So what’s the secret to their success, and how have they achieved such impressive milestones?
We were dying to know the answers, so what did we do?
We asked them ourselves.
Here’s everything they told us and more in an exclusive sit-down interview.
How did the Mr. Kate blog come about?
So what were those early days like, just engaging with readers and growing over time?
Kate Albrecht:Yeah, it started out as a passion project.
Really, for me I like a DIY and all-around style, aesthetic enthusiast.
A lot of my creative process was in my home and doing home projects and things like that.
Joey Zehr:Well, it was before YouTube was a thing.
About what year was that when you started really engaging on YouTube, if you recall?
Albrecht: [It was probably around 2013] when we started really blowing up?
Zehr: A decade ago is when we started really taking it serious … That’s when we really started to dial in and we decided to only do interior design.
That’s when the audience blew up.
That series probably started in
Albrecht: That was 2013 [or] 2014.
It sounds like you got in maybe unintentionally at the right time to really take advantage of that wave.
We basically have done the biggest people on YouTube.
We’ve gone into their [homes] and made over spaces with them.
We usually do it with them.
Yeah, that kind of crossover project, I’m sure it really resonated with viewers as well.
We work with all the big beauty YouTubers and all the people were in another category.
Now you’re looking at this hugely successful, 500 million+ plus [channel].
Could you ever have predicted in those very early days that you’d amass this kind of following?
Albrecht: No way.
Zehr: I knew that Kate had that driving power.
Albrecht: Something like that, what about it?
Albrecht: He was used to dudes' apartments in Boston.
He would come to LA to visit.
That was our first product together.
Albrecht: Shopping only at the Goodwill, because we literally had a $100 budget from his dad.
Don’t underestimate the Goodwill though.
They’ve got deals.
We love a thrift find.
What did the early days of Mr. Kate look like?
I would basically talk to and explain to people how talented she was.
Kate Albrecht: Thanks, Joey.
Zehr: On her skills.
I’m not surprised.
Albrecht: I’m surprised because I didn’t even really fathom that as a possibility.
Zehr: Well, that’s why we’re good together.
It wasn’t about creators.
The notion of making a career out of YouTube and social media was still very new at that point.
It is bringing a new viewpoint to an old school thing.
You don’t just do farmhouse.
You don’t just do, mid-century like, it’s a cool eclectic mix.
Zehr: You’ve always [worn] it as a badge of honor.
Who am I to judge how people want to express themselves?
I don’t knock the designers.
How do Kate and Joey balance their working and personal lives?
Zehr: The project we’re working on right now is very standout.
It already is our most memorable project.
You’re married, you’ve got a two-year-old.
I have neither of those things, but I have a two-year-old nephew.
We brought our kid along with us since he was born.
He’s been around us being a working couple and seeing the streets.
Zehr: That actually reminds me of another memorable product we did.
Albrecht: It was like his trailer.
We felt bad, bringing our kid to play in there all day.
That was a really cool project.
We made it very ’60s retro with a mural inside and stuff.
Zehr: We’ve ended up in a lot of very interesting spaces.
Working as a couple has been something that naturally snowballed for us.
People have often asked us what our secret is.
I let him run with the behind the scenes business stuff.
You’re not stepping on each other’s toes.
That’s really been our secret, but it doesn’t come without its challenges.
Albrecht: It’s so crazy.
It’s such a “pinch-me” moment.
I haven’t gotten over [it].
Last year, we launched the beginning of that, which was our furniture line.
We started with beds and sofas and chairs, so all soft pieces.
We’re launching the other pieces right at home.
Albrecht: We definitely bring that same philosophy of, “There’s no perfect style.”
Zehr: For us, we really want to be helpful to people.
I was going to say, it should be rent friendly.
Why did Kate and Joey leave Los Angeles and settle in Hawaii?
We’ve chatted about the channel, how it came together, [and] this project coming up.
I’d love to talk to you a little bit about your island life.
Why Hawaii, why’d you take the plunge to leave LA?
I’m in LA, we could have been neighbors.
I could have been your upcoming project.
I just moved, so I need furniture, but why Hawaii?
And what has life on the island been like thus far?
I guess it was a blessing we were all in masks.
We really wanted a big shift.
Both Joey and I have always enjoyed challenging ourselves.
This seemed like something wonderfully scary in a good way, because it was such an adventure.
We purchased the house basically via a FaceTime tour with our real estate.
Albrecht: Yeah, it was this wild thing.
It’s harder with shipping and all that on an island, but we’re doing it.
Zehr: At the core, our annual trip was always to Hawaii.
We’ve always talked about [how] we’ve done what everyone does when they’re on vacation.
What if we moved here?
Don’t live in a world of “what ifs.”
It was the right time and the right place.
It’s beautiful here but this house, it’s already flooded once.
There’s so much going on in here.
We’re living in the project as we work on it.
Albrecht: For sure, a fixer up.
It’s been really good because it’s a reawakening, in a way.
What should fans expect to see next from Kate and Joey?
What can fans expect to see from you guys next?All these new inspirational pulls around you.
That’s a huge goal for us.
You’re going to continue to see us doing that in every way possible.
We have a new app that we’re working on.
We’re waiting on our permits.
Right now, we’re doing this house in two phases.
Albrecht: I call it the “lipstick on a pig” phase.
It’s those quick and easy budget-friendly ways to make your space around you beautiful and way more bearable.
That’s so exciting.
you’ve got the option to also check out the official “Mr. Kate” collection on theirwebsite.
