Katie & Chris Bradshaw shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Katie & Chris, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
I think one of the biggest misconceptions about our brand and lingerie in general, is that it’s only for a certain kind of woman. For so long, we’ve been told that to wear lingerie, you have to look or act a certain way. Be sexy in a very specific, narrow sense, be thin, be flawless. But that couldn’t be further from what we believe.
Our line was created to remind women that lingerie isn’t about fitting into someone else’s version of beauty… it’s about celebrating your own. It’s about feeling confident, powerful, and comfortable in your skin, exactly as you are right now.
Whether that looks soft and romantic, bold and edgy, or something totally unique to you. That’s what sexy really is.
We want women to know that lingerie isn’t just for special occasions or for someone else’s gaze, it’s for you. It’s an act of self-expression and self-love.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
The Bradshaw Collection is a mother and daughter collaboration built on creativity, craftsmanship, and confidence. Together, they have created a boutique lingerie line dedicated to celebrating women as they are.
With a background in textiles, clothing, and patternmaking, the founder always dreamed of launching her own collection. Her daughter, a professional boudoir photographer, has spent years helping women see their beauty through her lens and recognized how transformative the right lingerie can be.
Their shared vision came to life through The Bradshaw Collection. A brand devoted to celebrating women as they are.
Each piece is thoughtfully designed, made in small batches, and crafted with high-quality fabrics in the USA. The Bradshaw Collection is more than lingerie; it’s a statement of self-love, confidence, and individuality.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
For both of us, the part that’s served its purpose and needed to be released is the constant hustle. That pressure to always be “doing more.”
My mom spent years in corporate America, and I spent my twenties in full “boss babe” mode, constantly chasing the next big goal. We both carried that mindset for a long time, thinking success meant always being busy. But this business has taught us something different.
The Bradshaw Collection has given us purpose in a whole new way. Creating beautiful pieces together that make women feel confident and seen. It’s shown us that we don’t have to push ourselves to exhaustion to create something meaningful. We can slow down, enjoy the process, and pour intention into every design.
Now, my mom is retired and gets to explore fun side projects, like sewing clothes for her granddaughter, and I’m preparing to welcome my first baby. We’re both learning that success doesn’t have to come from hustle, it can come from balance, joy, and creating from the heart.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I’d tell my younger self to stop putting so much pressure on herself. To trust the process and enjoy the ride. Everything doesn’t have to happen at once, and you don’t have to have it all figured out. Just keep going, keep creating, and know that it’s okay to slow down and breathe along the way.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest lies the lingerie industry tells itself is that lingerie is only for one kind of woman, and that it’s meant to look a certain way, on a certain body, for a certain purpose.
For so long, big brands have oversexualized lingerie and tied it to this idea that you have to be flawless to wear it…that it’s only for the bedroom, that your body should fit a specific mold, and that there’s a ‘right’ style for your size or shape. We see the impact of that every day in the messages we get from women who feel like they need to find the one piece that will somehow make them worthy of feeling beautiful.
But there’s no formula, no rulebook. Lingerie isn’t about perfection, it’s about self-expression. It’s about how you feel when you put it on. We’ve made it our mission to shift that narrative and remind women that lingerie can be comfortable, empowering, and made for them, not for anyone else’s idea of what they should be
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that we helped women see themselves differently. That we reminded them of their beauty, inside and out.
If our work inspires even one woman to look in the mirror and feel confident, worthy, and enough exactly as she is, then we’ve done what we set out to do. We want to be remembered for creating something that made women feel seen, celebrated, and loved…not just through our lingerie, but through the experience and intention behind it.
At the end of the day, it’s not just about beautiful pieces, it’s about helping women rediscover the beauty that was already there all along.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thebradshawcollection.com
- Instagram: @thebradshawcollection
Image Credits
Erin Blackwell Photography
