Meet The Shoe Designer and Entrepreneur Behind Artyce Custom Footwear

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But then more and more friends started asking her to make shoes for them. And then one day Palmer was shopping in Nieman Marcus with a friend and a young woman asked where in the store Palmer had purchased those shoes. That’s when the spark was lit and Palmer realized she had something bigger than a hobby on her hands – she had her product.

Palmer continued to create custom shoes for clients from her home, but if she wanted to take her business to the next level she knew she would have to move into a more professional space to give her business validation. With much of her money saved up and a few gifts from family, she moved into a brick-and-mortar space in Los Angeles in 2006. The move grew revenues to $200,000 that year – nearly five times what they had been previously.

The business has been steadily growing since then, Palmer said, even despite the economic downturn. They missed their projected $700,000 for 2009 slightly, but are on track to meet that in 2010.

“The economic downturn allowed us to refocus our direction,” she said. “We decided to focus on the bridal segment. We could do boots, but we don’t.”

The company initially worked with special occasion shoes, boots, flats, and sandals, but Palmer made a decision to take her company into an even more niche market and only focus on special occasion footwear.

Palmer’s market isn’t the average woman shopping for a special occasion shoe to wear once. Her clients, she said, are people looking to invest in a beautiful shoe that fits them well and is something they can wear again and again. The shoes start at $250 and special custom shoes start at $500. Palmer works with clients around the world, utilizing technology like Skype to add personal touches to her interactions with them.

The team at Artyce is still a small group of four people, but the extra help allows Palmer to take advantage of professional development and marketing opportunities. Many entrepreneurs may skimp on trade shows and conferences to save money, but Palmer doesn’t. In fact, it was at a trade show where she made one of the biggest strategic partnerships for the company with Swarovski Crystal. The company has also been featured on “My Fair Wedding with David Tutera,” a bridal show on We TV.

“We see opportunity for larger growth, but you have to be practical in taking it to the next level,” Palmer said. “Our clients aren’t just in the U.S., so I can see a global expansion.”

But given Palmer’s track record for calculated decision making in her business, the expansion will be carefully planned.

“I live my passion every day. As an entrepreneur you get to do what you want,” she said. “A few years is a small cost for living your dream.”

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