About the Designers: Beth Blake & Melissa Akey

Beth worked at many a fashion magazine (Vogue, Vanity Fair, InStyle) and designer (Chanel, Jill Stuart, Narciso) before launching Thread in 1999. She graduated from Simmon's College in Boston, and lives in Tribeca with her husband Corbin and son George.

Melissa was at Barneys New York (where, among other things, she launched the Image Studio, a concept combining personal shopping and cosmetics) before joining Thread. A graduate of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Melissa lives in Chelsea with her husband Alex.