Episode #41: A Booming Family Business: Kerry Faherty of the Faherty Brand
Hi guys, thank you so much for taking the time to tune into the podcast!
Quick update: I just passed my year and a half mark with High Five Success Stories. I launched this in September 2017 and I have really been enjoying it as a side project. I have done 41 episodes so far, so after you listen to this one, definitely check out the other 40—I have featured guests from all different industries! I have some really exciting guests that I am going to feature this summer as well. I am thinking about doing a few live episodes so please stay tuned for that!
This episode (#41) is with my friend Kerry Faherty. Before we started recording, we were chatting for a bit and I was telling her the process I use for selecting guests. It’s important to me that my intention behind each interview is strong because I know that if my intention is strong, then the result will be powerful.
I told Kerry that my intention behind interviewing Faherty Brand was not just to highlight their success but also to bring awareness to a brand that is doing incredibly amazing things for the community and environment. Before launching their business in 2013, they spent a year researching sustainable practices and how they could implement them into their design. They found a way to repurpose plastic (ex: plastic water bottles) and refine it into yarn. They discovered a process that allows them to offer stylish, comfortable, and casual clothing with a minimal impact on the environment. Kerry says Faherty Brand is “like if Ralph Lauren and Patagonia had a baby!” I truly believe that their sustainable practices really set them apart from their competition.
Kerry is from Buffalo, NY and went to Yale University where she met Alex Faherty and then continued onto Pepperdine University for law school. Before and during law school, she did a ton of traveling to places like Thailand, Armenia, Uganda, and Nigeria where she was exposed to the weight and heaviness of people’s realities. For instance, she worked in a home for sexually abused girls in Thailand. These experiences shaped how she looks at the world today, such as how she and the Faherty Brand focus on giving back in a way that creates positivity.
After law school, Kerry clerked for a judge for two years and then shortly after, she opened Mindful Mentors in 2009 where she would provide meditation workshops for law firms, schools, and families. While Kerry was busy with Mindful Mentors, her husband Alex and his twin brother Mike were in the midst of getting ready to launch Faherty Brand. Alex and Mike had recently quit their corporate jobs in NYC. Alex had worked in finance and Mike had worked at Ralph Lauren. At the age of 30, they were ready to chase their dream of opening their very own clothing brand.
During one of the crazy beginning nights of building the brand, Alex looked at Kerry and said: “we need you.” So in 2012, Kerry became employee number three at Faherty Brand. They officially launched the brand in 2013- they did a 31-day tour around the country introducing the brand and then ended in Montauk. Yes, Kerry traveled all around the country in a pickup truck with two twin brothers. Kerry was humble enough to share some of the early setbacks, such as when they struggled to meet payroll or when they had to Airbnb their apartment to pay rent. Kerry also talks about becoming a full time working mom. She and Alex have two adorable little ones—a three and one-year-old!
So fast forward to 2019, the brand just crossed their 5-year milestone. Their team—which started with Kerry, Alex, and Mike—now has grown to 50 people in their headquarters in NYC. You can find their clothes on their website, wholesale, and their nine awesome locations around the country: three in New York (West Village, Soho, Sag Harbor in the Hamptons) Nantucket, Boston, and four in California (Pacific Palisades, Del Mar, Malibu, and Newport). Hope you guys enjoy!
Books:
- Radical Candor by Kim Scott
- The Path with Heart by Jack Kornfield
To learn more about the podcast, check out my Instagram page! And make sure to follow Faherty Brand as well.