1996, Baby slippers

In the summer of 1996, Gérard and I took a trip out West with my friends, Adrienne and Doug and their daughter, Eve.

We had planned that at our last stop I would attend a trade show: the San Francisco Gift Fair.

The show was not very inspiring until suddenly, I came to a stand selling the funniest, most delightful, and most colorful baby slippers I had ever seen! Magical designs, all made of soft bright velours!

Ironically, the slippers were made by a small British company from London called Sarah Barker Shoes. I was so excited and wanted to place an order but Gérard thought I was crazy. The baby slippers didn't fit in AT ALL with the rest of the merchandise at Tumbleweed.

Sarah very kindly let me order just a few pairs to try them. I remember it was fewer than the minimum order.

Later, back in Paris, I started to have regrets. I thought about cancelling the order but I didn't have the nerve.

Then the order arrived. I can still see myself unpacking the box in the shop that day. A couple was standing outside, looking in the window. I took out the first pair and held it up for them to see. They exploded with laughter and joy and thumbs up! My intuition had been right!

When Sarah closed her business in 2001, I was devastated.

Then a few years later at a trade show in London, I found the two most amazing baby slipper brands ever!!! Starchild Shoes and Inch Blue. I couldn't decide which brand to get so in the end I bought them both. We sold tons of them until I retired in 2017!

 

Janet Middleton is the wildly rock n'roll designer of Starchild Shoes. With her partner, Steven, they have their own small factory in England where the shoes are handmade. The designs run from sweet to hard rock. And they do adult sizes too!

Inch Blue are handmade in Wales. Great designs for babies and children. For many of my customers, it was the go-to gift for every newborn. Families would come back regularly every time the kids needed the next size up!