Hi Katie! Welcome to the Lepelclub journal. We're super excited to have you here! Can you start by introducing yourself?
I am Katie Lopes Co-Founder and Creative Director of Stripe & Stare – we make the world’s most comfortable underwear.  A female founded and led,  B Corp company based in the UK. 

One of our favorite questions to ask here is, how do you take your coffee? 
That is a good question for me – I am coffee obsessed and VERY specific.  My fave is an oat flat white which has to be just the right strength and the right oat milk… Oatly is my fave.  I have lived in London and Sydney so got very used to the best coffee and now can’t live without! 

Where did you grow up and where do you currently live? We’d love to get to
know more about you.
I grew up in the UK in Devon so countryside.  Then London, then as I am half Australian I lived in Sydney so have bounced around a bit.  I am now back in the UK and split between London and Devon. So always on the move!

How did the idea for Stripe and Stare come about, and what keeps you inspired each day?
I was a buyer selling top contemporary fashion brands and there was no one making a cool comfortable pair of knickers for everyday.  It was in the noughties and the hey day of brands like Victoria Secret but their underwear was uncomfortable and designed for the male gaze.  I knew my customers wanted this so found a factory (who we still work with 20 years later!) drew a pair of knickers and started producing small runs, selling to my customers and getting feedback from them as to what they liked and didn’t like.  I also wanted to do it in a responsible way – less than 3% of underwear is sustainably sourced which is terrible for something we wear everyday and cannot buy second hand.

Fast forward to 2017 and I was approached by Selfridges who wanted to buy them and Shopbop in the states so Stripe & Stare was born. We launched online and with these two key retailers.

So many things keep me inspired – the team here are 90% women and are a total joy to work with, our customers – their reviews and feedback are so uplifting – we have over 40,000 five star reviews from our real customers who love our underwear so much.

Can you share a memorable milestone from your journey with Stripe and Stare?
There have been SO many – our collaboration with LoveShackFancy exploding was a huge moment, sponsoring our first podcast with Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes, becoming B Corp…. Probably the absolute number 1 moment was Oprah wearing us on her socials and telling us how much she loves them. 

Are there any specific experiences that have significantly impacted your personal or professional development?
It’s not been an easy ride to get to Stripe & Stare.  We had a different brand name in 2015 and were sued for trademark infringement which meant a huge legal bill and having to change our brand.  It was really stressful. I got divorced at the same time and was left in £1.5m debt so had to fight to recover from that – for me the knickers are so much more than just underwear, they are about strength, resilience and grit.  We believe at S&S that nothing great was ever achieved in uncomfortable underwear.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love to read, exercise – to be honest there is not a lot of free time!  Between work and my two children life is pretty full on.  My dream is to travel and watch a lot of tennis when I retire!!

What's the most valuable piece of advice you want to pass forward to our readers, whether related to work or personal life?
To keep going.  Slow and steady.  Being a founder is not easy – even when business is going well there are still challenges which you have to be able to cope with and keep dealing with.  This advice probably applies to personal life too.

And finally, how do you hope to stir things up in the future? 
I love to challenge the team to reach for the stars.  One of my favourite things is partnering with strong authentic women who have pushed themselves and accomplished loads.  On my original mood board when launching the business I had Oprah Winfrey, Chelsea Handler, Fearne Cotton – I have now worked with all three of them in some capacity.  Anything is possible and I can’t wait for more of these moments.