Karen Kane Buys Blue Tattoo Denim Line
It’s funny how friendships work.
Lonnie Kane and Jim Shaffer have known each other for four years.
Kane is president of womenswear company Karen Kane. Shaffer runs a 6-year-old denim company called Blue Tattoo with his wife, Marie Kennedy Shaffer, who also owns the Tool Box showroom at The New Mart.
Kane and Shaffer first met at the French Garden restaurant, a popular lunchtime hangout near downtown Los Angeles for many in the apparel industry.
Before you knew it, Kane and Shaffer were sharing their love of old cars, working on wrecks on the weekends in Kane’s garage in Santa Monica, Calif.
As of June 18, the two men had one more thing in common: They’re working at the same place.
Karen Kane acquired Blue Tattoo, whose revenues this year are expected to be $6 million to $10 million, for an undisclosed sum. Most of Blue Tattoo’s employees have moved into Karen Kane’s facilities in Commerce, Calif.
“For Blue Tattoo, the infrastructure at Karen Kane is amazing,” Marie Shaffer said. “We can now do so much more with our account. To have financial backing like that is amazing.”
Marie and her husband have been doing everything, from payroll for their 40 employees to figuring out workers’ compensation. “My husband has been down in the trenches, doing denim washes. There are 185 employees at Karen Kane that can do all that so Jim can be creative,” Marie said.
Karen Kane is a long-time womenswear label started by designer Karen Kane and her husband, Lonnie, in their garage. The company has grown steadily over the years to generate about $100 million a year in sales. Neither Karen nor Lonnie, who were traveling outside of Los Angeles, was available for comment. —Deborah Belgum
