Female Founder Spotlight: Kortney Craft-Leet

Dresses designed for lifelong best friends

Hickory Hills was born from a young girl’s dream, growing up on Hickory Hills Drive in small-town Kentucky. Founder Kortney Craft-Leet spent summers creating fun mix-and-match outfits from her and her sister’s closets. Growing up, she dreamed of designing clothes that inspired women to feel confident and beautiful. The only problem was: she was far removed from the fashion world, and a career in design seemed far-fetched for an eastern Kentucky girl with no connections or experience. However, the birth of her daughter, Evie, in 2019 inspired Kortney to re-evaluate. For this Female Founder Spotlight, we spoke to Kortney about the birth of Hickory Hills Clothing Co.

What made you “bite the bullet” and start the business?

It’s difficult to say that anything positive came from a global pandemic, but if it weren’t for COVID, I probably never would have started my business. I worked as a speech-language pathologist and treated around 100 children a week. When the world shut down, I had no patients to see. Everything was put on hold, and no one knew what would happen. I was home every day with my one-year-old daughter, and she became my shadow—watching my every move and imitating my every word. It was evident that she wanted to be just like me. My hope for her has always been that she would find her passion in life, take the risk, and pursue it relentlessly. That she would never apologize for who she is and what she wants. I knew that the example started with me, and I had two critical eyes watching me. So I took the leap and dove headfirst into uncharted territory, teaching myself how to design.

Kortney’s designs are chic while breaking away from uncomfortable and outdated styles as a self-taught designer. She pays attention to her customers’ feedback and makes items based on things people like and want to see more of. Each design is exclusive, with limited dresses being made, meaning you receive something created with love and care every time.

How did you go about your first designs?

My first design was the Betty Dress, and the inspiration came from my grandmother’s wedding dress. A black and white picture of her and my grandfather on their wedding day in 1954 sat on my mantle for years. I’ve stared at that picture for as long as I can remember. My beautiful grandmother, the leader of my family, looked so radiant in this timeless A-line, tea-length dress. If you ask my grandmother, Betty, where she bought that dress, she can tell you the exact store on the exact day. She can recite every detail about the fabric, the fit, the delicate little details. I’ve always felt that fashion is deeply tied to emotion and memory, and I wanted to create something that women could make beautiful memories in.

Tell us more about the process of those first designs.

I made A LOT of ugly dresses at first. I take every measurement by hand, and most of my dresses have over 50 measurements each that have to be very precise. Even 1/8 inch makes a big difference in a dress pattern. It took me seven times before I came up with measurements that could make a dress that I could try on. The armhole depth was all wrong, and the shoulder width was off, but I could put it on my body and make adjustments based on the fit. It took me about three months. I would stay up late at night after my daughter, Evie, would go to bed and YouTube dress pattern making and sewing videos. I’m entirely self-taught. When I finally got my first official sample dress, I threw it on and ran downstairs to show my family. The first words that came out were from my daughter, and she said, “But where’s mine?” The next day I got to make her the same dress in her size.

Launched on Mother’s Day in 2021, Hickory Hills focuses on designing darling dresses for mother and daughter. Whether you need something for a special occasion, like weddings, birthday parties, or holidays, or you want to elevate both of your closets, they have something you are sure to fall in love with.