably out of necessity that we went there, but I ended up falling in love with all these period pieces.
Mindy Hargesheimer (12:18):
Yeah. And it probably felt like an adventure. Right. It's searching for the treasures Right. Within the thrift shops. I love that. Yeah. Well good. So then I would imagine working on a farm, so first of all, I was gonna say working on a farm would teach you a lot about work ethic. And I think another thing that comes through both in your book and then just knowing what you are accomplishing to this day is you are so driven, you know, and I love that as a fellow female, you know, entrepreneur I'm always looking for the people ahead of me who've done that stuff. And it's always really inspiring. So do you feel like growing up in a farm, on a farm in Kansas played a part in your work ethic? Or do you just feel like that's just naturally how you were born? You were just, it was just ingrained in you ?
Elyce Arons (13:01):
Well, I think people from the Midwest have definitely have that work ethic.
Mindy Hargesheimer (13:05):
Okay. That's good perspective
Elyce Arons (13:07):
That growing up on a farm just solidifies that even more. Yeah. It's funny because when we were growing up on Christmas morning,
(13:15):
We would wanna run down and open our presents and open our stockings. And my mother was like, go out and do your tours first. The cattle don't know it's your birthday , they don't know it's the weekend. And they dunno, it's Christmas. Yep. So it's, you know, every day of the year it's getting up early every single day doing chores in the morning and the end of the day. And so that instills in you, I think, a responsibility, the things that you have to do every day. Yeah. And I am a list maker and a doer always.
Mindy Hargesheimer (13:47):
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you referenced the Midwest, which is one of the questions that I had. So living in New York City whether it was when you first moved there or to this day, do you see a difference in the
Page 8 of 40
way there that there's a Midwest work ethic versus East Coast, west Coast? Is that a thing still to this day that you recognize as you're interviewing people or working with people?
Elyce Arons (14:08):
Well, I think that a lot of people have a good work, work ethic. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (14:11):
Certainly
Elyce Arons (14:11):
Everybody at Frances Valentine does, and they're from all over the place. Yeah. and I think sometimes that goes from being from a big family Yeah. And everybody had to do all of the work for the family. But you know, it can be instilled just by your parents. Right. If you're an only child even. So it, I think it just depends on the individual. Yep. But definitely what I took away from growing up in the Midwest was a Midwestern friendliness and the work ethic for sure. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (14:43):
Okay. Good. Does Kansas make its way to this day and to anything that you design, is there any, any aspect, any common thread of the vintage shopping that you did when you were younger? Or was that a part of developing Kate Spade?
Elyce Arons (14:56):
That's a great question. Probably both brands. Yeah. In a big way. Mm-Hmm . And you know, I think for all of us where we grew up, how we grew up is always a part of our lives. Yeah. It shapes us as people. And so I think so, and I think it's almost also the period in which I grew up Yeah. Was in the sixties and seventies and the style of those periods of times are just drawn to Yeah. 'cause For me it's timeless. Cigarette pants are timeless.
Mindy Hargesheimer (15:29):
Yep.
Elyce Arons (15:31):
You know, there's so many beautiful silhouettes that we make at France Valentine mm-hmm . That remind or reminiscence of those times and they'll never go in style.
Mindy Hargesheimer (15:41):
Right, right. I love that. Okay. So let's go back to how did you decide to go to ku and can you share a little bit more about the first time that you and Kate or Katie met at ku?
Elyce Arons (15:54):
Right. Kind
Mindy Hargesheimer (15:54):
Of how that friendship started and then you guys both rushed and ended up in a sorority. Can you talk a little bit about that for people who went to KU or maybe were a part of Kyle, like myself or Kappa?
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Elyce Arons (16:06):
Absolutely. So for me, growing up, there were two schools that I was going to go to. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (16:12):
Either
Elyce Arons (16:13):
KU or K State.
Mindy Hargesheimer (16:14):
Got it.
Elyce Arons (16:15):
My father went to K State, so he was a big advocate and thinking he would take, take me to a key state football game, but it was happening at ku. Big mistake. , this part
Mindy Hargesheimer (16:30):
Set the tone. Yeah.
Elyce Arons (16:32):
Because I fell in love with ku Yeah. As most people do when they visit that campus. (16:38):
And I applied, I didn't even apply to K State, nothing against K State or some of my best friends went to K State. Yep. Great school. But I fell in love with KU and I loved every minute of being there. What, the first day I was moving into GSP dorm and two doors down is this girl who had on big khaki shorts, a polo shirt with a popped collar and legian loafers. Okay. I, on the other hand, had just gotten back from a trip to New York with purple parachute pants, you know, bright colored shirts and pointy toes, scrunchie boots. We looked at each other and we thought, oh my Lord, you're never gonna be friends. ,
Mindy Hargesheimer (17:25):
Polar opposite. Looks right there
Elyce Arons (17:28):
Opposite. We, I was just, we were both rolling our eyes at each other.
Mindy Hargesheimer (17:31):
Oh my gosh.
Elyce Arons (17:32):
But we found that we shared a love for vintage shopping for the Mary Tyler Moore show, which we had both grown up watching.
Mindy Hargesheimer (17:40):
Yep.
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Elyce Arons (17:42):
And we were both major in journalism.
Mindy Hargesheimer (17:45):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (17:46):
So we started going to class together, just became best friends relatively quickly.
Mindy Hargesheimer (17:53):
Yeah. And so you guys only went to KU for two years, right?
Elyce Arons (17:56):
Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (17:57):
What was that experience? Part of me was like, oh my gosh, they're leaving KU to go to Arizona. But I know that she had what was it, her brother, that sister
Elyce Arons (18:05):
Sister
Mindy Hargesheimer (18:06):
That lived there. And so I was curious like, what was, I mean, that clearly set this path for you guys, right? Because she ended up meeting Andy and then like everything was happening from there. But what was that decision like after falling in love with KU and joining Kao and everything? How did that decision come to be after two years to leave and go there?
Elyce Arons (18:25):
Well, neither one of us had a desire to.
Mindy Hargesheimer (18:28):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (18:29):
But we went to visit Katie's sister our spring break of our sophomore year, and her sister showed us campus and rolled out the red carpet, showed us single apartment. It looked so appealing to someone our age.
Mindy Hargesheimer (18:43):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (18:44):
19. And the weather was perfect. Mm-Hmm . It was sunny and dry. And all of a sudden I realized Katie wasn't sneezing, she wasn't congested. Oh,
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Mindy Hargesheimer (18:56):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (18:56):
She had terrible allergies.
Mindy Hargesheimer (18:57):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (18:58):
And Missy, when we were her sister, when we were out there, said, why don't you guys think about gonna a SU? Why not? And we both kind of looked at each other, we're like, yeah, why not?
Mindy Hargesheimer (19:11):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (19:12):
And I thought, well, this is the time to take a risk in my life.
Mindy Hargesheimer (19:15):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (19:16):
We applied, we got in, and then I, we headed back to KU for our last couple of months, was sort of like, what did we just do?
Mindy Hargesheimer (19:25):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (19:25):
Like, now we're committed. Now we have to go. And saying goodbye to all of my sorority sisters, who I was so close with was a hard thing.
Mindy Hargesheimer (19:33):
I bet.
Elyce Arons (19:34):
But they, they did come to visit. Yeah. Because it was a nice place to visit. Yeah,
Mindy Hargesheimer (19:38):
Absolutely. I know. I think about that all the time with the weather. I ended up moving to Chicago after I went to KU and had the most amazing time. But sometimes I'm like, how did I choose Chicago with the weather? Right. It's so cold. I could have gone somewhere warm, but yeah. Everything was meant to be.
'cause I had the most amazing time there. Started my family there and, and you know, but we're here back in kc. Okay, good. So walk me through you moved to Arizona. When did you guy, I guess when did you
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start realizing that there might be even more to the friendship and that you guys might be able to work together or to start something together? Did that happen in New York City? Or like, how did you guys eventually decide that you're both kind of entrepreneurial and creative and driven like that?
Elyce Arons (20:20):
You know, we both had jobs because we had to pay for school.
Mindy Hargesheimer (20:25):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (20:26):
My job was a great job driving a beverage cart all around a golf course. So fun. We built my golf course in Arizona. great. Yep. I loved it. And I, it, it really made a lot of money to pay for school. So it was really wonderful. I was outside all day.
Mindy Hargesheimer (20:40):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (20:41):
Katie got a job at a men's clothing store. Mm-Hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (20:44):
.
Elyce Arons (20:45):
Called Johns and Company. Okay. Where she met Andy State.
Mindy Hargesheimer (20:48):
Yep.
Elyce Arons (20:49):
And the manager of Johnson Company ended up leaving and starting his own business called Carter's.
Mindy Hargesheimer (20:55):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (20:56):
Katie and Andy left with him and helped him open the store. Okay. And he just getting all the boxes in. And so I was off that day. So I went to help them unpack boxes. And Katie, I guess it kind of planted a seed to think we could do this too. Like we could open our own vintage store or designer shop or, so that really kind of got it
Mindy Hargesheimer (21:19):
Spurred something put
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Elyce Arons (21:20):
In our mind mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (21:21):
. So
Elyce Arons (21:22):
We could do something like that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (21:23):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (21:24):
And then to, you know, moved to New York seven years later, Katie and Andy came up with the idea for <inaudible> company
Mindy Hargesheimer (21:33):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (21:33):
And called me and said, okay, we know what the business is gonna be.
Mindy Hargesheimer (21:36):
Yep. Yeah. Okay. So one of my questions for you was, now, now I learned that your mom is from Pennsylvania, so she was from the East Coast, and then I think you might have had a sister that lived in New York City ahead of you. Yes. Is that right? My sister will have. Okay. Because I was thinking growing up in Sedgwick, Kansas, right. Days, you know, pre-internet days, pre-cellphone days, all of that stuff. What was the decision like to move to the East Coast and move to New York City for you? Was it scary? Was it a no brainer for you to go there? What prompted you to move to New York City from Arizona?
Elyce Arons (22:10):
My first trip to New York was when I was 14.
Mindy Hargesheimer (22:13):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (22:13):
My mother would, would bring us each back when we were teenagers Okay. To see shows to shopping and as a cultural trip.
Mindy Hargesheimer (22:22):
Yep.
Elyce Arons (22:24):
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I fell in love with New York
Mindy Hargesheimer (22:25):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (22:25):
The first time I arrived. And it's hard not to, it's hard
Mindy Hargesheimer (22:28):
Not to. Yeah.
Elyce Arons (22:30):
It's the top of the world. Yep. It's got everything going. There's so much opportunity. There's finance, there's fashion, there's like, every business is here. Yep. And everybody was so fashionable.
Mindy Hargesheimer (22:44):
Mm-Hmm .
Elyce Arons (22:45):
I loved it. Yeah. So I knew after I graduated from college that I was gonna move. Okay. My sister in the meantime, when she was 16 or 17, moved to New York to dance with a Jo Free ballet school.
Mindy Hargesheimer (22:58):
Oh, nice.
Elyce Arons (22:59):
Beautiful. And so it was an easy transition for me mm-hmm . Because as soon as I graduated, I moved to New York and stayed with her for three months until I found an apartment. Yep. So, yes, it's scary, but it was so exciting.
Mindy Hargesheimer (23:15):
Yeah. And there was no looking back. You were, I mean, I, it'd be hard to imagine going to New York City and then going, okay, let's move back to Wichita or something. .
Elyce Arons (23:24):
It's a great place to grow up.
Mindy Hargesheimer (23:25):
Sure.
Elyce Arons (23:26):
And I loved it. I had a great childhood.
Mindy Hargesheimer (23:28):
Yeah.
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Elyce Arons (23:28):
And of course was surrounded by so many good people. Yep. But I really loved the excitement of New York City.
Mindy Hargesheimer (23:35):
And you moved there in what year?
Elyce Arons (23:37):
Oh gosh. 86.
Mindy Hargesheimer (23:40):
86. Okay. So, most recently was watching Love Story. I don't know if you've watched it yet, but I was, you know, it's kind of the talk of like, what was New York City like in the nineties, and that was one of the questions I had for you is what are some of your favorite memories of being at that age, that stage of life, living in the city? You know, I moved from Kansas City to Chicago. I wasn't quite ready to go to New York City or la but Chicago I fell in love with. And so I, I am curious to hear your take on what it was like living there during the nineties, which seems like such a cool time. Always a cool time to be in New York City. But what was that like for you?
Elyce Arons (24:17):
It was great. Think back, like sex and the city in the early days Yeah. In the city. That's what it felt like. Mm-Hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (24:23):
.
Elyce Arons (24:24):
Although we were broke the entire time. Yeah. And you don't think about being broke. You think about how much fun you had. Yeah. And because we didn't have money to do things, we had to be creative about how we spent our time.
Mindy Hargesheimer (24:39):
Mm-Hmm .
Elyce Arons (24:40):
So we'd go to Central Park and just hang out in Strawberry Field the entire day on Saturday. Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (24:46):
Packed
Elyce Arons (24:47):
With people. And people often think that New York is a lonely place, but it's the most community you can have around you where you're face to face with other people all day long. Makes sense. And they're not people who look like you.
Mindy Hargesheimer (25:02):
Page 16 of 40
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (25:02):
They're people from all different walks of life and all different parts of the world. And that's what makes it so interesting.
Mindy Hargesheimer (25:10):
Yes. I love that too. Okay. So let's talk about how you guys ended up, I know you guys both had your journey of working at Madam was, well Madam was Well Magazine mm-hmm . Right, right. But I would love to kind of hear the story again for me, but for people who haven't heard it yet, of how you guys started the Kate Spade brand. Like what are your best memories of how that discussion, you know, started probably with Katie and Andy and then they brought you in. And I wanna hear what was it like starting that business up how the name came to be just what are some of your greatest memories of those early days before it became the powerhouse that it became? Of course. And then selling it. But I would love to hear what that was like, and especially thinking in, in terms of people who might be also interested of getting into fashion or moving to New York City or taking that leap to say, I wanna start my own brand.
Elyce Arons (26:01):
Mm-Hmm .
Mindy Hargesheimer (26:02):
I'd love to hear your take on that.
Elyce Arons (26:04):
Yeah. And it, and it was a very different time too, right? Sure. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (26:08):
Pre-Digital, everything . Right,
Elyce Arons (26:10):
Right. So I was working a job in North Carolina and Katie and Andy called me. I just moved there for a job a few months before. And Katie and Andy called me and said, told me the idea about the handbag company. Mm-Hmm . And I said, you know, I just moved down here. I love my job. Mm Hmm . So start and I will come up and help you on my vacation days. And I was in New York a lot. Yeah. So I knew I couldn't be there a lot. And in the meantime, we had all participated in a, a summer share and met the fourth partner.
Mindy Hargesheimer (26:49):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (26:50):
Pamela.
Mindy Hargesheimer (26:50):
Yes.
Page 17 of 40
Elyce Arons (26:51):
And so Pamela was physically there before I was mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (26:54):
.
Elyce Arons (26:54):
And I would come in and help, you know, steam things and work on things together with Katie, et cetera. But I didn't leave until the following year. Okay. Moved back to New York Okay. And, and really start full time. And I felt like I was jumping off a cliff really? 'cause I loved my job. Yeah. But I knew it was at a point where we all needed to be there full time. Mm. So Pamela was committed, Katie was committed, and I needed to be committed too. Right. So I quit, my job started in full time, and we were working outta Katie and Andy's apartment.
Mindy Hargesheimer (27:29):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (27:30):
I would get there really early in the morning. Of course.
Mindy Hargesheimer (27:33):
Yep. Bring
Elyce Arons (27:34):
Them coffee. And Andy still had his advertising job, so he wouldn't join us for about three years. Okay. later. But we worked outta their apartment. We had all of our contractors, our manufacturers were in Manhattan. Okay. So we would take the subway up to their, each of their shops every day, sit in their shops and watch them making our first prototypes and then making the manufactured bags and just making sure that everything was on track. Right. But back then it was quite different. Mm-Hmm . Because we bought the zippers, the zipper pulses, all the fabric, the lining for the bags, every component we had to purchase separately. Okay. Measure out how much was gonna each factory to make which bags and deliver exactly that to each of them.
Mindy Hargesheimer (28:26):
Wow.
Elyce Arons (28:26):
So it was a lot of manual labor
Mindy Hargesheimer (28:29):
Yes.
Elyce Arons (28:29):
At the beginning.
Mindy Hargesheimer (28:30):
Page 18 of 40
Sounds like it. . Yeah. And it was, let's see, it was Katie and Andy, was it Andy's idea to do the handbags? Is that Yes, correct. How's you have that idea, Katie? I
Elyce Arons (28:40):
Know about
Mindy Hargesheimer (28:41):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (28:42):
Design. And he said, well, you know what you like and you know what's missing in the market.
Mindy Hargesheimer (28:46):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (28:46):
Because as an accessories editor at Mount Elle, Katie had realized that there were European bags that were beautiful and had a lot of hardware on them. Mm-Hmm . Or there were ll bean canvas bags. Ah. But there weren't a lot of bags in between.
Mindy Hargesheimer (29:01):
Right.
Elyce Arons (29:02):
And so her idea was to create this chic American design, geometric shapes that were clean and beautiful Yep. But not used traditional leather pieces. Mm-Hmm . So we used a satin finished nylon, we used burlap, we used a lot of different non-traditional handbag hand bricks. Right. And what's funny is what that did with the created seasons for each handbag mm-hmm . Most people would buy one bag and carry it all year, and then they'd have their evening bag. But we pulled out lemon and spear sucker for spring and summer. Yeah. We pulled out wool and corduroy were full. And it created a desire for people to change up your handbag Yeah. For the season.
Mindy Hargesheimer (29:52):
Brilliant. Yeah. Well, so I, okay, so I went to KU in 1997, so it was probably like tail end of high school and then getting into ku. But I will never forget when the Kate Spade bags came out. Like that red satin is one that really sticks out to me. And then the other funny thing is, I remember how many people wanted, and then pur did purchase the diaper bag and no, these people were not moms with children. It was like, we just wanted the diaper bag because it was this big bold, like epic bag that you could throw all into. And I loved the fact that it was like, it didn't even need to be used as a diaper bag. Yeah.
Elyce Arons (30:28):
Right, right. And it, it had a wipe of a lining too. Yeah. Big plus.
Mindy Hargesheimer (30:31):
Yeah, exactly. Okay, good. So then how was it working with Katie and Andy? What is it like to work with friends that are like family? I'm sure you had your ups and downs with that, but like what did you
Page 19 of 40
guys, what were the biggest takeaways that, you know, you brought out of Katie and Andy or that they brought out of you and, and just how all of that looked for you guys working so closely and so intensely together during a time that you were growing so greatly?
Elyce Arons (30:58):
I think working with best friends can go either way. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for people if you wanted, not for everybody , but it was, you know, it can be a disaster or a dream. And for me it was a dream. Yeah. We had such a great time together because, you know, you're there together 20 hours a day, like working all the time mm-hmm . And so, you know, we laughed a lot and we had a lot of fun. And yes, we had our fights.
Mindy Hargesheimer (31:24):
Yep. Of course.
Elyce Arons (31:26):
A lot . But but it all worked. I think it's because we all respected each other. Yeah. And after a certain point when we first got started, we were fighting so much that we decided, we're like, okay, we've gotta delineate responsibilities. Okay. So that we're not all second guessing each other on how to accomplish the same goal in a different way. Yeah. So Katie of course took design. Pamela took product development and production, and I took sales and marketing.
Mindy Hargesheimer (31:58):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (31:59):
And it ended up working.
Mindy Hargesheimer (32:01):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (32:01):
And even though we still all worked together on everything, you know, if it was design time, we all sat at the table and talked about it mm-hmm . And if it was shipping time, we all shipped boxes together.
Mindy Hargesheimer (32:13):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (32:13):
But we were each responsible for our own area, making sure that, you know, we're all on track all the time.
Mindy Hargesheimer (32:21):
What were some of the biggest learning lessons going through that? Because you had Kate Spa, you guys were a part of Kate Spade for how many years before you sold it?
Page 20 of 40
Elyce Arons (32:27):
13.
Mindy Hargesheimer (32:28):
13, okay. So what were some of the biggest takeaways for you learning to start a business or launching that, that you took into Frances Valentine or that other people could learn from from you?
Elyce Arons (32:41):
I, I think it's different today than it was back then.
Mindy Hargesheimer (32:45):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (32:46):
I think it was a little easier to get started and you didn't have to have as much capital to start up. Today it's different.
Mindy Hargesheimer (32:53):
Yeah. And
Elyce Arons (32:54):
Technology that plays a big part of that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (32:57):
Yep.
Elyce Arons (32:57):
But back then probably it was finances. Okay. And I'm glad we didn't know what we didn't know really,
Mindy Hargesheimer (33:07):
Because
Elyce Arons (33:07):
We might not have done it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (33:08):
Ah,
Elyce Arons (33:09):
We, you know, we can't take a salary for a couple of years. Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (33:12):
And
Page 21 of 40
Elyce Arons (33:13):
You have to be able to afford to do that. Mm-Hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (33:15):
.
Elyce Arons (33:17):
We couldn't get credit lines at banks Okay. For a long time. And it's just because our personal signatures really didn't carry much weight at that point.
Mindy Hargesheimer (33:27):
Got it.
Elyce Arons (33:27):
But even getting a hundred thousand dollars loans possible mm-hmm . So we, we really had to watch every penny with everything. Like we never bought office this furniture, we found it on the street.
Mindy Hargesheimer (33:39):
Okay. ,
Elyce Arons (33:40):
We I, I'm not, I can't sketch nor from Katie. Yeah. But I learned how to sketch so that we could save money on photography for our line sheets. Okay. And, you know, every, just everything we were scrapping about
Mindy Hargesheimer (33:54):
Mm-Hmm .
Elyce Arons (33:55):
Today it's a little bit different. And when we started we were like, oh, we don't have to do that part over again.
Mindy Hargesheimer (34:01):
Right.
Elyce Arons (34:02):
But at the same time, you still need a means to finance your business. Mm-Hmm . And so I think that's probably the biggest part is you need a lot of money to start a business today because most sales are happening online. Mm-Hmm . You have to have a website, you have someone demand that mm-hmm . And you know, all the parts of that. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (34:23):
That
Page 22 of 40
Elyce Arons (34:24):
Make it how expensive,
Mindy Hargesheimer (34:26):
How many people ended up working for Kate Spade under you guys?
Elyce Arons (34:29):
Oh my goodness. We had hundreds.
Mindy Hargesheimer (34:30):
Hundreds. Yeah.
Elyce Arons (34:31):
In the end left. Yeah. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (34:33):
And
Elyce Arons (34:34):
That part of that were our retail too. But we really had huge creative.
Mindy Hargesheimer (34:40):
Okay. Yeah.
Elyce Arons (34:41):
And that was our biggest department because we were not only, we only manufactured hand bags ourselves. Okay. But we had licenses, we were designing everything else. So we were designing shoes, table, top bedding, beauty, fragrance stationary shoes. So we needed a big creative department to work on all of those things.
Mindy Hargesheimer (35:08):
Right, right.
Elyce Arons (35:09):
And it's, you know, all part of it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (35:13):
Yeah. And in looking back on that brand that you guys built, when you had it, what did you love the most about the culture, the brand? What you guys were creating, what you did create? What were you most proud of? What did you feel most accomplished with with what you guys created?
Elyce Arons (35:32):
Well, we had all worked in the fashion business at one point. Started <inaudible>. Mindy Hargesheimer (35:37):
Page 23 of 40
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (35:38):
And it's not always, so,
Mindy Hargesheimer (35:41):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (35:41):
So one of the things we decided is that we were only gonna hire polite, friendly people. Okay. And at the bottom of each of our want that we would take out the very last sentence was must be polite. Perfect. And we got those kind of people Yeah. To work at our company because our feeling was you decide what kind
of company you're gonna have. Mm-Hmm . You decide who's going to work there, you decide what partners you're gonna have. Mm-Hmm . And we decided to partner with only nice people who were above board. Of course they had to be good at what they did. Sure. But it's the same at Texas Valentine. 'cause You're working all day with people.
Mindy Hargesheimer (36:23):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (36:24):
And you should enjoy it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (36:25):
I know,
Elyce Arons (36:26):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (36:26):
You don't wanna, and I've worked in corporate America and that feeling of, and I'm sure other people have had it way worse, but just the feeling of working for a larger corporation or company where it feels cutthroat and where you feel like the expectations are too high or where you're, you know, fearful to walk into the corner office 'cause you're not sure. I mean, so I love that. That's so important for people to feel that they can perform at their best, I believe. Mm-Hmm . So that's great to hear. I love that. With Kate Spade, what is it, what does Kate Spade look like today? And do you have any involvement? Obviously you sold it, but do you work with them in any capacity today?
Elyce Arons (37:00):
No, we don't.
Mindy Hargesheimer (37:00):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (37:02):
Page 24 of 40
I did just sign a bunch of books for them because they were gifting them to some people, but no, we really don't. Mm-Hmm . We haven't been involved since we left. Okay. For the most part. Yeah. I've been to their office a couple of times for one reason or another. Sure. And it's very different from our office because it's been a high rise in Hudson Yards now.
Mindy Hargesheimer (37:23):
Yep.
Elyce Arons (37:23):
But and we had an old space sort of in the Garden District before where we had four floors in a really old building. Yeah. It's really cute. But but they have moved because they're also part they're part of Tapestry mm-hmm . Coach, another brand, they're all in the same building Okay. Over in Hudson Yard. So very welcoming every time I go over there, which is really nice.
Mindy Hargesheimer (37:48):
Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so I heard you say I know somebody else asked this, and it might have been Katie Kirk. It never bothered you that the name was Kate Spade, right. Even though you were a part of the business. Is that right? Right. which is great. So I wanted to hear a little bit more about what it was like for Kate to be the face of the name. What was it like for her? What kind of conversations did you guys have? Was she, was she a little more introverted? Was she just incredibly proud but wanted other people to speak to it? What was she like being the name? But also seemingly having this kind of persona of like, I don't always want to necessarily be up on stage and be at the front of everything.
Elyce Arons (38:25):
Right. Well, Katie was an incredibly shy person.
Mindy Hargesheimer (38:28):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (38:29):
And also the funniest person you've ever met.
Mindy Hargesheimer (38:32):
Love
Elyce Arons (38:32):
That. Really,
Mindy Hargesheimer (38:34):
By the way, part of your book that I loved is the pranks that you guys would play on each other. . So that's definitely a very fun part. I love that you guys did that. It seems like your culture today is that they might, your staff is pulling some pranks on you as well, so it looks like they do. That kind came through. Yeah. Great. Yeah. that's great. Yeah. So what else do we, should we know about Kate being in that role and what she was able to bring to fashion and bring to the world with what what you guys did and how
Page 25 of 40
Elyce Arons (38:58):
She operated? Well, I'll, I'll answer your question about the name.
Mindy Hargesheimer (39:00):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (39:00):
And her comfort level with it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (39:04):
Yes.
Elyce Arons (39:04):
So when we were starting the business, Andy's, it was Andy Spade's idea. They weren't married. Okay. She used her first name and his last name to create the label because he liked how it sounded. Yeah. And I did too. Just the second he said it, you're like, yeah, yeah. Yes, that's right. And Katie looked over, she goes, don't expect me to be Kate's face , because you know, if you have a band, a rock band, for instance mm-hmm . Everybody is required to create the great music, but the press and fans always wanna hear from the lead singer. Mm-Hmm . And Katie became the lead singer. Yeah. Particularly after she won the CFDA award. Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (39:48):
She
Elyce Arons (39:48):
Became Kate kc mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (39:49):
.
Elyce Arons (39:50):
And, you know, reluctantly, but, and she was incredibly shy and did not enjoy getting up in front of large groups of people and speaking, most people don't , I'm sorry, as
Mindy Hargesheimer (40:03):
Most people don't Yeah. As
Elyce Arons (40:04):
People do. Yeah. but she had to get better at it and become more comfortable with it over time. Mm-Hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (40:11):
.
Elyce Arons (40:11):
But she did,
Page 26 of 40
Mindy Hargesheimer (40:12):
What was her sense of humor? Like, you talk a lot about how she was really funny despite being introverted. Like what, what, what was she like and what are, what are some of these pranks that you guys would pull on each other that would just have you rolling laughing? Oh,
Elyce Arons (40:24):
There were, there are so many good ones. There are several in the book. Yeah. one of the ones that was so funny was I was, we were invited to go to Japan and this, this is a simple one. All of the practical jokes take a long time to set up, but this is a simple one called, I'll Tell It.
Mindy Hargesheimer (40:44):
Okay.
Elyce Arons (40:45):
So Katie is Irish Catholic. Mm-Hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (40:47):
.
Elyce Arons (40:48):
And very proud of that her whole life. So we were invited to go to Japan, but she couldn't go. She had committed to these personal appearances at Neiman Marcus. So Andy Spade and I went and we were so excited on, we're eating the Japanese food and we're like, I couldn't even sleep on the flight over because we were so excited. I bet. So we arrive and we're going through customs and they asked for my passport digging in my bag. And I feel this really weird object. And I pull out this object right in front of the official and it's an Ivy potato and it's my little face,
Mindy Hargesheimer (41:27):
Very unexpected
Elyce Arons (41:30):
Reminding me that she wants to be there.
Mindy Hargesheimer (41:32):
Oh my gosh. How random did she just find this around the office somewhere and was just like, plop. We'll see what she thinks of that. . She
Elyce Arons (41:39):
Planned it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (41:40):
. Yeah. Oh my gosh, that's really funny.
Elyce Arons (41:42):
Page 27 of 40
That's a really simple one, but our other ones were a lot more elaborate, but you have to read the book. Yes,
Mindy Hargesheimer (41:48):
Absolutely. Okay. So I wanna hear about Frances Valentine, how you guys decided to create it. I wanna, I wanna hear what it's like today. What should we know about this beautiful apparel and accessories brand that that you're a part of today leading?
Elyce Arons (42:04):
Well, you know, when we started it was about accessories. Yeah. It was because Katie loved to design handbags and shoes mm-hmm . And she really didn't have much desire to create ready to wear. Okay. And so it wasn't until after we lost her that we actually created that. And it was an accident
because I just wanted to contribute to her creating to her favorite pieces mm-hmm . Of apparel and it had customers asking us for more mm-hmm . And I think the aesthetic of the very joyful dressing and the nostalgic ettes and, and the timelessness of all these pieces and the joy that women get outta putting one of these pieces on and the compliments that they get Yeah. When they're wearing them has really sparked our growth mm-hmm . And what has happened. And it's for me, this lovely thing that has come out of a tragedy mm-hmm . And it's almost like in writing the book, I got through my own grief mm-hmm . And it really helped me to get through such a difficult period and doing this felt like it was doing it with her in a sure. Or for her. And so it's made it all the more special for me.
Mindy Hargesheimer (43:30):
Does she?
Elyce Arons (43:30):
And I, I think, yes. Sorry,
Mindy Hargesheimer (43:33):
I was just gonna say, how does she play a part in your decision making today? Do you feel like she kind of like pops up in, you know, decision making? Is she, like, how does that look like? Because I could imagine her playing pranks to this day somehow some way and
Elyce Arons (43:45):
She pops into my head all the time. I
Mindy Hargesheimer (43:48):
Bet.
Elyce Arons (43:48):
And I swear it must be five times a day I wanna call her.
Mindy Hargesheimer (43:52):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (43:52):
Page 28 of 40
Because we used to be on the phone with each other all the time.
Mindy Hargesheimer (43:55):
Yes.
Elyce Arons (43:55):
You know, when something funny happens with that one person in your life who will really appreciate it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (44:01):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (44:02):
It would be her.
Mindy Hargesheimer (44:03):
Yeah. Absolutely. And are you working, is Andy Spade a part of Frances Valentine or what is your relationship today since you guys worked together on Kate Spade previously?
Elyce Arons (44:13):
He moved to California. Okay. Right after we lost Katie. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (44:17):
And
Elyce Arons (44:17):
Has been out there ever since. Okay. And so he's still my business partner, but he's not involved in the business.
Mindy Hargesheimer (44:25):
Okay. Got it. Good
Elyce Arons (44:26):
To know. In a real way.
Mindy Hargesheimer (44:27):
Yeah. you know, and obviously like a big part of this is to talk about the book and the friendship that you guys had and these wildly successful brands that you guys have built. But a lot of us have been through losing somebody through suicide and obviously we're not gonna talk in depth about that. But I did wanna know if you'd be comfortable talking about how did you get through, I'm sure to this day you're still, you know, grieving at times, but what, what did you find to be therapeutic or helpful if someone's going through that today? And like I said, many of us have been through that. What have you found to be helpful in your grieving process but to also carry on that amazing positive spirit and legacy of this person that you loved so dearly?
Elyce Arons (45:13):
Page 29 of 40
You know, I think a big part of it is in time, obviously, but I think it's sharing with other people and talking with other people. Mm-Hmm . I know the book has helped a lot of people get through grief and I was surprised when the book first came out. All of the reviews on Amazon were about grief. It was number one in books on grief. And I was like, what? Interesting. I didn't write it for that Uhhuh,
Mindy Hargesheimer (45:42):
But
Elyce Arons (45:43):
I think it really helped people, if you've lost someone so tragically to think back on how they lived
Mindy Hargesheimer (45:52):
Mm-Hmm .
Elyce Arons (45:53):
And not how they lived.
Mindy Hargesheimer (45:54):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (45:54):
And really concentrate your thoughts and emotions on all of those times in the positive experiences you had together. For me, it was a way she created Yeah. Not just as my best friend Yeah. But as a creative spirit in the world and how many lives she took.
Mindy Hargesheimer (46:12):
Yeah, absolutely. And I know before you did lose her, you had your first daughter who you named after Kate, is that right? Yes. Katie. Yes. Which is amazing. My oldest daughter Katie, does that, does that, what does that mean to her? How does she carry that today in any way? Or, or is that, does that play a part in who her identity is today?
Elyce Arons (46:29):
Well, I think she was honored to have Katie as her godmother
Mindy Hargesheimer (46:33):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (46:35):
And adored her. Mm-Hmm . Worse and very painful to lose her Sure.
Mindy Hargesheimer (46:39):
As
Elyce Arons (46:40):
Page 30 of 40
An adult in her life. Mm-Hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (46:41):
.
Elyce Arons (46:42):
And someone's so important to her.
Mindy Hargesheimer (46:44):
Yeah. And you guys spent so many years together in New York City. What are some of your favorite memories of some of those summers that you spent together or just times being in the city? What are some of the best moments
Elyce Arons (46:54):
You had? You know, it was because we tried to always rent a super share house
Mindy Hargesheimer (46:59):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (47:00):
For a period of time in the Hamptons mm-hmm . And we did it when we were broke. Like we would not meet so that we could go out to the beach. I was like, tell us
Mindy Hargesheimer (47:07):
How you do that need to, need to take a chapter outta that book
Elyce Arons (47:11):
It's priorities, you know?
Mindy Hargesheimer (47:13):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (47:15):
But I think those were great memories out there. Mm-Hmm . Because we talked about our dreams and growing our business and our lives and having children and, and just what was going to happen. And at a young age there seemed like everything was before us. Mm-Hmm . So really great times. Yeah. one of the best memories was when we were out in Sharon and Agan and when Katie and Andy got engaged that summer.
Mindy Hargesheimer (47:45):
Aw. Yeah.
Elyce Arons (47:46):
It was just a happy summer.
Page 31 of 40
Mindy Hargesheimer (47:48):
Yep.
Elyce Arons (47:48):
Because I then I knew my two best friends were gonna be together forever.
Mindy Hargesheimer (47:52):
Right, right. And you married an Andy as well, is that correct?
Elyce Arons (47:55):
Yes. . What a odd, I made it really difficult for myself. I had Katie and Andy and my husband's name is Andy, and of course I named my eldest daughter Katie,
Mindy Hargesheimer (48:04):
So I love it. Well, so obviously you're in your Frances Valentine's studio right now, or (48:11):
headquarters, whatever that would be for you, what do you love most about being in New York City today in 2026 being in the world of fashion, being in New York City, what areas what area are you in and where do you love to explore within New York City? And I'm also asking selfishly because my family went to New York City a couple years ago and , this is crazy. I think it was two and a half years ago. And it was like the worst rain that New York City had had since like the forties. So it's kind of this ongoing joke now about how we were like, you know, trying to get through the subway or whatever with all the rain and everything. And so our youngest daughter, we just went to Nashville last weekend and she absolutely loved it. And she's like, I wanna go back to New York City. And I was like, okay. Kinda came outta nowhere and she's nine. But it really left a lasting impression for her. She loved New York City. She wants to go back. So I'm gonna have to make that a point to get back there. But what do you love the most about New York City today? You've been there for decades now. You were there in the nineties, we talked about that. What is it like?
Elyce Arons (49:10):
Well, as I said, it's the top of the world.
Mindy Hargesheimer (49:13):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (49:13):
Yeah. And I think I love the people here more than anything else. 'cause You have such a mix of cultures from all over the world. Yeah. And it just makes it more interesting there, you know, the, the art scene here, the theater, you just have access to live music any night of the week, which is so great. You can go jazz work and roll. You can find anything you want Yeah. At any time.
Mindy Hargesheimer (49:38):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (49:38):
And it's, it's that being able to, that makes you feel so happy that you live here.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (49:44):
Yeah, absolutely. Okay, good. And then in the state so the Met Gala happened last night. I don't know if that's something that you like to look at at all, but of course it's so fun to see what people create there. What's kind of on the horizon for Frances Valentine that you and your team want to do? Anything else that's sort of on your bucket list right now of what you guys wanna create or take the brand to?
Elyce Arons (50:04):
Well, I'm super excited because as you know, the title of the book, we might just make it after all. Mm Hmm .
Mindy Hargesheimer (50:12):
Was
Elyce Arons (50:12):
Based on the theme song to the Mary Tyler.
Mindy Hargesheimer (50:16):
Yeah,
Elyce Arons (50:17):
That's right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (50:19):
Yep.
Elyce Arons (50:20):
That one. And about a year ago, the Mary Tyler recommendation ask for a meeting mm-hmm . And I thought, oh, they wanna make a donation or they want me to make a donation for something and great anything for them. Of course. So Mary died over eight years ago. Okay. And her husband, who was 20 years, her junior, Dr. Robert Levi is still running her foundation. Okay. Which is a vision initiative for diabetes research. And they raised a lot of money over the years, but Mary died from complications of diabetes. Okay. And so he still running the foundation. He invited us to his farm in Connecticut
Mindy Hargesheimer (51:03):
Oh.
Elyce Arons (51:04):
To see Mary's clothing collection. Oh
Mindy Hargesheimer (51:07):
My
Elyce Arons (51:07):
Gosh.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (51:07):
Because
Elyce Arons (51:08):
He was selling the farm.
Mindy Hargesheimer (51:10):
Wow.
Elyce Arons (51:10):
So we drove out, I got to try on all of Mary's clothes in her closet. Dream come true. Yeah. Literally my icon. And he asked if we would take the clothing and find a home for it at a museum. And I said, of course we'll do anything we can do to help. Mm-Hmm . So I'm packing up all the clothes a couple weeks later and he walked up to me and handed me an envelope and he said, I can't give this to you for good, but I'm giving it to you for safekeeping. It was the hat that she threw up in the air on the TV show. That's
Mindy Hargesheimer (51:43):
Iconic.
Elyce Arons (51:44):
And so we are in conjunction with her foundation creating a whole Mary Tyler Moore collection. Oh. That will be launched in September.
Mindy Hargesheimer (51:55):
That has
Elyce Arons (51:56):
To be so surreal
Mindy Hargesheimer (51:57):
For you. Right.
Elyce Arons (51:58):
It's amazing. the peacoats, the hat, her turtlenecks, her plaid outfits that she wore all the time. I can show you. This is the envelope.
Mindy Hargesheimer (52:11):
Oh my gosh.
Elyce Arons (52:13):
This is the hat.
Mindy Hargesheimer (52:14):
Wow. . I know. I mean, that should, that's feel like the untouchable should be on display. Right.
Page 34 of 40
Elyce Arons (52:20):
It it's a museum piece. Yes, for sure. For sure. So that's really exciting and I, I just can't wait for that launch because it's full circle for me. Yeah. Growing up watching that TV show and how much of it impacted my life and who I wanted to become meeting her when we were at Kate Spade because she loved our bags.
Mindy Hargesheimer (52:41):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (52:42):
And now to have this happen where they just reached out to us outta the blue without even knowing about the book.
Mindy Hargesheimer (52:49):
Right.
Elyce Arons (52:50):
That was incredible.
Mindy Hargesheimer (52:52):
Why was
Elyce Arons (52:53):
She
Mindy Hargesheimer (52:53):
Such an inspiration for you?
Elyce Arons (52:55):
Because I grew up in the early seventies for TV show. Mm-Hmm . And at that time, women could not get a credit card
Mindy Hargesheimer (53:05):
Without
Elyce Arons (53:05):
A signature from their husbands or their fathers.
Mindy Hargesheimer (53:08):
That is so wild. 'cause That was not that long ago. I've heard about this and I'm like, what, what is it, 1973 or something like that. I couldn't
Elyce Arons (53:15):
Open a bank account without my dad.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (53:17):
Right.
Elyce Arons (53:18):
Not my mom, my dad.
Mindy Hargesheimer (53:20):
Mm-Hmm .
Elyce Arons (53:21):
So Mary was the first independent single woman who, and she as an actress, made this decision to take her TV show to the networks and say, I don't want a boyfriend, I don't want a fiance, I don't wanna be married. Mm-Hmm . I want be a single woman who moves to the big city and gets this job. And she told whole generation women that we could do that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (53:50):
Yeah.
Elyce Arons (53:51):
That we could become that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (53:52):
Mm-Hmm .
Elyce Arons (53:53):
And she is the reason I majored in journalism. Yeah. She's the reason Katie majored in journalism. She's the reason that Katie Curry, Oprah, Deborah Roberts, like all of these women who I've spoken to over time, she's the reason that they have gone into the career that they did because Mary told us we could become that person. Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (54:17):
So
Elyce Arons (54:17):
She played a huge pivotal role in my life.
Mindy Hargesheimer (54:21):
I, and I was gonna say, and now you are literally leading that charge as
Elyce Arons (54:25):
Well.
Mindy Hargesheimer (54:25):
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Yes. For somebody like myself and other people who are looking to get into fashion or move to the big city or start a business or something like that. I mean, you're now a living, walking example of that. So congratulations to you. Thank
Elyce Arons (54:37):
You.
Mindy Hargesheimer (54:37):
I mean, you've had so much success and like I said, reading the book is so important because the details that you get into we're just scratching the surface with it. And you just seem like you've had such a beautiful life. Well lived. Like you seem so positive and so bright and have really been very grateful for what you've been given. You know, everything from, I'm very grateful, obviously we're talking a lot about friendship and your family and your love for your New York City and everything. And so I think that like, that's such a good takeaway for people to get from you as well. What are any other takeaways that people can have from your story, from your best friendship with Kate from your upbringing in Kansas? Other people, you know, I have a big Kansas City following of course, right? You, we can go find Frances Valentine at Halls you mentioned. Yes. what else should people know that we can share with them in this discussion about your story story and your brands?
Elyce Arons (55:37):
Oh gosh. You know, probably reading the book is the first, is the best first step.
Mindy Hargesheimer (55:44):
Yes.
Elyce Arons (55:45):
But I think for me it was taking risks early. Mm-Hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (55:49):
.
Elyce Arons (55:49):
And maybe it was a good thing. I didn't know what I didn't know.
Mindy Hargesheimer (55:53):
Yes.
Elyce Arons (55:53):
Because I overthinking it would've prevented me from actually taking those risks.
Mindy Hargesheimer (55:59):
So maybe
Elyce Arons (55:59):
Don't
Page 37 of 40
Mindy Hargesheimer (56:00):
Always want to get the answers to everything. Just keep forging ahead. Little ignorance is
Elyce Arons (56:04):
Bliss.
Mindy Hargesheimer (56:04):
Think
Elyce Arons (56:05):
When you're young, it's a great time to take risks.
Mindy Hargesheimer (56:07):
Yeah. Yeah.
Elyce Arons (56:08):
'Cause You don't have much to lose mm-hmm .
Mindy Hargesheimer (56:10):
When
Elyce Arons (56:10):
You, when you're young.
Mindy Hargesheimer (56:11):
Yep. Absolutely. And then I also, I I thought of this. Any other interesting reactions or responses after people have read the book? So you just mentioned that you didn't realize it would be on the, the grief list. What other kind of right responses have you had from the book that have been enlightening for you or moving for you?
Elyce Arons (56:30):
Oh, just stories of best friendship. Yeah. From women. I, I had gotten so many letters and so many direct messages from people talking about how they're reaffirming their friendships with people. Mm-Hmm . Because they, after reading the book, they realized how important those relationships were.
Mindy Hargesheimer (56:49):
Absolutely. Love it. Well, that's a perfect place to end. Well this has been amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time. You are a very busy woman. You've got a lot going on. So I am super honored and grateful that you took the time to meet with me. I'm just bummed that you weren't here in Kansas City for me to meet you in person, but if you do come back, you'll have to let me know.
Elyce Arons (57:07):
I'll be back.
Page 38 of 40
Mindy Hargesheimer (57:08):
Yeah, you have to let me know so we can meet up and but I I also want people to know where to find you, your book Frances Valentine's. So if you could share a little bit about that, and of course I'll include that when I release the podcast episode as
Elyce Arons (57:22):
Well. Okay, great. Well, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, any Frances Valentine's store has the book and you can buy it on our website or Frances valentine com.
Mindy Hargesheimer (57:32):
Okay. Perfect. Which actually prompts a question. How many Frances Valentine's stores do you have? Are they coast to coast or are they on the
Elyce Arons (57:38):
East coast? We have nine.
Mindy Hargesheimer (57:38):
Nine, okay.
Elyce Arons (57:39):
We have nine. We aren't in the Midwest and in on the west coast yet. Okay. But we're moving in that direction.
Mindy Hargesheimer (57:46):
Okay. Well, we will keep our eyes and ears peeled for that, so, perfect.
Elyce Arons (57:49):
Wonderful.
Mindy Hargesheimer (57:50):
Well thank you, Elyce . It was so nice to meet you and chat with you. And I'm excited for everybody to read your book and have the takeaways that we talked about. And just thank you again so much for your time. This was great.
Elyce Arons (58:01):
Thank you so much for having me.