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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, Aurora Shoe Company. In their words:
"Our small shop in rural, Upstate New York is proudly producing some of the only American sourced and manufactured footwear in the US. We make all of our shoes in house, one step at a time, using the best materials we can get our hands on.
Our blog is meant to bridge the gap for friends who like to feel a personal connection, but can’t come to our shop. We love featuring snippets of family life, local events, and friends and neighbors who inspire us."
SouleMama: You have been online for about three years. How has that changed your business?
Alyssa: Our relatively new online presence has put us in touch with a wider group of people who really value the work that we do and the way that we do it. I sense that people who craft and create appreciate our shoes because they value the process. When you’ve knit, quilted, sewn, or otherwise crafted something you understand the time, energy and thought that go into handmade items. Handmades really are a labor of love and I think that most Soule Mama readers can probably identify with that.
With that in mind, I’m really excited to be working a table at the Squam Art Fair this June. I had planned to go with my mom and take in the whole Squam workshop experience, but the workshops filled up faster than we could manage to make our plans. I’m hoping that the Art Fair will be a good chance to make some personal connections and to have some Squam style fun. I've never been to New Hampshire, so it's also going to become a fun camping getaway for my family.
SouleMama: What have you been working on lately?
Alyssa: Dave is always busy at the shop. He usually spends about half of the day making shoes with the rest of the staff and the other half on packaging orders, responding to emails, and working on the everyday tasks that keep the business going. He recently bought a press from a local leather crafter that he’s excited to play around with. He’s also spending some time thinking about reorganizing the shop space a bit to give it a better work flow. I'm sure he's doing a million other things too; there are just so many details for small business owners to keep track of.
I’m busy with the stuff that keeps us visible. I had fun collaborating with a local clothing boutique this spring and have been neglecting our blog a bit to work on our website. Dave and I (we’re siblings) were raised by our parents to get creative and do things ourselves, so we’ve taken that approach with most everything. We’re both decent at shooting with our fancy cameras, but we’ve slowly been working with much more talented photographers to capture images that are more professional and polished than anything we had on file. With this website makeover, I’m trying to be less wordy and to let the photos tell more of the story. I’m hoping it will result in a webpage that is easier to navigate and more pleasant to look at. We’re planning to have the new site live by late April, so I invite you all to give it a look and see what you think.
SouleMama: What inspires you?
Alyssa: What doesn’t? In this age of information overload it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by all of the awesome ideas, designs and possibilities that are out there. In the end, for us, it’s really all about staying true to who we are and where we're from. Simple designs, real people and honest practices. Before I send anything out into the world I try to stop and ask myself, “Is it sincere?” if the answer is “yes” it goes out and if there’s any doubt it gets scrapped.
For today's giveaway, Aurora Shoe Company is generously offering the following to ONE winner:
~ one pair of shoes, any style, any color!
(Our shoes are all about creating a custom fit, so we’ll ask that the winner send us a foot tracing so we can get the sizing just right.)
In addition, Aurora Shoe Company is offering free shipping to SouleMama readers. All orders that come in before June 9th with the discount code “Soule Mama” will receive free shipping to any address in the continental US. They'll also help to send a kid to summer camp. For all Soule Mama orders received before we head to Squam on June 9th, we will donate 20% of the purchase price to fund income based camping scholarships for local children.
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To enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person, please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 8am EST on Sunday, and announce the winner(s), chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed!
Thank you to Aurora Shoe Company! The winner is...
Awesome footwear! Happy Feet!
Posted by: Fleeceknikfarm
