As a child, Katherine’s love of art led her to excel in painting and drawing throughout school and college. In the 1980’s, she began exploring painting on silk with dyes and soon found her niche in “wearable art”. Katherine began painting on silk lingerie, creating unique one of-a-kind pieces that she sold at craft fairs and local shops in Northern California. For the next 40 years, she moved in a more commercial fashion direction.

Katherine Harestad is the founder of White Rose, a highly regarded designer sleepwear company, established in 1980 in a corner of her living room. With a background of Fine Arts, Katherine grew her company from consignment sales from a single shop to over 500 international accounts.  In recognition of her excellent intimate apparel designs, she was awarded the prestigious “Rubans de Madame Figaro” award in Paris in both 1998 and 1999. After selling White Rose in 1999, Katherine worked for major fashion retailers, where she served as Design Director and Creative Director, overseeing women’s intimates, loungewear, sleepwear, activewear, hosiery, accessories and home. At Nordstrom, she launched seven private brands and consulted for various fashion brands.

In 2015, Katherine launched her new artisan line Sainte Blanc. which can be found on www.sainteblanc.com. Vintage White Rose can be found in her etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/KatherineHarestad.

In 2021, Katherine and her husband moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where she could pursue her life long dream of painting.