Ahhhh here goes... Little Feet's brand new blog! And on that note I would first love to give a little background on who we are, and how we came to be, specifically how it is I the owner came into the Children's Shoe business and why I think that helps to set us apart as a unique Children's Shoe store.
Maybe some have found us through our website; they might have already seen the "About us" section and read a little, or maybe just browsed the selection and have seen the styles we carry for kids and somehow ended up here. Others may have discovered us via one of our social sites, and in following us have experienced snapshots of the Little Feet Shoes store, it's products and our day to day happenings. That's wonderful! Allow me to round out the picture a little and hopefully assure you that you can feel confident trusting our store as one of the many qualified resources for your growing child
Little Feet is a small "mom and pop" store, operated by myself, Darcie Maassen and my Family here in Medford Oregon. I consider this little operation to be mostly my baby, if you'll pardon the pun, so I'll tell you a bit about me.
I grew up in the shoe business. My preschool years were spent goofing around at "ABC Junior Bootery" in San Bruno California. This was a Children's shoe store that my father operated, one very much like Little Feet I feel, in many ways. Those were good times. Highlights for me included playing in the wooden playhouse inside the store that was filled with toys and books. My father had also obtained a little movie booth that played cartoon films of Woody Woodpecker and Friends for a quarter. When I wasn't entertaining myself there I was just observing the actions that my father performed on a daily basis which I quickly tied into the world of Kids shoes. There was that little stool he sat on, where he'd set the child's foot while he took shoes on or off. An instrument that looked like a funny ruler was always near by to take some measurements. When measuring both feet was completed he'd disappear and return with several boxes that he would set out in front of clients, spread on the floor like freshly opened presents. Some goofing and playing by my father always happened too, to ease little ones who were unsure; the infamous, "where's your nose? There's your nose!" trick, and that sort of thing. All those memories stick with me.
My family actually operated various shoe related stores in both Northern and Central California throughout my childhood. We moved to Central California when I was in my early school years. There we shared a business with my Mother's Sister and her family. It was a Sporting Goods store and that's where I first became more familiar with the nuts and bolts of retail in general. I can recall earning quarters unpacking and hanging swimwear, and checking in boxes of Wilson and Spalding Baseball mitts. My favorite part was always stocking the shoe shelves. I became intimate with all manner of athletic swooshes from Nike to Puma, and that's also where I first traced with my finger the outline of a star on the Converse All Stars. We didn't have enough room for all the stock in the store so some items were stored in our garage at home. I recall having to weave around shelves full of "Old School"(only they were new back then) Vans, with checkerboard patterns, and color blocking schemes. My parents put their all into this business, and were known in the small town we lived in as THE place to find anything and everything athletic. You could also count on my parents and Aunt and Uncle delivering the best service around and that was a big part of our store's reputation. It seemed like wherever we would go, people would stop and say hello, chat, and inevitably talk Sports and Sportswear. I always loved being a big part of the community. There was always a friend, whether at the Bank, the Donut Shop, or the Grocery store.
Later we moved back North to San Jose and it was there that my father returned to the trusted name of Stride Rite, opening a couple of stores with a partner. That meant more days, earning more quarters, stocking, listening, and learning the business. The store was thriving and it was a time when many parents were really interested in making sure they had the best shoes for their children in their early development years. We had several distinguished clients at the time that I can recall, including a couple of players from the nearby 49ers football team, including Bubba Paris, and Ronnie Lott.
When I was old enough to work for an actual real wage, I tried out many different jobs, but you can be sure that one of those early experiences was working at a Stride Rite store in the mall a bit closer to our home, under the direction of my fathers Associate.
Fast forward to my adult life and I can tell you I never got away from retail. In my early adult years I had moved to Southern Oregon and I got a job at the local department store in, you guessed it, the shoe department. This time it was Women's shoes though. As a woman, I thoroughly enjoyed being around stacks and stacks of glorious shoes. My closet has never lacked in the footwear department, I will tell you that much. Eventually I became a buyer and spent my full days combing over and learning all about shoes. I wanted to know what it was about each collection that made it special and where those company dollars would be best spent. Over time I have certainly learned the difference between shoddy craftsmanship, and quality. I've realized too that some brands have no depth, while others are built on a reputation of research and development adopting all the features that further enhance the bio-mechanics of the human body. To put it bluntly I have become a shoe Geek, or as I was lovingly called by my peers at the time, "The Shoe Queen". Not a bad title at all!
Eventually the opportunity came about for me to delve into my own enterprise. I have been thrilled to step into a new venture and am even more excited about coming full circle, back into the children's shoe business.
So it is that background that I bring to the table now. Years of experience have shown me many things, not the least of which is this: a child's footwear is the foundation to establishing the walking patterns they will set for life. There is nothing more important than understanding how those small, initially soft and maleable 26 bones, 33 joints and over 100 muscles and tendons contained in the human foot affect the body that they will be supporting for a lifetime. I take my job here very seriously. And I love it. I love Kids. They are so special and trusting of you and me. They are funnier than any comedian and more endearing and heart wrenching than even the best movie. I may not always have every single style out there in stock at any given time, but I always stock what I know to be items I can stand behind, and feel good about sending out the door.
I'm hoping to use this blog as an opportunity to answer questions, enhance your own knowledge, and simply entertain. I can tell you I have TONS of stories. Kids crack me up! And I am grateful to have such a wonderful place to come to every day.
Thank you for listening to my "introduction", and I truly look forward to sharing in the future!
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