Supermodel turned super-mogul Kathy Ireland appeared on magazine covers like Sports Illustrated, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and in 2015 she was the only former model to make the list of the nation's richest self-made women according to Forbes, gracing the cover of its magazine.
Now, she has made her way to the kitchen industry partnering with what was formerly known as German Kitchen Center, rebranded to Global Kitchen Concepts (GKC), to open 17 luxury kitchen showrooms across the U.S. with the help of GKC owner Mayan Metzler.
Each luxury showroom will provide everything needed for family projects in the kitchen. "Kitchens are the heart of the home and so much takes place there, including business," Ireland told Cheddar.
GKC and the Metzler family say they pride themselves on paying close attention to details when it comes to cabinetry and creating designer kitchens. "The kitchen is always a combination of functionality and design," Mayan Metzler told Cheddar.
Ireland, the multi-talented ex-supermodel, also just released her first novel Fashion Jungle co-written with New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken and loosely based on Ireland's life in the modeling industry.
"It is the tale of four models, they are a tribe, and what they go through. These women also become entrepreneurs, and they start post-modeling businesses," Ireland said.
Ireland says she never thought about writing a novel until she met her co-author, Van Dyken, began sharing stories with her, and felt inspired to tell her story. "There is a powerful story that needs to be told about exploitation of every kind. It happens in every industry," Ireland said.
She also serves on the boards of the NFL Players Association and the Women's National Basketball Association Board of Advocates and focuses on mentoring young people in entrepreneurship. "It's empowering to be able to encourage young people in business," Ireland said.
