Shoes! My First Order!

After I had made a few pairs of shoes for my oldest son, many people in my mom group started to take notice. I got several compliments, which I'll be honest, made me feel a lot better about the quality of the work I had done on them. Even more to my surprise, one of the moms in the group wanted some for her own son. I was excited about the opportunity, but unsure because sizing and sewing for other kiddos was not in my original plan. But, hey, why not?

I lent her the practice pair of shoes to see how they worked for her kiddo just to check sizing. Similar to Noah, they fit, but a bit too closely and the mom wanted some shoes a little bit bigger. The worked out great because I had already made my kiddo's second pair at that time and had the pattern for the next size up. She also loved the material that I had used for the practice shoes so much, that she wanted some with that fabric as well as a pair like my own son's. Two pairs! In the mean time, she wanted to know if she could keep the practice pair of shoes (assuming I wasn't attached to them) because her son loved them so much and didn't want to take them off! I told her yes.

Navy gingham/Navy

Blue & Khaki striped/Tan
Just like my kiddo's shoes

When I went out to find materials for the shoes, I came upon some navy gingham which I just had to get. I almost liked it better than the navy striped material that I had used on the practice shoes so I picked some up. I figured I'd make up a pair and if she still wanted the striped material, I'd give the gingham shoes to my kiddo as his next pair. Turns out, she liked the gingham, so it all worked out (we also discovered that the dye on the striped material used on the practice shoes bled a bit and turned her son's feet blue - hopefully this material wouldn't do the same). I made up the second pair of shoes to match the ones I'd previously made for my son and found that with each pair I made, I could make them faster and better.

I was very happy with how the shoes turned out. I wanted to make sure they had some good packaging too. I placed the shoes in a quart sized resealable freezer bag, but I have to admit, I wasn't thrilled with the printing that was on the bag to write your food contents on it, but it was the best I could find from what I had at home. I also printed out some cards to insert into the bags with the shoes that had a description of the shoes (size and color) as well as "Beth's Baby Boutique" and my contact information and webpage. Oh, and let's not forget the polyester stuffing to keep the shape of the shoes. I love the way the finished packaged product looked - with the exception of the printing on the bag. I'll have to see what else I can find for future use.

Packaged and ready to go

When I delivered the shoes to the mom,  when I next saw her at a mommy meeting, another mom saw them and got excited. She asked me if I was making and selling them now and if I had any girl shoes. My response? "Um, I guess..., I mean, I could. I don't have anything in stock..." Nice, real tactful. The truth was, I hadn't thought about making them beyond that, but in that moment, upon seeing that there was interest, I figured I could. It really was a matter of making sure I had patterns of the appropriate sizes and if I could figure out a sizing system. My next project was set.

Check back for my next update about my first pair of girl shoes!