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FashionBride Interview with Fred Hord from MyGlassSlipper.com
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1. When did you start to find this domain interesting?
After college I ran my Mother’s wedding gown salon. I invested some time in improving the shoe department and it really took off. Within a couple of years I had created MyGlassSlipper.com and had the entire inventory on-line.
Eventually, the shoe department and website were taking all my time so my wife and I purchased the department from my Mother and formed a separate business that only sold wedding shoes.
2. Take us through the first years of your work. Maybe you could tell us what did change in time?
The first year was shaky to say the least. We assumed control of the business six weeks before 9/11. After that, the bottom fell out and nobody bought anything for months. It was January before things picked up and many, many more months before we were out of the red. One year later we moved into a new location.
Another year later we opened a New York location. The next year we purchased our competitor, BridalShoes.com. The next year we opened a store in NJ. And finally in 2007, our fifth year, we purchased PromShoes.com.
Each of the first five years we saw 20%-30% growth. Also in 2007 we closed our Virginia store and distribution center and moved to Missouri where quality staff was more readily available and real estate was more affordable. The last few years have proved more challenging but we have become a better company because of it.
3. Why should a bride-to-be choose your products?
As any bride-to-be will find, there aren’t that many different bridal shoes out there. Most sites carry much of the same products. In addition to those styles, MyGlassSlipper.com works with designers to create exclusive styles that aren’t otherwise available.
We also keep good sellers in production for as long as brides continue to buy them. We offer custom shoe dyeing as well. Our staff is familiar with the bridal industry where as the phone reps at the giant shoe websites cannot help with or answer bridal related questions.
Unfortunately, no matter how many angles of the shoe you photograph, the customer will have to try the shoes on in order to make a decision.
We have recently launched video reviews so the customer can see the shoe in motion and hear how the person wearing the shoe felt about it.
5. Last but not least, do you have any advice for FashionBride readers?
I will stick to the bridal shoe topic for my advice, “Don’t over analyze the shoes”. Don’t examine the shoes under a microscope to ensure perfection or you will always be disappointed.
It is easy to find a flaw in a shoe made of white satin. Your wedding shoes really take a beating during the wedding so keep in mind what you are going to do to these shoes before you try to find a flawless pair. How long do you think it takes Gallagher to choose a watermelon?
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Hot stuff: Wholesale Aviator Sunglasses 643
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These aviators have the classic design but with a more modern feel. They come in assorted colors and have metal frames and spring hinges. A great style for both men and women. Come check out the new style of wholesale aviators sunglasses w/glass lenses, only on wholesalediscountsunglasses.com .
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Steal that style: Bojana Reljic
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Pictorial of Bojana Reljic by Ishi, Haute Canadiana for Flare Canada March 2010)
Elmer Olsen’s Bojana Reljic is also coming off a stellar show season. She followed it up with a slew of runways in Europe, including Yohji Yamamoto, Giambattista Valli and Kris Van Assche.
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Pepe Botella 2011 Bridal Collection
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Today, the Pepe Botella philosophy is continued by his daughter Lucía, who grew up amidst veils, tulle and silk in the family’s Alicante studio. In 2000, the young designer presented her own first collection. A fan of ivory and natural silk, Lucía Botella is nonetheless a natural innovator and in 2005, her gowns began to include colour. Every collection is different in an ongoing quest to express the essence of femininity.
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Maria Karin 2011 Bridal Collection
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Stocked in only the most luxurious boutiques throughout the world including New York, Milan and Paris, this stunning collection uses only the finest silks and laces with all gowns hand made in Portugal.
Recently described by the fashion editors of Bridal Buyer magazine “Maria Karin has revolutionized the concept of fashion in the European market with a young and elegant style…”
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Jenny Yoo 2011 Bridal Collection
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“What is the collective vision of the bride and her bridesmaids? In a time where tradition is emphasized, weddings as a result, have become more intimate, holding a special meaning for both the couple and those who care for them. I have created a special line of dresses that evolve with the footsteps of today’s changing times.” — Jenny Yoo .
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Veromia 2011 Couture Bridal Collection
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Jason Jennings is 34 and has been designing bridal, bridesmaid and evening gowns for many years. After graduating from The London School of Fashion in 1995 he went on to gain his BA Honours at Central St Martins in 1997.
Jason then went to work for David Feilden where he stayed for 8 years honing his talent for designing gorgeous gowns whilst also teaching at The London School of Fashion and Central St Martins. From there he went on to create his own label ‘Jason Jennings’ until Veromia snapped him up as their designer. Being very passionate about his designs and being male, Jason understands how a woman should look, and pulls this into his designs, creating a well fitting, sexy, yet feminine look to his stunning gowns.
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FashionBride Interview with Nicole Joy Leibman
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We start the week with Nicole Joy Leibman, the designer behind Little Purple Cow, a brand that will make your wedding attire look stunning with perfect matching jewelry. Enjoy and discover your way to become a FashionBride!
1. When did you decide to become a designer and why did you find this domain interesting?
Everything started at the beginning of the recession when I lost my job practicing law. Looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened because it led me to creating this line. Basically, I was playing around with some ornate spoons that I found in my family’s basement. I have always known since a child that I wanted to pursue something creative in the design field, but it was never clear whether it was clothes, or jewelry. I think the passion I found for designing jewelry was more or an organic progression.
2. Talk us trough the first years of you work. Maybe you could tell us what did change in time? Are your designs different from the very beginning?
The first piece I worked on was a spoon bracelet. It took about 3 or 4 tries to finally come up with the “Spoonlet” design we have now. The very first version we had was a huge spiral and looked like a giant ring but we soon realized that you couldn’t get it over your wrist–a huge goof on our part!
As far as the rings, we based them off of what was done in the 1970’s, which seems novel to the younger generation even though they were so popular back then. My father really wanted to make ours more unique than the traditional spiral that he remembered. That’s why a few of our rings actually curve up. Our newest rings are even edgier and bigger. They go across multiple fingers which I think adds a really interesting element. And they also work with the current trends which call for bigger statement pieces.
3. Why should a bride-to-be choose one of your jewelry?
I think we offer something truly unique that bride’s cant find anywhere else. Our custom pieces are soo personal that they really add a special touch. In addition, we try and make it easy for the brides to choose their pieces so we help take finding bridesmaids gifts off their never-ending checklist. As a bonus of course, the pieces are so affordable that bride’s love that!
4. Do tell us a bit more about your inspiration sources for your collection.
My two nieces have really been the inspiration for the storybook ring collection. After I had started the spoon rings, I was over eating dinner and saw their cute little plastic baby spoons with Dora the Explorer and the Disney Characters and thought “What if they had silver spoons with these characters?”. I started sourcing old silver children’s spoons with different characters and it just seemed to work so well. These spoons had so much detail — a lot of them have the characters name written out – that they’ve been a huge success.
5. Do you also work with brides or you just try to give them the best of your designs in your collections?
Originally, we wanted the line to be a kind of Netflix for jewelry—customers would send us their silverware and we would turn it into jewelry, and set it back. As time went on, we realized that there were a number of problems with this as a business model. The concept evolved into the collections we have now, which work great as bridesmaids’ gifts. Even still, we wanted to keep true to the original idea and leave an option open for special, customized products. This is the service we now offer as wonderful bridesmaid’s gifts or mementos for the brides themselves.
The first bride I worked with was a childhood friend. I met with her mother and we went through a number of family heirlooms and settled on a sterling baby toothbrush. We then picked out different stones that would go with the bridesmaid’s dresses. What’s nice is that the bride or her mother gets to keep the original heirloom-turned-ring as a family keepsake. All the bridesmaids get a replica of the final piece so they have something that’s’ so personal, its actually like a piece of the bride. Unlike a lot of other bridesmaid’s gifts, the rings are fashionable and cool pieces they actually want to wear.
6. Have you got any designs you’ve created and that has a very special meaning for you? Can you describe it or can show us a picture?
I’ve got lots of things coming out, but I’ll have to wait to share them. I think the Remington Bibb was a really big moment for me. I had the concept for the typewriter necklace for the longest time in my mind that it was almost a year from when I had the idea until I found the typewriter. And then the feeling six months after that when it was finished was just so satisfying, that I was able to create such a one-of-a-kind piece that existed literally only in my imagination.
7. From your point of view, how should a perfect bride look like?
Like the best, and most beautiful version of herself.
8. And tell us what would you give her and, maybe, other brands can’t.
The personalization. You can get a lot of things engraved or monogrammed, but our custom pieces really offer something so nostalgic and sentimental. When you wear it you know there is so much meaning and significance behind it. As a bridesmaid, you know that you share such an intimate piece of this bride’s past and future.
9. Last but not least, do you have any advice for FashionBride readers?
Don’t lose site of the big picture in all the planning. Its not about the planning and the details, its about the person waiting for you at the end of the aisle.
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Pepe Botella 2011 Bridal Collection
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Today, the Pepe Botella philosophy is continued by his daughter Lucía, who grew up amidst veils, tulle and silk in the family’s Alicante studio. In 2000, the young designer presented her own first collection. A fan of ivory and natural silk, Lucía Botella is nonetheless a natural innovator and in 2005, her gowns began to include colour. Every collection is different in an ongoing quest to express the essence of femininity.
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Steal that style: Wesley Sneijder and Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen
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Dutch footballer Wesley Sneijder married model and Dutch TV presenter Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen in a ceremony in Tuscany that could only be described as a fashion own goal.
Yolanthe, while unquestionably beautiful in white, wore a dress over-the-top as it was with layers, hoops and lace. And Wesley’s choice of outfit was almost as breathtaking as some of the fouls perpetrated by his Netherlands side in their World Cup final defeat by Spain. [ via dailymail.co.uk]
