Katy Messersmith’s unlikely career as a fashion designer started with a mission trip to Africa right out of college. All of her luggage was lost, and she was staying in a tiny village. So she had to enlist a local seamstress to make clothes for her.
Messersmith says she liked the idea of designing things and having someone else sew them. She came back to the states with clothes, handbags, pillow cases and every other thing she could think to have created. She started a job in pharmaceutical sales, but she launched her fashion business on the side, and soon, it took over her life. Last year, her company, Katydid Collection, did $5 million in sales and was listed in Inc. as one of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in America. Read all about Messersmith and her company in the June Advocate.
Early on, Messersmith started working with charities as a way to promote her business and give back to the community. For example, she designed a shirt for Kidd’s Kids, which sells for $25, and Katydid donates $10 of every sale to the charity.
