I love Elizabeth and her red boots! So cute and what that reminds me of is how as children we don’t care nearly as much what people think about our taste in fashion! I love that! We should all be more like that as adults!! Also, I agree that the trade shows are pretty dull lately. I know everyone wants to save money, but Ken brings up a great point….isn’t there ideas to make them more exciting??? I know when I brought two models with me to the show back in February and had them dressed up in my Julia Veli designs while they walked around and talked to people certainly got a lot of attention! If you want to attract new opportunities to yourself and company you should think of a fun, interactive way to engage the attendees! I am sure you can think of SOMETHING!!!   Now that Ken came to this realization, I wonder what he will come up with!! I am sure he will keep us posted and  I look forward to hearing the story!! -Julia

Declaring War on Dull

Last week, I had an epiphany.   I have decided to to declare war on dull.   My declaration of war is derived from two events…Seeing my daughter in her red boots, and the NJ Children’s shoe show last week.

Pictured above, is Twig’s newest(and currently only) lifestyle shot.  I ordered a pair of these Twig boots from our factory and they arrived right around the first week of August.   When I showed them to Elizabeth, her eyes became as large as her smile.   Elizabeth insisted on wearing them NOW!   Mind you, the words August, boots and Houston are never used in the same sentence.   However, Elizabeth was so taken by this product, that despite a temperature of over 100, she insisted on wearing these when we went to the grocery store later that day.   It was quite a scene, to see a little girl dressed in shorts, a tank top and these red patent leather boots.   Obviously, Elizabeth was quite proud of her kicks and wore them with no thought whatsoever of any level of appropriateness.   The smiles she received from anyone who saw her were numerous and unremitting.   I must admit, I really admired her moxie.   Her boots are certainly not dull.

White attending the NJ kids show last week, there was a palatable absence of something.   True, the crowd did seem a bit thinner, and yes, there were a few less vendors than the last show, but still something was amiss.  Back to school was better than last, but something was not quite right.  Later that evening, a retailer helped me realize what was askew.  Over a beer, we were discussing the show and the fact that “something” seemed to be absent.   My friend then uttered the following “You know, this show is dull”.   That’s it!   I had to agree.   I asked him to elaborate and he told me that the product was dull, the format was dull, the sales presentations were dull, the energy was dull, and most of all, the mood was dull.   We spent quite a few minutes analyzing this, and we both tendered the same conclusion:  Until reps, store owners, shoe show organizers, product people, and display people snap out of this notion that we must all play it safe, the dullness will multiply and perpetuate.

So how do we break from dull?    More red boots perhaps.  Or, vendors can really kick things up.   Several years ago, I attended a trade show in Las Vegas.  I noticed a crowd in one of the booths.   The owner of the booth decided to generate some buzz by inviting a(former) TV star.   The Professor from Giligans Island fame was sitting in the booth drinking coffee and answering questions that you know he had already answered 10,000 times.   I had to shake his hand, and listen to him. He was rather interesting, but I marveled at how he had aged.  When someone stated “You don’t look the same Professor”, his reply was “Hey man, that show was on 30 years ago!   Do you look like you did 30 years ago”?

I have to hand it to the company that engaged The Professor as that booth was the talk of the show.

So for next show:   More exciting product, and perhaps, I will see if Ginger is interested in doing a personal appearance.

Ken Proctor
Front Man
Twig Footwear, LLC
Ken@twigfootwear.com
www.twigfootwear.com
501-276-0140