A Tall Tale

Once Upon a time...

there was a young lady who loved pretty shoes. She wore high heels and low heels, platforms and sandals too. Her shoe collection was filled with a beautiful array of styles, and each pair told a story about where they had been and whom they had seen. Not all of the shoes were expensive. In fact, one of her favorite memories was of her first pair of high heels purchased straight off the clearance rack at a local bargain store. Unfortunately, her jubilance over those delicate navy leather pumps also led to their demise. Who knew a cartwheel could pop a heel off like that? But as she mourned the loss of her very first pair of grown up heels, she vowed to take much better care of her shoes from that moment forward.

As the young lady got older, she began to travel. Despite her young age, she often found herself traveling without her parents. She learned to appreciate the art of packing light and found a tiny black suitcase that soon became her most dependable travel companion. She learned to layer and roll her clothes when packing her suitcase, weaving an intricate pattern of interlocking garments to use up every ounce of available space and minimize wrinkles. For many years, she would individually wrap her shoes in plastic bags to prevent scuffing and keep dirt and germs off of her clothes, but she always felt like she was being so wasteful. Finally, one day, she had had enough and sat down at her drawing board and began to sketch.

First and foremost, she knew she wanted her shoe bag to protect her favorite shoes. This meant she wanted each shoe to have its own compartment so they weren’t rolling around in the same bag scuffing each other up. Like small children horsing around, she didn’t want one to accidentally gash or bruise the other, because it didn’t realize how sharp its worn out taps were. Always conscious of how much space a travel accessory would take up, her next objective was to make the shoes interlock within the bag, the way they do in a shoe box. She was also blissfully aware that shoes came in a myriad of different shapes and sizes… one glimpse into her closet could quickly confirm that. So, she decided on a high performance stretch fabric that would not only stretch to accommodate all different styles, but also be durable enough to prevent tears when the detailing or wear of a shoe caused jagged edges. Being able to throw the bag in the washing machine was a must, and adding a handle was the finishing touch, just in case she needed to tote a spare pair when her arms were full.

The young lady knew her idea was clever, but she was uncertain on how get started. She debated whether or not to try and produce her dream shoe bag, but launching a new product sounded like a scary process. She had so many questions, but an afternoon at the museum would answer the biggest of them all.

Ok, so wearing a pair of patent leather platforms to a museum with marble floors was probably asking for trouble, but as the young lady got dressed that morning to meet her girlfriends at the museum, she couldn’t find an option that looked quite as cute with her outfit. She slipped them on (despite her reservations), grabbed her metro card, and headed out the door. After hours of chatting, walking, and admiring art, the young lady finally cried “uncle,” smack dab in the middle of the ancient statues. She couldn’t look at one more Greek goddess without feeling a sweeping wave of jealousy over their fabulously flat footwear. Her friend started to giggle, then opened up her handbag and removed a perfectly sensible pair of ballet flats. “Bless you child,” she said as she slid on each flat. Soon, her sore feet began to quiet themselves down and she was suddenly struck by the fact that those spare shoes had been hanging out in her friend’s bag… unguarded… mingling with her lipstick and wallet and phone... oh my! After living in the city for several months, the young girl knew plenty of people, both men and women alike, who carried spare shoes with them, but throwing them in any bag without protection seemed silly. Even though co-mingling in Manhattan was often regarded as its own art form, there was no need for her shoe soles and lip plumper to get so intimately acquainted. There had to be a better solution. There was a better solution. Soon thereafter, ShoePax was born.