I posted a press releasefrom Meghan Cleary regarding the launching of her new line of shoes and then contacted her to see if I could get her on the phone. Lucky for me, I did and she is GREAT! It is always so much fun for me to talk to other individuals who are as passionate and ambitious about doing what they love as I am. We got along famously and I asked her if she would answer some questions in regards to her new line and you can see by her answers that she is excited, as anyone would be ….Please check her out on SNBC and send her some good vibes that all goes well for her, although I don’t think she will need it!   We will have to follow up with her next week to see how everything went!

         The talented, Meghan Cleary entreprenure who now adds footwear designer to her list of titles!                             Photo by Jen Davis

Okay so here it goes:

Julia: When did your obsession with shoes start and at what age did you buy your first pair of high heels?

Meghan:  It started when I was five — check this interview out for the full scoop! missmeghan.com  

I bought my first high heels in highschool for my cousin’s wedding who i was a bridesmaid for– dyed peach satin pumps! oh yeah!

JK:  What are you most excited about with the launch of your new line?

MC: I am so incredibly excited to share my passion for shoes and all the shoe stories women tell me — these two things together fuel my designs!

JK: Who is your target demographic and why will they be excited about your designs?

MC:I just got an email from one of my fans in atlanta georgia Dana, — she is a 42 year old mom of 14 year old twin daughters and she sent me the sweeetst email when they saw the pics of the ankle boots — the 14 year olds thought they were “sexy”,Dana loved them because they weren’t too high and in great colors — and she even wanted to buy a pair for HER mom who is in her late 60′s. So basically, the designs are really appealing to a wide variety of women which makes me so happy.

JK: What is your favorite part of the design process?

MC:One of my favorite parts is when I am sitting a room surrounded by bins and bins full of material cards, tons of lasts and heels, a pile of L’Officele’s and just letting my imagination run wild — thinking up new shapes for the next season collaborating with my line builder who keeps me in check when I say I want to do like 20 styles when we need five! I also love doing market seeing what women are wearing in different cities on the street and out at events — Milan is very different from LA, NYC from Zagreb, and I love to see what women wear on their feet and how they work it.

JK: How many styles does your first line consist of?

MC:We did a signature ankle bootie in three colorways to celebrate SHOPNBC’s Fashion and Beauty week in october, then launching a micro-holiday collection of three ballet flats, a platform pump, shoe clips and sating evening clutches which will be available in December. spring will start being available in March and am doing a lot of amazing high wedge sandals, demi-wedges a lot in faux snakeskin and nudes.

Meghan can add me to the list of fans….I think these booties are great!  Photo by Jen Davis 

JK: What is your goal over the next few months?

I really want to go full steam ahead on the line, get Spring and Fall completed and have a really strong offering for people, keep developing all my TV properties here in Los Angeles.

JK: Who do you look to for guidance and inspiration? You know we all have a few of those!!

MC: I happen to have the most amazing and talented group of friends a girl could ever have. They are all leaders in their field in everything from fashion, media, technology, jewelry, acting, documentary film and they all give me the best advice and inspire me on a daily basis. I come from an Irish Catholic family in Michigan who are all amazing supporters — especially my mom and godmother and cousins, they always tell me to keep on plugging and cheer me on, and my fans from Croatia to China — I always get such positive feedback, people are so excited about the line, about all my doings, and it just inspires me to do my very very best.

JK: What has been the highlight of your career up to this point?

MC:Oh wow, there have been so many from getting a special award at the Italian Footwear Association in MICAM, to covering the Emmy’s for TVGuide Network from a shoe trend perspective, to launching this line. I’ve been really really lucky to travel the world and sit with some of the most talented amazing designers working today, I’ve been fortunate enough to have my book published and sold out, I’ve had so much fun talking to women across the world about their shoes and how they feel in the shoes. It has been an amazing ride so far and launching my line is definitely the fulfillment of a lifelong dream so it is pretty major for me.

JK: If you had one wish regarding your new line, what would it be?

MC: To create a thriving, robust line that women feel and look great it and come back to again and again. It takes a lot to create a brand with longevity – a lot of love, passion, creativity. And I want to be able to say I did that.

JK: What is your favorite high end fashion brand of shoes to date and whos designs do you wear the most?

Jerome Rousseau and Azzedine Alaia and Giuseppe Zanotti

JK: Where and when can we check out your designs???

SHOPNBC

Find out where SHOPNBC is in your neck of the woods by clicking here or watch LIVE online.

Be sure to tune in all weekend to see Meghan!! Times listed below:

Thursday 10/29:

6 AM PST/8 AM CST/9 AM EST

9 AM PST/11 AM CST/12 NOON EST

12 PM PST/2 PM CST/3 PM EST

6 PM PST/8 PM CST/9 PM EST

Friday 10/30:

7 AM PST/9 AM CST/10 AM EST

6 PM PST/8 PM CST/9 PM EST

Saturday 10/31:

6 AM PST/8 AM CST/9 AM EST

5 PM PST/7 PM CST/8 PM EST

7 PM PST/9 PM CST/10 PM EST

Follow Meghan on Twitter for live behind the scenes updates!