In Their Shoes Cordwainers

In this episode Katie Greenyer chats to Sacha Spencer, Senior Buyer for Womenswear, M&S. Listen as they chart her journey in footwear. From an occasional Saturday job in her parent's shoe shop in Somerset and a love of all things creative to a career of over 20 years of experience in retail. With over half of which spent with Clerks, she describes her rise from shop floor assistant through trends analyst and range manager roles through to senior buyer at one of our leading retail brands.

Listen out for Sacha's top tips and secrets to being a successful buyer, it goes beyond having a keen eye and ability to build a range. They talk about the importance of speaking to your consumers, how to do it, the need to take calculated risks and role of leadership. Emphasising the need to be brave - be the voice in the room for consumers and the need to believe in your product.

Hear Sacha's on-the-ground insights into the impact of COVID of retail, the changes in buying habits, the move of consumers online and the challenges of the global recession that is starting to bite. Katie and Sasha explore the concept and practicalities of ‘positive business’, how to set yourself apart from the competition, trusting your instinct and learning from the occasional stumble along the way.

Throughout the conversation, Sacha highlights the importance of mentoring, networks, and support both to her career and for the future of the footwear industry.  A champion of the importance of giving back, this podcast offers a warm, personal insight into what inspires and drives Sacha as an individual and professional. A must-listen to anyone interested in engaging with consumers and finding out more about different retail roles in footwear and fashion.

In this episode, Katie chats to Richard Wharton, best known as the Co-founder of Office, Founder of Offspring, Poste, and Poste Mistress. He has over 40 years of experience in the footwear industry. A master of footwear retail, his varied experience stretches from luxury to high street, men's to women's, sports to dress.

He is a self-professed shoe nerd whose chance cash-in-hand job unloading a lorry of espadrilles led to a long-term career in footwear. He also has an unparalleled archive of footwear, about 1.4 million images of every shoe ever bought by his group, and nearly every designer brand from the 2000’s all tagged and categorised. And throughout the podcast shares with us shoe designs that influenced his buying and business.

Listen to his journey from Norfolk schoolboy and a hated factory apprenticeship, to art college and then homelessness in London as he sought his fortune. With frankness and humour, he describes how Office came to being, the evolution of both the brand and function of the business as it went from two men and a van to a fully-fledged chain of premises.

Discover how Office led the way in blending fashion and sport retail and that taking a chance on a design that you love can open doors. With an eye for the unusual and passion for fashion the conversation is a wonderful romp through the mid 80’s fashion madness to the current day.

Find out more behind the importance of scalability and the need to appeal to both ends of the market, the most expensive and coolest shoe at the top down to the decent cheapest version of it.

Katie and Richard finish with a discussion about the challenges facing the future of the Highstreet and a call for a return to middle end footwear creating decent grade products and for companies to take a risk to battle being bland.

In this episode, Katie chats with Georgina Goodman. A fellow Cordwainer,  footwear style icon, tutor, stylist, and entrepreneur. She is straight-talking and tenuous. Her footwear is discreetly luxurious, and she possesses an extraordinary attention to detail and the ability to read the tea leaves of trends.

Listen to her rollercoaster journey from leaving school at 16 in a world that didn’t recognise learning difficulties as they do today, and studying the technical back end of fashion design whilst working in a jeans shop. To setting up her own brand and being hailed by Milano Blahnik as the future of footwear design.

Her hard work ethic and networking meant that despite being turned down by the Fashion courses she wanted she landed a role at the then 'it' label ‘The Cloth’. Moving to work for ID Magazine and then Elle Magazine before discovering the world of shoes and going back to study at Cordwainers College.

She shares how she won the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers Cup and felt supported as a student by the Company.

She talks frankly about the defining and difficult moment of losing her company and the challenges of working with investors, and how she fought to get her name back. Listen as Georgina shares thoughts on advice she wished she would take, as well as that which she would offer those looking to enter the industry today.

Katie and Georgina close by discussing the huge influence of Sue Saunders on both their lives and on a generation in the footwear industry as a whole. They touch on the joy of giving back through teaching and how the importance of continuing to learn as Georgina has been branching out to use her understanding of shape and form in footwear into the use of space for garden design.

Be inspired by her moment of ‘this is not normal’, the international language of sketching, and never underestimate the power of saying yes and networking.

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This podcast is produced by Audio Coast

In this episode, Katie chats with Neil Clifford, CEO of Kurt Geiger. Hear about his journey from a dyslexic schoolboy leaving school with only one O-level at 16years old to becoming CEO of Europe’s largest luxury shoe and accessory retailer.

Since that drawing of a green flash trainer for his art O-level, his career in fashion retail spans now 30 years, half of this time has been spent at Kurt Geiger. Kurt Geiger currently operates in 28 countries with 57 freestanding locations and it manages the luxury shoe business in the UK’s department stores including Harrods and Selfridges.

Hear how Neil has worked to expand the KG business beyond the UK and entering into international partnerships and successfully launched the KG business online. He discusses the challenges of Covid on the retail business and how the company adapted both practically and how its ethos has evolved as a result. Kindness and creativity. Giving thousands of shoes to NHS workers and setting up their own charitable foundation.

Listen as they delve into ideas around ambition, leadership, business lessons, management, and inspiration in the retail space. They discuss the practical challenges of footwear retail, price points, and why Neil is still optimistic about shopping on the high street.

They chat about the importance of supply chain, sustainability, and how it is impacting the footwear retail business, highlighting they are now selling fewer products, but at higher prices and better quality. Would you build a shoe store out of old shoes?

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In this episode, Katie chats with fellow Cordwainer and judge for the annual Cordwainer Footwear Awards, Atalanta Weller. Atalanta won the British Fashion Councils' coveted NEWGEN competition in 2010. NEWGEN is the most established designer development scheme globally and designers are identified by their creativity, strong design aesthetic, and point of difference.

Atalanta’s ground-breaking sculptural shoes now form part of the V&A’s permanent collection and are regularly exhibited internationally. Listen as they discuss her background and early fashion influences and how she discovered footwear.

Discover her career journey and hear how her initial placement at Clerks and training in Moulds helped her later push the boundaries of fashion with Henry Holland and then her own label. Atalanta’s work can be found in fashion and design press such as Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle, ID, and Monocle magazine. Her shoes have a strong following from Siena Miller, Halle Berry to Jessie J and Lady Gaga.

They speak about the challenges and lessons learned from setting up your own label and famous collaborations (including with Barbie!) Learn how she goes about her own design process and the importance of sustainability and function within that. Listen as they share tips on how to transfer design skills across different mediums - from footwear to interiors to hobbyhorses!

They discuss the importance of being involved in the Cordwainers Company and the joy of supporting and giving back to the industry through teaching and mentoring as well as fitting in footwear around family life.

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In this episode, Katie chats to Michael James, Director of Sales and Development at Springline, England's only surviving shoe last maker. Michael is a master craftsman and has worked with many of the best designers, brands, and celebrities. Measuring feet and making lasts for the rich and famous, from our current King to Hagrid and the Gringotts Goblins out of Harry Potter to working with brands such as Dr Martins, Jeffery West, Churches, Vivien Westwood, Ted Baker, and Paul Smith to mention a few. His work spans both the bespoke and manufacturing side of footwear.

They discuss his journey into footwear from living in Northampton from an early age to starting on the Springline youth training scheme at 16 years as he was ‘good with his hands’, a company he has now been at for 40 years. Hear how he started on the factory floor and moved to the modeling room. How that in turn has changed over time.

Listen in as they discuss the process of last making, why it is an endangered trade, and hear how different types of wood are used for different lasts. Discover how Springline has remained healthy where other competitors have fallen by the wayside. How they have diversified their offering with different services from last making to design consultation and an international shoe-tree market. Their discussion turns to the challenges of sustainability, the need to do more, and also handing on the trade to the next generation.

Hear a tip-off about a forthcoming exhibition in the Northampton museum that Michael has been instrumental in pulling together. His love of handmade things, and his aspiration to take up pottery.

He offers insight into his working day and advice to the future talent of the footwear industry. He and Kaite discuss the positive impact of the Cordwainer Footwear Awards and how he personally looks back to footwear memorabilia of the past for inspiration and quality. Throughout it all shines his unassuming passion and love of a profession that has taken time to evolve.

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This podcast is produced by Audio Coast