EXPERT OPINION

Ever wonder what it would be like to start your own footwear brand? Susie Freedman Tapper, a footwear industry outsider, did. Last year she and her partner Mara Zipursky had a bright idea for an infant shoe line and began working on Sweet Pedtooties. We asked the fledgling entrepreneur to share her adventures, triumphs and missteps with us. This story continues from January.

As we continued our quest to become baby shoe moguls, we quickly realized how little we knew and just how much there was to find out. Not only were we trying to grasp how to run a business, but there was also a footwear industry culture and lingo that we needed to comprehend: Colorway, die-cut, swatches, samples, FOB, MOQ, last. Last? What the heck was a last? Little did we know that, in order to give a shoe its signature shape, one must create a “last,” the form on which a shoe is molded. I thought shoes (at least the soft-soled kind) were simply cut from a pattern, sewn together and somehow, miraculously formed into shape.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly how we started trying to make a prototype shoe. I got a sewing kit for dummies and a used Kentucky Fried Chicken bag to create my pattern. So, I’d cut around the grease stains. No biggie. I consider myself to be pretty adept at detailed handiwork, so I was looking forward to creating our prototype. It quickly became clear that I had no clue what I was doing. In the end, I created some strange, floppy, felt sockette-looking thing. Undeterred and ready for my next attempt, my partner Mara begged me to stop and spare us both the agony of looking at yet another one of my creepy creations. But what else were we supposed to do?

Our shoe guru Brian Scharfstein set us up with the owners of a local shoe company so we could do some brain-picking. These two brothers had gone through the same learning curve just a few years before and were kind enough to impart some of their shoe wisdom. They suggested going to Massachusetts to see one of the only last making companies left in North America. Since then, we’ve found out that most lasts are now made in China and can be made through whichever manufacturer we end up selecting there.

The “last” was not the only tidbit these generous gents had to offer. In order to help get our shoes made the way we want them, the brothers suggested that we hire a shoe designer/developer to draw out the design blueprints, so to speak. Once the last is developed, the manufacturer would then use these drawings and specs to make the shoes.

So, the next item on the agenda became finding ourselves a shoe designer. So… how exactly does one go about doing that? Google? Why not! I Googled and Googled until I came upon the website of a freelance footwear designer named Jessica Good. Her Web site covered the entire process involved in getting a client’s shoe made. She seemed perfect for the job… but (and there always seems to be a but) she lived in London and was not interested in working with clients overseas. But (there’s that word again) she would be more than happy to recommend a designer in North America for anyone interested. Fabulous! So, I shot Miss Jessica a brief email and presto! We got Tara Sugar.

When we first made contact, Tara was in the midst of moving back to New York after designing shoes in London for five years. Since we started working with her, she has helped us understand the shoe development process and has even given us tips on how to deal with manufacturers.

Okay, so we got our designer. Now what? She could easily take our ideas and draw up some designs, lickety-split, right? Not so easy. First, we’d have to figure out our sizing specs, last shape, find our manufacturer, see what leathers were available, and on and on and on… would we ever make it to a fall 2009 launch?

Susie Freedman Tapper is the co-owner of Sweet Pedtooties Inc. Find out more about her soft-soled infant shoes www.sweetpedtooties.com.

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