Watch it today at 4pm EST/3pm CENTRAL http://ow.ly/977Jb #smwnywici

NONPROFITS AND SOCIAL MEDIA: A PERFECT SOLUTION
4:00PM – 4:45PM EST
Panelists will share tips, tools and case studies on how nonprofit organizations can leverage social media to impact and maximize the organization’s mission and drive donations and membership.

As part of the SOLE SISTERS film project, award-winning filmmaker Cynthia Salzman Mondell will be filming women’s stories LIVE with her cutting edge SHOE CONFESSIONAL at the Dallas Museum of Art.

The SHOE CONFESSIONAL is a booth where women are free to share their shoe stories and divulge their secrets. This multifaceted project aims to connect the storyteller with the audience allowing for an intimate storytelling experience.
Bring your friends and family to be part of a socially conscious documentary about women’s issues.

On Tuesday I was given the opportunity to accompany Cynthia to Neiman Marcus’ downtown store where she interviewed Burt Tansky, former group CEO. Mr. Tansky worked as a shoe salesman as a young boy and continued his career in the fashion and merchandising world until his retirement in October 2010. As an aspiring shoe designer I was intrigued to hear what he had to say about why women’s shoes are such a successful market and gain tips on what I can do in the future. Surrounded by tables of beautiful (drool worthy) shoes by Prada, Chanel and my personal icon Manolo Blahnik, just to name a few; I listened as Mr. Tansky spoke about a woman’s “need” to buy shoes. We could have hundreds, even thousands of shoes in our closets and yet we still “need” a new pair, this is because of the effect our shoes have on us.  Whether it makes a woman feel sexy, confident, comfortable or revamps an that old little black dress, we use our shoes as (in my opinion) the ultimate accessory. He mentioned the attitude woman have when they’re shopping, then the change that occurs as they step onto a shoe salon floor. As I watched I noticed he was correct; women who walked through had their back a little straighter, held a slower pace and a hint of a smile. Though how could you not smile when seeing Lanvin’s bright colored table or YSL’s sky high stilettos, I know I had moments where I’m convinced time simply stopped. Relying on the designers latest line is what helps drive sales for even the greatest shoe salesman. If the customer doesn’t see anything they like, they’ll just walk on by, but a woman who walks through a shoe floor hopes to find something she “needs.” I’ve stored Mr. Tansky’s thoughts and opinions into my always accepting mind for ideas, knowledge, experience and inspiration, to be used for my future in hopes that one day my shoes will stop time for a shoe-aholic such as myself.

If you missed the first debut, we will return on February 11-12th, 2012. If you can’t wait until then to show off your shoes, share your story on our website or #shoeconfessional”

We were way off to say the least and started looking for new ways to engage our followers, to promote the film and stimulate outreach. It was between ideas that we came up with the idea of utilizing a safe space where we could invite people passing by to walk in and share a personal story about their shoes. We wanted to connect the storyteller to the audience with personal stories, emotions and real lives that represent women’s issues. We felt that face-face interviews would entice people to share their story rather than engaging in the long process of writing-editing-re-writing and then sending it in. So we decided to record the stories as they are told by turning our mobile booth into a recording studio that would stream the stories. In regards to the name, there was something about sharing guilty pleasures to a stranger that reminded me of the dreaded weekly confessions I had to give as a young girl in the Catholic church. Thus the birth of a clever name inspired by archaic traditions-”Shoe Confessional”.

To stay true to our Social Media Outreach strategy we wanted to build upon the online community that has grown over the last year to engage our viewers and spark a dialogue between age groups, ethnicities and genders. Knowing that we are connecting in new ways than ever before and the present is clearly in social media and crowd sourced experiences we wanted to integrate the social connectivity component into this project. By incorporating transmedia techniques into the Shoe Confessional we wanted to generate a unique narrative experience that connects the storyteller with the audience allowing for an intimate storytelling experience. We wanted to create a space where a woman could feel comfortable sharing a personal story in a sacred space amidst a crowd of strangers yet feel connected to each women there and be part of a larger community of women who have been empowered simply by being listened to and sharing their story.

That was the easiest part. Next came the “how” and “when” segment of bringing this idea to life. Knowing that the films roots had been planted in community partnerships we wanted this to be a community collaboration so we put out a call to artists, designers and craftspeople, of which many of you have seen. We had a great response and put together the following team:

Cynthia Salzman Mondell, Media Projects, Inc.
Jen Mauldin – Wilson Associates Designer
Arnulfo Chavez – Master Builder
Valen Chavez – Media Projects Community Outreach Director
Steve Shipp – BRW Architects Construction Team
Misti Chambers – Graphic Designer
David Friedman – Wavemaker Audio Audio Visual Design
Phil Allen- Allen Media
Marlon Madrid – Handyman
Alyx Martinez, Media Projects, Inc.
Rondi Hillstrom Davis – Costume Designer

Everything after that just fell into place… well not quite that easily but I will spare you the details. After looking high and low, we were donated a space by Sarofim Realty Advisors and received several donated materials from Cutting Corners, Home Depot and Target. Jen Mauldin, our lead designer on the project, was a tremendous help and resource since she is LEED certified with a passion for sustainability and loves integrating re-purposed materials into her designs. With that in mind while also drawing inspiration from the re-cycled and re-used fashion trends from the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit, 90% of the materials used to build the confessional were re-cycled and eco-friendly thanks to Jen! Everyone on the team who devoted their time, energy and efforts were greatly needed and appreciated to help finish the project as well. Everyone who brought their talents, vision and passion to the project-we salute you for the shining star you are, we really could not have accomplished this without you.

Special Thanks to
Dallas Museum of Art, Jim Greenfield, Janimation, RepliCopy, Mark Rutledge, Jeff Hurst, Laura Flagerstone, Aleah Dillard, Jessica La Torre, Carlos Macias, Allen Mondell, Fonya Naomi Mondell, Media 13

SOLE SISTERS invites you to experience the new era of storytelling at the Debut of our Shoe Confessional Febuary 11-12. For those unable to attend, we welcome you to send in your shoe confessions along with pictures of your shoes at http://twubs.com/shoeconfessional https://www.facebook.com/SoleSistersFilm or http://www.solesistersfilm.com/share-your-stories.

Their assignment was to work with a woman close to them, in their life whether it be their mother, sister, friend or role model, to choose a story that exemplified a personal experience told through that woman’s shoes. It is always nerve wrecking to have your art critiqued or even documented, but these students were well spoken in their descriptions about their inspirations, concepts and execution of their final projects.

These high school students dug deep into the psyches of these women and produced amazingly profound and sincere art. Many of the stories moved me to tears. Others put a smile on my face. Once again, the shoe proves to be an overlooked accessory that transcends age, gender and background that touches everyone’s sole.

Cynthia and SHOE CONFESSIONAL Designer Jen Mauldin at the Debut

The Shoe Confessional debut was this Friday nite at the Dallas Museum of Art. We loaded in at 4 pm and were ready togo at 6 pm. Lines formed of women, girls and some men wanting to share their stories about their shoes. It was incredible.
This is truly a community project. From the wonderful group of people who built it, set it up, to the volunteers who helped with the crowds and the people who visited the Confessional.
I am so excited that it worked. So many women had a good time. YES!! And so many thanked us
for letting them tell their stories. We thank them for sharing it with us.

We have to acknowledge that people are accessing story in ways we’ve never encountered before in history. A generation is growing up surfing from one media platform to the next without even being aware of doing so. As Filmmakers we are surfing right along with these people.

Through tansmedia techniques we are creating a story architecture that invites you and your friends to participate virtually and simultaneously. Fundamentally Sole Sisters is about intimacy and connecting the storyteller with the audience. As the SOLE SISTER community grows we are seeking innovative ways to help women share their stores, not only virtually but financially. Click here to learn about our latest projects including the cutting edge Shoe Confessional and contribute to the many on-going projects.

Imagine how surprised I was when I received an email from some professors at University at Sheffield. They found us on Twitter . They had a grant to do a 3 year study on people’s identity with their shoes.  I was ecstactic. We have tried to figure out how we can collaborate. They are suggesting questions for the SHOE CONFESSIONAL and we are sharing stories.  Below is their description of their project which is so similar to ours accept we are focusing on women’s identity. It is amazing that two groups would be working on the same project at the same time. What I love is that we are doing it through our own disciplines.  And in different ways.I also like that we are willing to share to enrich each other’s project. That is SOLE SISTERS.

From If The Shoe Fits project

IF THE SHOE FITS? FOOTWEAR, IDENTITY AND TRANSITION

Jenny Hockey (Principle Investigator), Victoria Robinson (Co-Investigator), Rachel Dilley (Research Associate), Alex Sherlock (Postgraduate Researcher)

GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT SHOES

This project makes shoes a starting point for finding out how people take on and move between identities, both on a daily basis and throughout the life course. Shoes are currently high profile in advertising and they also play important roles in popular culture, as well as folklore and fairy tales. It is striking how often shoes are attributed with the capacity to change us, both men and women. For example, the seven league boots that help Puss-in-Boots go up in the world; Cinderella’s ‘glass’ slipper; Dorothy’s red shoes in the Wizard of Oz, Billy Dane’s magical football boots; the promise of athletic performance in Nike adverts; and the representation of the ‘power’ of designer heels in Sex and the City.

What we want to find out is how these images of personal transformation might relate to actual shifts or transitions of identity that go on in everyday life and during the life course. For example, shoes feature within many everyday transitions: between life course categories (baby to toddler, single to married); activities (work to leisure); health and illness (orthopaedic shoes); gender identities (from man to woman); social classes (Reebok Classic to Sloan Loafer); everyday and specialist competencies (mother and climber); and lay and professional identities (from Kickers to the funeral director’s shiny black shoes).

From If The Shoe Fit project

The contribution of shoes to everyday and life course transitions suggests that they are more than just symbols of change. Instead they seem able to change embodied experiences of time, place and identity. In contrast to many forms of clothing, shoes can almost become part of the body, taking on the shape of the foot, and changing the way we move. Many skills and competencies rely on the right footwear, for example, in classical ballet, football and climbing.

WHY SHOES NOW?

Marketing data show a considerable increase in our spending on shoes in western societies and our shoe consumption patterns have dramatically changed in recent years. In 2007 Mintel reported that ‘shoes have moved centre-stage in fashion and have grown much faster than clothing in the last five years’, they are ‘no longer seen as a clothing essential to be bought on a replacement basis only’.

What is driving this change? Is it the promise of transformation with which shoes are imbued in fairytales, popular culture and advertising? Shoe designers seem to think so: Natacha Morro claims that ‘Shoes turn you into someone else’. By addressing these questions, our project contributes to current sociological debates. It asks whether people in relatively wealthy western societies are discovering new scope for self-reinvention through this kind of consumption – or whether individuals everywhere and always have tried to shape their identities and reflected upon the results.

Our project is also concerned with sustainability. How do we care for our shoes, what are our practices when it comes to recycling shoes, shopping in charity shops and other second-hand, sometimes retro, outlets? How else do we dispose of our shoes? Why do we keep shoes we no longer wear (or have never worn)? What makes a pair of shoes unforgettable?

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/iftheshoefits