There’s one thing deeply transferring about witnessing a room stuffed with achieved ladies fall right into a hush—not as a result of somebody instructed them to, however as a result of the second calls for reverence.
That’s precisely what occurred in Los Angeles this previous June when 130 honorees gathered for Nexstar Media Group’s Exceptional Girls 2025 celebration. It wasn’t simply the dimensions of the occasion or the glittering lights on stage that struck me—it was the stillness that descended when Karen Levine’s phrases have been learn aloud.
“You’re a survivor. You’re a outstanding girl. And sure – sooner or later, you’ll even be glad about the loopy trip.”
That line, lifted from Karen’s “Letter to My Youthful Self,” lingered within the air like a benediction. It was private, uncooked, and profoundly relatable. In that second, it grew to become clear why Karen wasn’t simply being celebrated—she had turn into the emotional coronary heart of this yr’s occasion.
I’ve admired Karen Levine from afar for years. As a girl navigating my very own profession twists and turns, her story all the time resonated—as a result of it was by no means about perfection. It was about persistence. About reinventing your self at a time when society quietly suggests you’ve aged out of innovation.
Karen launched PeachSkinSheets at 48, simply after being laid off and changing into a newly single mom of two. She didn’t have a background in textiles—her earliest forays into entrepreneurship started on eBay within the Nineties, promoting every thing from closeout merchandise to liquidation finds. However necessity has a method of awakening creativity. Evening after evening, suffering from menopausal evening sweats and more and more annoyed by scratchy sheets that left her dry pores and skin irritated, she started trying to find a greater answer.
She couldn’t discover one. So, she made one.
That’s the origin of PeachSkinSheets—not in a flashy lab or company boardroom, however in a storage in Atlanta, with Karen experimenting and studying as she went. She dove into material sourcing, obsessing over finishes and efficiency blends till she landed on a high-performance athletic-grade SMART material. It felt as delicate as 1500-thread-count cotton—however with out the shrinkage, wrinkles, or pilling. It depraved moisture, saved sleepers cool, and solved her personal bedtime dilemma.
The irony was too candy to disregard: the business time period for her ultra-soft brushed end was “peach pores and skin.” She lived in Georgia. A model was born.
However PeachSkinSheets wasn’t constructed in a single day. Karen knocked on doorways—figuratively and actually. She hand-packed orders together with her youngsters. She took buyer calls whereas driving carpool. She wrote handwritten thank-you notes, slipped shock items into packages, and constructed a fiercely loyal neighborhood one sheet set at a time. “The fortune is within the follow-up,” she usually says. And he or she means it. To this present day, she personally replies to buyer emails—one thing nearly exceptional for a CEO in 2025.
That authenticity—that hands-on devotion—is strictly why Karen was chosen not solely to attend Exceptional Girls 2025 however to assist form it. Her deeply human journey helped encourage Nexstar to create a completely new section: Letters to My Youthful Self. It was Karen’s concept—her story, her resilience—that breathed life into the custom. All 130 honorees have been invited to jot down their very own letters, every a window into the soul of a girl who refused to surrender.
Karen additionally gifted every honoree a customized PeachSkinSheets journey case and mirror—objects meant to be sensible, sure, but additionally deeply symbolic. When host Leeza Gibbons held up the mirror in the course of the occasion and invited every girl to mirror on her personal journey, there have been few dry eyes within the room. The present of seeing your self clearly—scars and all, nonetheless standing—is highly effective.
Throughout our interview, which blossomed into a beautiful skilled connection, Karen instructed me one thing I maintain replaying: “Success is never linear. The toughest elements? They’re what make you sturdy sufficient for the remaining.” And her story proves it.
At this time, PeachSkinSheets boasts over 50,000 five-star evaluations and affords 34 vibrant colours—from calming neutrals to daring hues like Retro Rose and Emerald Inexperienced. The corporate is family-run, and plenty of staff are single moms themselves—a nod to Karen’s personal journey and her dedication to lifting others as she climbs. Whether or not it’s donating to catastrophe aid efforts or sponsoring vacation drives for households in want, PeachSkinSheets continues to offer again in significant methods.
However maybe what’s most outstanding is what Karen has constructed past the enterprise. She’s constructed perception—for ladies over 40 who assume it’s too late, for moms questioning in the event that they nonetheless have room to dream, for anybody who’s ever felt like life knocked the wind out of them.
Karen Levine is a testomony to the ability of reinvention. Of turning a private downside right into a nationwide model. Of selecting kindness and high quality over shortcuts and scale. And of proudly owning your story—even the messy chapters—as a result of they’re usually the place the magic begins.
The place does she go from right here? Karen hints at new merchandise and collaborations on the horizon, however largely, she’s centered on staying related to the individuals who made all of it attainable: her prospects. “Consolation,” she instructed me, “isn’t nearly material. It’s about being seen. Being heard. Feeling secure sufficient to relaxation.”
In a world that always equates success with velocity, Karen Levine reminds us that there’s energy in constructing slowly. In selecting coronary heart over hype. And in holding up a mirror not simply to ourselves, however to the ladies beside us, and saying: Look how far you’ve come.
And possibly—simply possibly—being grateful for the loopy trip in spite of everything.
ALL IMAGE CREDITS: Karen Levine
