Time has been passing so fast, but Im really glad I've been able to connect with so many wonderful people in order to make these little digital interviews! Thank you to those who have been reading them! I appreciate your time. It's really fun discovering more about other creative people!
This next digi-view is with the creator of Cotton Candy Feet, a super kawaii bag and shoe brand from Brazil!
Mari - Designer and Owner of Cotton Candy Feet
(She has decided not to share a photo of herself, so instead, take a look at these CUTE products!)
When I think about fashion, I would have to say one of my favourite things is shoes. I have...A LOT of shoes! And I REALLY mean it when I say a lot! These shoes below are my FAVOURITE piece off the Cotton Candy Feet website!!!! I need to get myself a pair of these ones very soon!
I first discovered Cotton Candy Feet after seeing these cute posts that LovelyLor and albinwonderland made on their instagrams! I thought the concept of the photos were so cute and then took a peak at the shoes!
I asked Mari when she started her brand.
"I started Cotton Candy Feet in 2015 because of my passion for fashion and business. I graduated in Business Administration and running my own business has always been my dream. The business started by chance. When I got in lolita fashion and bought my first pair of lolita shoes, I found it uncomfortable compared to my "normie" shoes. The sizes were a little small and for a western lolita, not friendly for wide feet. I felt bad that some people couldn't get cute shoes because of their foot size because everyone deserve to wear cute shoes! So, I started to study to make my very first prototype shoes. After almost one year, I got it done and started selling it locally. One year later I decided to expand and sell worldwide! On the next year I decided to also add bags on our catalog."
(A variety of colours are available in each style of bag and shoe!)
I could imagine that it probably took quite some time to really think about how to go about making shoes. In any business, things do not come within a week, a month, or even a year. Starting your own business and finding your true objective takes years to come together. I think that a lot of people don't realize the years it takes to make it happen because they only see the front end of it where: last week someone started a new project, and already the next month they're selling the new item! In reality, it could have taken that person months of just planning the idea, another month just to figure out the fine details, and now they're able to just announce it!
ANYWAYS! Back on track~!
Mari wants to offer cute, practical and comfortable options with her brand! She explains:
"Some lolita bags can't even fit a phone and wallet, so we offer roomy bags to carry everything you need! Since all our bags are 2 or 3-way you have the option to choose the most comfortable way for you! We also offer comfortable and cute shoes that you can use all day on a convention or meeting without hurting your feet! We made it possible to make our shoes in a large variety of sizes!" Shoes and bags undergo a lot of stress and wear. Designing may need careful considerations in order to get them perfect for long lasting wear. I asked Mari what its like designing products with such functionalities.
"My favorite part about designing shoes and bags is transforming my rough sketches into the final product. For designing a new shoe from scratch, it is a very long process compared to making a new bag. For a completely new shoe the most important part is to make a good shoe last, so we will have comfortable shoes. This process is very long because we need to modify the wear and make a pair of shoes to test several times until it has a great fit. Once we have the wear figured out, it's easier to make multiple designs using the same base! All designs also requires some readjustments until the final version!
For designing a new bag, it's very important to me that it can really carry stuff and I can wear it more than one way. The material choice is also very important for bags and also for shoes as well, because we want to offer long lasting products!
Like many of the other creatives I have interviewed, an important aspect about fashion is self expression. Mari shares her thoughts on this subject: "I love how fashion allows people to express yourself through your clothes and also meet wonderful people. If it weren't for lolita fashion, I would never have made so many great friends and learn new skills."
Lastly, I asked what is something Mari is proud of.
"I'm very proud on how much Cotton Candy Feet has grown up and turned out being my full time job! I learned so many new skills! Also, it makes me very happy and proud seeing so many people wearing our products and saying good things about them!"
Thanks for answering Mari! And thank you all for reading. Be sure to check out Cotton Candy Feet's social networks and website, and check out our other blog posts on KAWAII INTERVIEWS, events I've attended, and more!