Last winter, I wrote an article about patriotic spending: buying goods that are made right here at home. Soft Star Shoes was one of the featured companies. Because it was busy season, we put off an interview. Now, I'm happy to welcome Soft Star co-owner Larkin Holavarri. Share with us a bit of company history, Larkin.
Soft Star Shoes was started in 1984 by Tim Oliver and his wife Jeannie, after a futile search for good quality, soft shoes for their baby daughter. At that time, stiff, white shoes with laced ankle support were still the "mode" and the Olivers saw the market for a healthier, more natural alternative. For almost 20 years, Tim made shoes and sold them through craft fairs and wholesale catalogs.
I came to the company in 2005 when I
learned my friend Tricia had approached Tim about purchasing Soft Star.
I knew Tricia had been actively looking for several years for a small
manufacturing company to buy, and when she told me about Soft Star, it really
appealed to me. At the time, Tricia and I both worked at Hewlett
Packard as engineers.
I was newly pregnant with my first son and had been doing a lot of thinking about raising a family while working at a large corporation. I wanted my work and family life more integrated and was attracted by the direction she was going. I approached Tricia about joining her in the purchase of Soft Star as a business partner. Lucky for me, Trish said "yes" and we bought Soft Star together. Tim has stayed on because he loves the company; he was just tired of being a one-man show.
Trish and I are both raising families (between us there are four children under six) that are very integrated into our work. In the last four years, we have had three babies in the shop learning to crawl and walk and talk. It's a pretty special situation. And, at the same time, we have managed to keep Soft Star healthy and growing as a business.
Today, Soft Star sells our handmade shoes to over 35 countries and specializes in selling direct to our customers, who often designs their own shoes by choosing the colors and adornments. We are one of a handful of shoe companies that still manufacture in the USA. It is often challenging to find materials or equipment for our workshop as the craft has almost disappeared here. It is so fun when we run into an old "shoe dog", who shares with us the techniques and tricks that are otherwise lost.
What have you learned from these "shoe dogs"?
Mainly, how to pay attention to details and making the shoes correctly. Quality is the most important thing. I feel pride in being one of the last shoemakers left in the USA and have no intentions of taking our manufacturing overseas. It feels good at the end of the day to package up beautiful shoes made with your own hands that morning.
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