Some of the questions I’m most asked by customers… Q. Do you live here? A. No, I don’t live at the back of the shop, although I understand why people ask, as I’m fortunate to be in a charming, heritage-listed cottage. But I do live in the neighbourhood. Q. Is it hard to find bigger […]
News
The best shoe shop in the world
Hello and Happy New Year. It’s so nice to be writing to you again in my first blog for the year. I made a big decision about my business in the first few days of 2019. It may sound audacious… It may sound bold… It may sound impossible… It may even sound arrogant … although […]
A great week to end the year
One of my favourite things to do each day is to post on Facebook and Instagram. One post this week went gangbusters. In it, I shared that the charity I have been supporting with every sale of every pair of shoes for the past 3.5 years – MicroLoan Foundation Australia – had invited me to […]
It IS personal!
I nearly fell off my chair laughing… A lovely owner of an online business had reached out to me through a business networking group to ask what electronic short-cuts I had in place for receipting and processing online orders. She mentioned her financial software and another piece of software I wasn’t familiar with were not […]
21 of the best things I’ve ever done!
I really admire Turia Pitt. She’s down-to-earth, smart, insightful, motivating and very, very funny. Last week she challenged her followers to list 21 of the best things they’ve ever done. I thought “why not? I’ll give it a go.” And it was so much fun. And so affirming. And a great reminder to sometimes stop and […]
Celebrations of all kinds
Phew … it has been quite a week. It started with The Shoe Garden staff Chrissy party. I’m so fond of this annual celebration, probably more than most as I didn’t get to celebrate the festive season at work for the first few years as I had no staff. I never thought one of the […]
When life gets in the way…
It has been quite the year for me from a health perspective. Nothing dire, just a relentless and exhausting list of ailments. Did someone say “Hello 50”? Yep, turning 50 last year sure did jump start a significant slide in my health, one that I’m fighting valiantly to reverse. Annoyingly, it affected my ability to […]
What I never take for granted
I wrote a post on Facebook the other day and I’d like to share it with you here. Oh dear! I just read a news report that revealed that nearly 55,000 businesses in Australia closed their doors last financial year, a whopping 12.7% increase compared to the year before. And a recent survey suggested 43% […]
Why giving back is so important
I was speaking to a beautiful family friend who lives overseas last night and she was lamenting all the “bad stuff” that was happening in the world. She quoted various recent incidents from around the world that were truly horrible. But then I gently reminded her of the fact (and it is a fact) […]
New art for The Shoe Garden
I had two wonderful drawings presented to me this week in honour of CC’s birthday. First, there was a beautiful card from 16-year-old Imarnie on which she drew CC on my desk, complete with party hat and barking (there must have been a dog passing by or a courier outside!). I was included, too, […]