Posts Tagged ‘sole sisters’
SHOE CONFESSIONAL Debut a Success
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.
SOLE SISTERS Finds its Solemate in University of Sheffield
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
My Shoes Shaped My Life
Lynn Moon’s Shoe Story
The shoes that shaped my life are not your classic pump. They are pink, handmade and laced my feet like a corset for over 14 years. My pointe shoes were built by cobbler 54 at Capezio’s in New York. They were a 2 ½ quad E. The left foot being a size 2, the right foot donned the 2 ½. My cobbler was superb! He knew my feet like no other and every pair he built for me, fit like a glove. My feet were my claim to fame. Your feet are your life’s blood in the world of dance where I grew up and worked for over 16 years.
My dance Mistress, Josephine Schwartz, once told me,” you are too small to be in the chorus. So, you can’t be damn good, you have to be Goddamn Good!” It is a motto that I have lived by my entire adult life. Discipline, endurance, pacing, and the ability and will to fight fatigue and pain were the factors that shaped my life inside those small satin and cardboard shoes that often were stained with blood from the blisters that were the mark of the trade. Eventually, the blisters became callouses and the callouses became the foundation known now as my feet and my value system.
Whenever times are tough and life gets almost too hard to bear, I remind myself, this is nothing compared to 8 hours a day inside a pair of pointe shoes.
I still own the last pair of shoes that Cobbler 54 built for me. They are scuffed and scared and ragged, but they are in their original box reminding me of where I came from and how I got to “ here”.
My Brand-new Shoes
By Mary Olivia Patiño
My shoes were brand-new, until the day I wore them. Navy blue, with low heels, just right for a professional job interview – or so I thought. A few days before, while visiting my mom, I spilled it out “Mamí, tengo que comprar unos zapatos nuevos, porque tengo que vistirme bien. Me voy a entrevistar para una posición de maestra.” Saying this, I was a little nervous. I still remembered the moment, many years before when my mother told me “Tu no estás para ser maestra.” “You are not cut out to be a teacher.” This sure was a low punch to my self-esteem as a young woman about to enter college, with dreams of being a teacher.
The second reason I was nervous was because I was going for a job interview, while I still had a job. The interview was to take place at the location where I worked. Arranged by one of the administrative staff, I was to meet a representative of an all girls’ school in El Paso. So, if accepted, I would relocate and move away from my lifelong base of support, my family!
As Mamí and I pored over several boxes of her shoes, I selected the right one for the clothes I wanted to wear to appear ‘professional’: a pair of lovely brand-name navy blue shoes. “Nunca lo he usado,” says Mamí. “I’ve never worn them. They are brand-new.” My mom assured me. I was happy! Wearing the same size shoes was great.
The fateful day arrived with a glorious spring air. Everything seemed new with the promise that a crisp morning brings. As I waited in the beautiful office across a large desk, I soaked in the familiar oak trees and fragrant flowers through the large windows. In the brief moments before the Assistant Principal walked in, I reminisced. Why was I filled with wanderlust and seeking a new position?
She sat across from me, an attractive, friendly woman from the School of Loretto in El Paso. The interview went well. While chatting and responding to her questions, I remembered to sit up straight, with my feet firmly on the floor, just like a ‘lady’. However, being only 4’11”, my feet don’t always reach the ground, even when sitting. So, at one point, I crossed my legs with my feet dangling a bit in the air.
A few minutes later, the interview finished, I inhaled a deep breath of relief and started back to my own office. Just as I stepped outside the door, I noticed something strange with my shoes. One shoe kept ‘flapping’. It was hard to walk with my pride intact until I reached my office. There, I took a good look at my shoes. One of the soles was almost clean off the shoe! “Oh, no! These were brand-new shoes!”
Embarrassed.
“Mother!” I gasped into the phone, telling her what happened. “No! No puede ser. That can’t be. They were new. I never wore them.” “How long, Mother! How long did you have them in the closet?”
I did not get the job. I stayed in my beloved San Antonio. I remained a ‘teacher’ for adults. Irony? Don’t let anyone discourage you. I also decided to throw away any shoes in my closet that had not seen the light of day or a floor in a long time.
And you know what? I am so grateful to my Mamí. She tried her best, as on many occasions before. Just maybe, because of her, I remained in town, close to my family, where I always want to be. And, consequently, because of that incident, I always check out my ‘soles’ with every new venture I undertake.
A Lost Sole
By: Lan
Earlier today, I went with Cynthia and a few of the SOLE SISTERS team to the Senior Source to collect stories. Being fluent in Vietnamese, I was asked to translate any interviews or stories that came along from the Vietnamese seniors. The lady, Xuan, was a very gentle and petite woman who chose her words carefully and had an air of grace about her that had me sitting up just a little bit straighter. But I could see a spark in her eyes, which grew brighter as the interview progressed, that gave me a glimpse of the feisty woman that she once was in her younger years. The young woman who left behind her job as a teacher and came over to the States, working at a hotel to get by. The very first shoes that she bought here after saving up, were a pair of high heels. She loved high heels because they made her taller and they were fun and exciting. She said that the shoes here were more durable than the sandals that she wore in Vietnam – she loved them.
Growing up, my mother always told my sister and me stories of her childhood in Vietnam. Her family left the country in ’75 and it was their journey overseas to the States that has stayed with me all these years. Their departure was quick, leaving very little time for packing personal possessions. Somewhere over the ocean, on their way to the Philippines, my grandfather tossed a suitcase full of money and family trinkets over the side of the boat. At this point in the story, I always had to ask why? She said it was because in that moment, having been forced to flee the only home he had ever known and heading towards a future so distant and foreign, he saw no value in money, or toys, or jewels – there would be no reason to bring them. So this was how I always pictured the people of my country leaving – hundreds of boats bobbing amidst the waves, floating through a sea of memories left behind and lost to the waters forever.
After growing up watching my grandfather become more and more bitter about the years spent away from his beloved country, I never even gave a second thought towards what the Vietnamese people might have discovered in their new lives. I focused on the things that were left behind – favorite shoes, lucky trinkets, shiny rings – thinking that things left behind are things that are lost forever. I almost missed the things that my people found here to move forward with; the new lives that they forged in memory of the ones left behind on the shores of Vietnam.
Somewhere down the road, lost soles are replaced by new soles – but there are never any forgotten soles.
Xuan Pham with Lan
Solely Me
By: Li-Meng Db
Li-Meng is from Singapore – she is currently studying at Hong Kong University and is a professional and highly successful model.
Every time I go to the movies, I walk past a trendy sports shop in Pacific Place mall. I wouldn’t know if the employees there recognize me, but they might – seeing as I always go in to admire their exotic sneakers, high-tops and the odd sports-inspired high heel. Once in a while I’ll try a pair on, but I usually look in the mirror and decide, “next time”.
Today, I tried on a pair of black canvas high-top Converse. They are embellished with small silver beads, evenly spaced over the surface of the canvas, a bit like stars in the night sky, you could say. I had been thinking about buying a pair of Converse for quite a while… they somehow seem like a staple in my wardrobe that I had been missing for a long time.
I remember getting rid of my last and first pair, over two years ago when I was clearing out things to be thrown away from my old room. My family was selling the house I had known and loved for the better part of my childhood and I was spending my last Christmas in France, having flown in from Hong Kong where I now live. Attempting to keep the number of moving boxes to a minimum, my parents had told me to discard everything I didn’t need.
When I came to the bottom shelf of my cupboard there was quite a few shoes that I didn’t hesitate to banish: a pair of overused ballerina slippers, tragically out-of-fashion sandals and broken flip-flops among others. I then came to my beloved Converse. I’d almost forgotten about them. Limp and cracked at every bendable corner, they looked tired. The black canvas was faded but I’d replaced the laces on the right side with a sparkly deep green; and the left with a vivid purple. I’d bought them to imitate Japanese street style, which I was very fond of in my mid-teens. The customization didn’t stop there, I can’t recall what I wrote exactly, but every space on the white rubber parts of the shoes were graffiti-ed with whatever things I had found relevant idling on the school picnic benches with a pen and a desire to be different.
Years before I dared to write on them (these shoes had been with me for almost ten) I nearly didn’t dare to buy them. At age twelve, I remember walking into school and to my form room for attendance overwhelmed with waves of excitement as well as fear. I was surely to be criticized by the other girls, including friends (but, friendship at this age can be so tenuous), for “copying” them. The constant struggle to stay afloat in the friendship triangles and circles of my pre and early teen years, in which I was more often than not the one “left out” meant that any choice of self-expression was potentially a risk. What music I liked, what clothes I wore, what movies I thought were cool and even the most trivial thing like how neat I was, could be and would be judged. I was a follower, not a leader. Looking back, this was the most insecure phase of my life in which innocence often brought with it the most painful rejections I can remember to this day. It would take a lot more to hurt me now.
Despite all this, I had mustered the courage to buy the Converse anyway because I thought they, like my Eastpak backpack, were cool and, if things went right, I might fit in a little more. To my surprise, I was complimented on the shoes almost immediately after sitting down next to my friends. The suspense was over and my shoes became my allies and in a way, my friends for years to come.
As I paid for my new pair with my Visa Card, I couldn’t help thinking how much had changed. Well, one thing for sure had stayed the same: my feet were still the same size. You can imagine how awkward I looked having size thirty-nine feet since age ten, but now at twenty-one it appeared I had grown into them. I had also grown into myself as a person. Insecure and teased about my appearance for years and seen as different for being part-Chinese, I would have never dreamed, as a young girl, that I would be using my differences to my advantage working as a model in Hong Kong, where “mixed” people are appreciated in the industry. Once afraid to reveal what I liked to listen to, read or watch, studying Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong now brings challenges in which I have to argue for or against ideas drawing on diverse musical, literary, filmic and artistic sources.
The time that elapsed between my black Converse number one and number two has been a transformative and formative time of my life. Despite being the same design, I can tell you this: the new pair fits a whole lot better.
Sole Searching
By: Judy Dedmon Coyle
Find this article, and the rest of Judy’s Little Black Shoe adventures here!
LBS home again
Our friend and Good News Girl, Cynthia Salzman Mondell, asked me to write about how I feel about my travels with the Little Black Shoe. She’s hard at work on a documentary film called Sole Sisters about women and their relationships with their shoes, and it makes sense that she’d inquire. I’ve said a lot so far about the shoes and how they perform and how my feet feel, but very little about any emotion they evoked.
He played Yellow Rose of Texas for me
How I feel is liberated. To travel for almost a month with a pair of sneakers and one pair of shoes is new for me. My niece once took a trip around the world with only a pair of flip-flops, but I have old feet with issues. This is the first trip I’ve taken in years with fewer than four pairs of shoes. Previous attempts to travel without sneakers have ended badly: Blisters, sore toes, aching feet, legs and ankles, and once, a broken foot.
The result of my exercise is not that in the future I will travel with one pair of shoes because I can, it’s that if I travel with four pairs of shoes, one pair need not be sneakers. Big boxy sneakers suck up suitcase space even when stuffed with socks and vitamin jars. Merrell’s Barefoot shoe is tiny, light, and wedgeable, leaving room for cute flats and a great pair of platform sandals.
I learned a fair amount about the LBS in our time together. I find them most comfortable for hikes and long walks with a medium sport sock. They’re fine without socks for strolling, shopping, traveling, and driving. Socks keep them dry in the rain, warm when it’s cold, and, surprisingly, cooler in steamy weather. Sponge them down if they get muddy and they’ll look new again. Lightweight and compact enough to slip into your handbag to wear if your heels start feeling too high.
It’s a good shoe and one I’ve enjoyed testing. I plan to take them on my next trip to push just a little harder and see what else they can do.
LBS on beach at St-Malo
Worn Soles
By: Dani Mirth
Although I always have multiple pairs of shoes on my shoe rack, 95% of the time I have on my feet the same pair of shoes which I wear until they are so worn out, that the holes are more than obvious. But what made them so special that I reached for them, again and again? Each pair of those worn-out shoes was my favorite because they, in their own sense, were so accurately representative of me that sometimes they became less of just plain footwear and more of an extension of myself – the existence of all the other pairs was deemed irrelevant.
I have never even thought about sharing the stories about my shoes. Those who know me would think that I am a girl who never really thinks about shoes, let alone the stories that they have to tell. I admit that a year ago, that would have been true. A year ago, my memories that dealt with anything even slightly shoe-related were very few, and very far in between.
One of my most unforgettable memories took place during a trip to China. Cue the flashes of an exotic culture filled with beautiful women in their glamorous dresses and expensive shoes. But through the fog of scented oils and night market lights, there is a memory of a single pair of black fabric slip-ons, so caked in dirt that the color appeared a grayish brown. The shoes were not torn or filled with holes and they were actually very well kept, despite being very old as indicated by the indentations of the toes over worn soles. The owner of these shoes appointed herself as my tour guide on the 10-kilometer hike that was the Great Wall of China. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much pain her feet were going to be in by the end of the trek – those shoes did not look like they were made to hike. I thought to myself, “if I were her, wearing those shoes and seeing the long journey ahead of me while in these shoes, would it be worth it?”
At first, she walked alongside me – always keeping pace and stopping each time that I paused to take pictures of the majestic scenery. I didn’t question or dismiss her company, as she didn’t attempt to intrude into my space. I had thought that she would have given up as soon as she recognized the look of a poor student, unable to buy any of the souvenirs that she carried. I was wrong – those well-worn slip-ons continued on beside me.
Now, despite being fit, young, and in my pair of, specifically-made-for-walking-sneakers, our footsteps were no longer in sync by the third kilometer. I started to make stops to rest, picture taking long forgotten as the roller coaster-like design of the Great Wall began to take its toll on me. But the pair of slip-ons was still there in my line of sight. They would alternate between being in front of me during the steep rises, acting as a focus and goal of sorts, to being right beside me during the sudden descents, ready to assist if I were to slip. No matter where those shoes were, they remained steady and in pace as if they walked along some sort of innate rhythm.
Half way through the hike, we began to exchange stories. My guide told me, in her broken English, about the family of three young children that she had back home. She was hoping to make some money here selling to tourists, as the farming had been bad the last couple of seasons and she wasn’t making enough to feed her kids. She was just into her late twenties, but the struggles of her life weighed heavily on her looks and were reflected in her eyes. About five hours later, we finally finished. I dug around in my pockets and gave her about $20 – all the money I had at the time. I didn’t want to buy anything because after those 10 kilometers, the mere thought of carrying even a small trinket those few hundred feet to the tour bus felt like a Herculean task. She kept insisting that she couldn’t just take the money and I finally gave in, buying a bottle of cold water to drink. I studied closely as she started back towards the direction we had just come from. The black slip-ons carried on steadily and even appeared to be going at a lighter and faster pace. I stared ahead at her navigating along the stony path – winding over the rises and falls. I wasn’t sure if she was on her way home or going back to become someone else’s self-appointed guide. The thought crossed my mind once again: “Was it worth it?” I remembered smiling, as I already knew the answer to that.
The Great Wall of China - you can just see my shoes, and my guide's (on the far left) slip-ons
The Shoe Code
By: Lan
Do you ever catch yourself sizing someone up, or reading into their personality based on a quick glance at their shoes? Admit it, we’ve all done it – people-watching is the new HBO. We don’t set out to judge or make assumptions; it’s just human to do so before reason takes over and gives us a slap on the wrist for jumping to conclusions about the unassuming stranger.
Last Thursday, I found myself in Addison, TX at Group Dynamix, an indoor team-building facility, for the second ExxonMobil CSJP seminar. I also found myself doing the above-mentioned, people-watching. Clearly, as it was only 9AM, my reasoning and sensibility had yet to wake up and kick in. The week before, all 60 interns had received emails reminding us about the meet, as well as emphasizing that we remember to wear close-toed shoes. In my mind, close-toed shoes plus an indoor facility that involved a rock-climbing wall and ropes course meant athletic shoes. Of course, ever since I started working with Media Projects on this SOLE SISTERS project, I’ve been more conscious of the shoes around me than ever before. So it should really be no surprise at all that when “people-watching,” I was focused on their shoes. Imagine my surprise when, in the middle of catching up with some other interns, I caught sight of some newcomers arriving in ballet flats and Converse.
Immediately, I came to the conclusion that they had either:
A) Not read the email thoroughly and did not know that we were in for a day of rolling around on mats and hanging from the ceiling in harnesses
B) Were just one of those people that dressed according to their own code, all the time, or
C) Didn’t own athletic shoes
And the list could go on, but let’s just end it there and say that I was well on my way to assuming I knew what these people were like based off of the shoes that they showed up in.
Needless to say, a few hours of running around pretending to be jeeps, cowboys, and pterodactyls later, my tune had changed. As we worked together in order to cross great “chocolate rivers” and forged paths through the tumultuous “Amazon rainforest,” barriers fell away and we started to get to know each other. By noon, we were working together seamlessly to get through every obstacle and finish every challenge. As we ate lunch, I came to the realization that I couldn’t group people together based on what they walked in wearing. I couldn’t say that those who were in flats acted in this manner, while the sneaker-clad behaved like that. Really, seeing as I work on the SOLE SISTERS project almost daily and have read through numerous stories about identity through shoes on the SOLE SISTERS website, I don’t know why I didn’t reach this conclusion sooner.
It is the person that wears the shoes; the shoes do not wear the person. Our shoes are merely an outward representation of how we want to appear, and we can pick and choose as we please, but they do not define us. We define who we are as we walk down our paths in life; the shoes are merely there to help us rise that extra inch and look fabulous along the way.
Young Idea Sparks Hope for All Ages
Keepsakes of her mother
Rebecca Young, from Austin, TX, shares with SOLE SISTERS her multi-faceted love of shoes. “Shoes make me feel feminine, ladylike, and sexy. My love for shoes manifested into an impressive collection of over 100 pairs, with many still brand new and in their original box.” Love for beautiful shoes stems from love for the people wearing them – in Rebecca’s case, it was her mother. Her mother passed away when Rebecca was only 5 years old, leaving behind her shoes. “My aunts saved them for me. I so value these shoes, and I understand even more about how our shoes are more than an accessory.”
What happened that made you want to design your own shoes?
The nightmare started about 14 years ago when routine a bunion surgery performed on my left foot went terribly wrong. Thereafter, every step I took sent waves of extreme pain across the ball of my foot. Five corrective surgeries helped to lessen the discomfort, but could not repair the damage, loss of blood flow, bone marrow and cartilage, along with advanced arthritis. Much of my time was spent at home healing and talking to the foot daily, soon naming it Flipper. Flipper now requires a larger shoe than the right and as a result, I have spent a lot of money on custom-made orthotics – some costing more than my Taryn Rose shoes.
Let me paint this picture for you: I wear business suits on a daily basis. I used to coordinate them with dress shoes and cute heels of varying textures, materials, patterns, and prints. Now, in comparison, these orthotics are not that stylish and have even caused some people to do a double take!
Sole to Soul Sisters (girlfriends) were my saviors. Through a rotating schedule, they have taken care of me by grocery shopping, cooking, doing the laundry and running errands. They held my hand through trying moments, aided me up and down stairs when “no weight bearing” was an obligation, and located an electronic scooter to give me a sense of independence when I was finally able to return to work.
When you couldn’t wear the shoes in your closet any longer how did you feel?
I have a closet full of feminine shoes that I can no longer wear. Not only has this impacted my morale, but daily attire also. The slacks and pants that once fit beautifully have since been hemmed by a number of inches – not an inexpensive affair. Having stopped exercising due to the surgeries and constant discomfort in the ball of Flipper the Foot, this inevitably led to weight gain – pants, skirts and even shirts have become terribly uncomfortable. So now, when I look into my closet not only am I unable to wear over 100 pairs of shoes, I can also no longer wear my everyday clothes.
How Oprah inspired me
Some years ago I came across the Vocation Vacation in an Oprah magazine and cut out the article for keep sake. After talking with a friend, I finally decided to check out the website where I soon discovered that there was a Vocation Vacation for shoe designing – I couldn’t believe it! It was then that I began looking into designing my own shoes, so here I am. I’m only 40 years old – I should have the rest of my time ahead to work, play and enjoy this wonderful life.
How was the experience studying with Tamera?
Rebecca (right) with Tamera Lyndsay of The Shoe College
Life changing! Tamera is amazing! She is a fabulous designer, who is so personable and giving that she broke down all the steps into easy to follow instructions. I gained hands-on experience in cutting, creating and inserting eyelets, screwing in heels and making patterns – it was amazing. Tamera showed me that it is possible to create my own shoes, but as with anything, it will require practice to find my own unique style and identity. She also showed me that you do not have to go broke while practicing – fantastic hints and tips! She discussed marketing, packaging, day-to-day operations, finding my niche, goals to consider, relationships with manufactures and suppliers, AND she will respond to my email inquiries after I return home to provide support and encouragement.
Where are you going with it?
I have met with numerous women who also have foot problems and the consensus is the same: “I wish I could find some comfortable stylish shoes”. I found inspiration in what these women were saying and was determined to find a solution. Since returning home to Austin, I have begun to experiment, shop, locate supplies, and set up a workshop in my living room. I have my sister’s sewing machine and though I don’t know how to use it, my first sewing class is sometime next week! I have started attending conferences and meetings for entrepreneurs and startups, as well as researching all the brand names of shoes that DO accommodate orthotics. I have a couple of doctors showing a lot of interest in investing, and they now follow up with me to ask how the “shoe biz” is going.
A new step forward
Rebecca and Flipper flying home!
On the plane returning to Austin, Texas, I realized I had a permanent smile on my face, full of joy and life. I kept smiling and have been smiling ever since. So I ordered a beverage and told Mike (my seat neighbor) my story. Mike is retired and thought that was awesome, he even took a picture of Flipper looking out the airplane window! Well our interaction caught the attention of the flight attendant, who finally came and inquired as to what we were celebrating, so I told her what I did and was going to do. Before the plane landed she came by took my credit card, swiped it, then while smiling shared “I only charged you for one Bev” she then gave me a SW Airlines napkin with her name and email address on it and said ”I would love to see your shoe designs, our feet always hurt us in this job!” Mike stated, “You just got a customer!”
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