Where do your passions stem from?

Having launched my own footwear brand recently, where the shoes incorporate my own artwork, it is clear that I have a passion for designing and allowing women to wear beautiful shoes. It makes me happy.

But where did this overwhelming passion stem from? For me, it came from an early age.

My Mum was a complete shoe addict and had a vast array of heels in every height, colour and material imaginable. I remember her sneaking shopping bags housing these precious goods past my Dad so he wouldn’t see that she had bought yet another pair. In every colour.

So, for me, shoes were a naughty secret. They sparkled, they made a loud clickety-clack sound as I attempted to walk in them (it was the 80’s so skyscraper stilettos were very in!) and they seemed to make my Mum very happy.

My grandad was an avid painter, using oils to paint on pieces of hardboard. His collections of water lilies and flowers from his garden always made me smile. His use of colour, the thickness of the paint on the board, the intoxicating smell of oils in the kitchen, where he would paint looking out onto his maize of a garden. It feels nice to know his passions are in my genes and also on my feet.

Looking back it makes me realise how impressionable we are from a young age and how my love for shoes and art has stayed with me all these years. It’s pushed me to do the job I LOVE, every day.

What inspires our passions never leaves us. It is deep rooted, and at some point, those passions and desires for doing what we love, come to the surface. Or maybe it has always been there. In the jobs we do, to the life choices we make. Embracing what we are passionate about allows us to follow our dreams.

Even today, when I try on a new pair of beautifully crafted heels, I still feel like the little girl in the grown up shoes.

What are you passionate about and where do those passions stem from??