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TV personality, writer and LA designer, Kara Kurcz joined us from her home in California this week. Kara has had an interesting and exciting life to say the least. Growing up in a Chicago suburb, just like our host, Kara has been able to pursue her two biggest passions: fashion and film.
At the age of twenty, she got a job on the television show America’s Most Wanted in Washington D.C. where she rose through the ranks from Intern to Producer. By age twenty-three, Kara found herself at E! Entertainment. There she received accolades in TV Guide and People Magazine for producing and directing Dirty Dancing – The E! True Hollywood Story. She then went on to produce and direct for a wide range of networks…NBC and ABC to name a few.
In 2004 she launched her handbag company Solas Fashion out of her 2 bedroom apartment with her husband Brian. The idea behind Solas was simple. It was based on a simple necessity every woman needed…a light in her handbag. However, the execution of starting a company, filing a patent, manufacturing a product, and making sure the line was successful was not as simple. With tenacity and hard work, she quickly proved naysayers wrong. By the second year of business, Kara’s lighted handbag line was debuting on the red carpet…over and over again!
Since then her bags have been worn by dozens of celebrities including, Fergie, Chelsea Handler, Jessica Alba, Carrie Underwood and Cameron Diaz, she thought success would then be right around the corner. Well, life happened right around the corner, and our economic meltdown took it’s toll on Solas and on Kara.
Kara has just completed her first documentary feature, big TIME, “There is no such thing as an overnight success.” The film documents Kara and Brian’s journey into the fashion world. This is how we were introduced. One of her interview was with Jonah White, of the Billy-Bob Teeth Co. that we featured on our show a few months ago.
To check out Solas Handbags go to : www.solasfashion.com
Additional information about the movie: www.bigtimethemovie.com