26 Dec Shoes of Prey
How did it all start?
She never thought she would be in a shoe business. It all started with her passion for shoes. Jodie always loved shoes with style and especially those skyscraper heels with just the perfect colors!
Jodie Fox, a native of Australia, is the Co-founder of Shoes of Prey, a custom-made shoe company. She was a classically trained ballerina who began her career as a lawyer. She quickly learned her dislike in practicing law and entered advertising. Soon after, she decided to start her own business.
Jodie was always searching for the “perfect” shoes but the shoes she found came with imperfections – wrong color, design flaws, and more. Her diligent search for the right shoes led to a shoemaker overseas who had the magic touch. These were custom-made shoes just like the bespoke clothing (a fancy term for custom-made clothes, revered and enamored by the fashionistas out there). With the magic touch of the shoemaker and Jodie’s magic creation, came these amazingly unique shoes. Jodie came back with these fabulous shoes and the rest is history.
In 2009, Jodie started Shoes of Prey with two co-founders (Mike and Michael) in Sydney, Australia. All met at the law school they were attending. Mike is a former Google engineer and Michael was an account executive with operational and retail experience. Shoes of Prey recently relocated to Santa Monica to better serve their “happy” American customers. Jodie visited Santa Monica a few times and fell in love with the city – could you blame her? Her affinity towards Santa Monica became a reason for relocating the business. And the support she was getting from the U.S. was significant.
How does it work?
Here is how you can get a pair of Shoes of Prey. You can go on the website, www.shoesofprey.com or go to the store in Newport Beach at the Fashion Island. You will be able to choose the leather, the toe shape, and the shoe shape, and you can even put your initials. For weddings, you can put the date of the wedding to memorialize the special day. You can be as creative and the best part is that this will be your “special shoes” that no one else has. The whole process is really fun and Jodie believes that is the reason why there are such loyal customers for the brand. Recently, Jodie was visiting Seattle and learned that you can’t always wear the ballet flats. Hence, long boots are high on their product development radar.
And there is more…
Partnership with Nordstrom’s at Fashion Island and Janie Bryant, the costume designer for Mad Men, mark another milestone for Shoes of Prey. Janie Bryant’s inspirational design paired with Shoes of Prey was a marriage made in heaven.
How about the rise of female entrepreneurs?
Interestingly, Australia is a more female-friendly environment when it comes to business. 62% of business is started by women in Australia. In contrast, only 8% of U.S. startups owned by women is funded. However, when it comes to leadership, only 2.5% of executives is female in Australia and 7% in the U.S. Jodie feels women need to find a better way to be part of the landscape. “It is still unnatural for women to be in the business world which is still very male-dominated,” shares Jodie.
What type of shoes would you be?
Black pointy ballet flats with ankle strap –
“Ask me next week! it may be different…”
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