Moore Women in Business: Entrepreneurial Spirit
Laura Kirkman, BS '00
Alumna Makes the Leap
To her mother’s consternation, Moore alumna Laura Kirkman (BS ’00) moved to New York City
in 2000 without having first secured a job. To her mother’s relief, Kirkman landed a job in two
weeks.
Such leaps of faith have guided Kirkman very well, including her latest venture—Maddison Row—B ridal Chic, a Charleston store offering designer bridal gowns and situated in a lovely neighborhood close to trendy downtown shopping.
After graduating from the business school in May 2000, Kirkman took a job as an intern with Clear Seas Communications to spend the summer in Charleston. She and a friend then decided to move to New York City that fall and find work.
Two weeks after arriving in New York, she landed a job as a marketing assistant with Ralph Lauren. After eight months, she was promoted to marketing coordinator, working with stores that carry men’s Polo brand clothing, including Belk, Dillard’s, Saks, and Neiman Marcus. She later became a marketing director with the company, handling the branding for the Polo Golf line as well as overseeing all marketing for high-end department stores and specialty stores nationwide.
Kirkman was with Ralph Lauren for four and a half years and enjoyed her job in the fashion industry. But though she “loved” New York, she did not want to settle there. South Carolina’s historic port city was luring her back. Again she decided to relocate, again without a placement.
And, again, the universe came through—with an offer from DPS Sporting Club Development, a luxury real estate development company. Kirkman was hired as marketing director for a new property in Turks & Caicos in the British West Indies. She divided her time between Charleston and the Caribbean. Later, she took on additional responsibilities of buying media for all DPS properties, a role which she has always enjoyed. Still, she was itching for the next leap.
The idea for her own business began to take shape as Kirkman shopped with friends planning weddings. Kirkman’s fashion savvy told her there was something missing in the bridal shops and wedding gown selections she saw.
“I have always picked up wedding magazines because of my fashion background, and I know there are designers out there not carried anywhere in South Carolina,” Kirkman says. “If you want to look at those designers, you have to go to Atlanta or New York.”
Kirkman also recognized Charleston as a destination city for weddings. “In the last five years, the wedding industry in Charleston has gotten a lot bigger….No one seems to know where the ranking comes from, but Charleston is consistently cited as the #2 or #3 wedding destination…there is definitely an industry here.”
Ironically, Kirkman had written a business plan for a bridal store as her senior Honors thesis at USC, never seriously considering that she would one day implement it. She dusted off the business plan and adapted it for Charleston. Her boutique opened in September on Hasell Street—c lose enough to King Street but standing apart in a lovely neighborhood only two blocks away.
Bridal gowns have evolved over time, Kirkman says, from variations of a white ball gown. “ Brides are challenging the designers more, saying ‘I want more, I want something different, I want something that fits my personality’….it still has to be elegant, it still has to be classic in nature, but there’s… the way the dresses fit, or the neckline, or the fabrics that designers are using.” Kirkman adds that each dress is made to fit the bride, not selected off the rack.
The small details also matter. “When a client makes an appointment [to visit Maddison Row], she gets individual attention,” Kirkman says. “We serve her champagne and petit fours, and give her a gift bag when she leaves.” A survey of customers after six months of business provided only positive comments.
Among Maddison Row’s recent satisfied customers is Mary Lowndes McDonald, daughter of Joel Smith, dean of the Moore School, who was married in April in Columbia.
Kirkman wants her store to develop “cachet” as a brand. The name, Maddison Row—Bridal Chic, came about as a bit of a fluke as Kirkman and her mother were chatting over a glass of champagne. (Maddison is a favorite girl’s name.) Kirkman liked the sound of it—a little New York, a little southern.
Short term, Kirkman says, she would like to “continue to do what we do and be successful, making brides happy.”
Long term, she wants to brand the name, and who knows, expand to other cities—“somewhere like Charleston with a level of sophistication and charm.”
If anyone can make that leap, Kirkman can.
|
| Kirkman's bridal shop window in Charleston, S.C. |
Such leaps of faith have guided Kirkman very well, including her latest venture—Maddison Row—B ridal Chic, a Charleston store offering designer bridal gowns and situated in a lovely neighborhood close to trendy downtown shopping.
After graduating from the business school in May 2000, Kirkman took a job as an intern with Clear Seas Communications to spend the summer in Charleston. She and a friend then decided to move to New York City that fall and find work.
Two weeks after arriving in New York, she landed a job as a marketing assistant with Ralph Lauren. After eight months, she was promoted to marketing coordinator, working with stores that carry men’s Polo brand clothing, including Belk, Dillard’s, Saks, and Neiman Marcus. She later became a marketing director with the company, handling the branding for the Polo Golf line as well as overseeing all marketing for high-end department stores and specialty stores nationwide.
Kirkman was with Ralph Lauren for four and a half years and enjoyed her job in the fashion industry. But though she “loved” New York, she did not want to settle there. South Carolina’s historic port city was luring her back. Again she decided to relocate, again without a placement.
And, again, the universe came through—with an offer from DPS Sporting Club Development, a luxury real estate development company. Kirkman was hired as marketing director for a new property in Turks & Caicos in the British West Indies. She divided her time between Charleston and the Caribbean. Later, she took on additional responsibilities of buying media for all DPS properties, a role which she has always enjoyed. Still, she was itching for the next leap.
The idea for her own business began to take shape as Kirkman shopped with friends planning weddings. Kirkman’s fashion savvy told her there was something missing in the bridal shops and wedding gown selections she saw.
|
| Kirkman (center) with father, Duane, and mother, Elizabeth, at shop opening celebration |
“I have always picked up wedding magazines because of my fashion background, and I know there are designers out there not carried anywhere in South Carolina,” Kirkman says. “If you want to look at those designers, you have to go to Atlanta or New York.”
Kirkman also recognized Charleston as a destination city for weddings. “In the last five years, the wedding industry in Charleston has gotten a lot bigger….No one seems to know where the ranking comes from, but Charleston is consistently cited as the #2 or #3 wedding destination…there is definitely an industry here.”
Ironically, Kirkman had written a business plan for a bridal store as her senior Honors thesis at USC, never seriously considering that she would one day implement it. She dusted off the business plan and adapted it for Charleston. Her boutique opened in September on Hasell Street—c lose enough to King Street but standing apart in a lovely neighborhood only two blocks away.
Bridal gowns have evolved over time, Kirkman says, from variations of a white ball gown. “ Brides are challenging the designers more, saying ‘I want more, I want something different, I want something that fits my personality’….it still has to be elegant, it still has to be classic in nature, but there’s… the way the dresses fit, or the neckline, or the fabrics that designers are using.” Kirkman adds that each dress is made to fit the bride, not selected off the rack.
The small details also matter. “When a client makes an appointment [to visit Maddison Row], she gets individual attention,” Kirkman says. “We serve her champagne and petit fours, and give her a gift bag when she leaves.” A survey of customers after six months of business provided only positive comments.
Among Maddison Row’s recent satisfied customers is Mary Lowndes McDonald, daughter of Joel Smith, dean of the Moore School, who was married in April in Columbia.
Kirkman wants her store to develop “cachet” as a brand. The name, Maddison Row—Bridal Chic, came about as a bit of a fluke as Kirkman and her mother were chatting over a glass of champagne. (Maddison is a favorite girl’s name.) Kirkman liked the sound of it—a little New York, a little southern.
Short term, Kirkman says, she would like to “continue to do what we do and be successful, making brides happy.”
Long term, she wants to brand the name, and who knows, expand to other cities—“somewhere like Charleston with a level of sophistication and charm.”
If anyone can make that leap, Kirkman can.
—Gail Crouch