The dynamic duo
Powered by their synergistic professional relationship and combined learnings from nearly 20 years of brand and agency experience, Maddie Kraus and Margo Zeve have joined forces to form duo M.
Their story began while working together on the RH (Restoration Hardware) marketing team. Margo was in-house at RH and Maddie was her counterpart at their NYC-based PR agency. During this time, they bonded over a shared passion for bold storytelling and big ideas.
Several years later - and after a few respective career and cross country moves - Maddie and Margo crossed paths again in Southern California. They reconnected over their desire to help brands reflect, evolve and tell smarter stories and sought to create a flexible model that was more fitting for the times. From there, duo M was born.
Margo Zeve
Margo's experience on both the brand and agency side gives her a unique level of expertise in brand identity and creative storytelling. She has worked with a diverse range of companies across the luxury retail, home, fashion and lifestyle industries. Margo is passionate about connecting brands with audiences through compelling narratives, authentic partnerships, strong brand positioning, inventive activations and relationship building.
Before launching duo M in 2020, Margo oversaw brand marketing for direct-to-consumer dinnerware startup Year & Day in San Francisco, focusing on PR, events, influencer relations, pop-ups, partnerships, content series development and more. Prior to Year & Day, Margo’s most formative years were spent on RH’s (Restoration Hardware) in-house PR & Marketing team, where she was brought in to strategize and lead communications for all RH collection launches, artisan partnerships, influencer and celebrity projects and retail/hospitality experiences. Her role was instrumental in cross-functional collaboration with C-Suite and top RH executives - from Product Development, Merchandising and Interior Design to Copywriting and Creative teams.
After graduating from the University of Washington, Margo began her career in New York City at Valentino and top New York PR agency LaForce (formerly LaForce + Stevens), honing her skills in marketing and building her media and influencer network.
She loves fitness, hosting dinner parties, music, hiking and traveling. Having lived in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Albuquerque, and Pittsburgh, Margo now calls Los Angeles home.
Maddie Kraus
Before founding her boutique consulting studio, MKC, Maddie spent most of her career based in New York City at multiple top PR and Marketing agencies. During this time, she oversaw media relations, events, partnerships, strategy and more for leading furniture retailers Design Within Reach, Restoration Hardware (RH) and Roche Bobois, home decor brands such as AERIN and House of Tai Ping and award-winning design firms like Nicole Hollis SF.
In 2019, Maddie moved West to launch MKC where she continued to equip multidisciplinary design firms, direct-to-consumer companies and luxury product designers with the strategic story angles they needed to grow their communities and drive sales. Former and current clients credit Maddie’s successful campaigns to her clear and creative marketing strategies, deeply rooted relationships and ability to increase brand awareness through grassroots and traditional methods.
Maddie’s passion for communications began at her alma mater, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where she studied Creative Writing and fell in love with the power of storytelling. A native East Coaster, Maddie is fully embracing the California lifestyle. She’s almost always outdoors, hiking, running, or beaching with her new puppy, Samson.