Why Celebrity Gifting & Shoes for a Celebrity

I recently had another beautiful opportunity to make a pair of shoes for a celebrity. This time it was a real blast from the past, but due to her paid endorsements I can not disclose the name.

Not knowing her shoe size, I decided to make a pair of shoes for her oldest daughter. Her mother describes her as a fashionista. Researching her style, I saw her just as often in sweet little floral dresses as I did in more punk styles, so I decided to try to marry the two.

Pretty pink floral with black and white stripes. Can easily be dressed up or down.

I know there are a lot of people who don't understand the celebrity gifting. Business owners have lots of reasons for doing this. I can't speak for everyone, but I can explain a little about why I do it. 

I don't have cable and I rarely go to movies. I am not what you would consider star struck. 

 And I know that most celebrities have more than enough money to buy my items and that they get free stuff all of the time. But, there are other means of compensation. Call it cache. If they like my items, tell others about them, or even better are photographed with them, my return on investment is incredible. We have had a handful of our members, in The Artisan Group, get this kind of success. It's awesome. I also consider it to be a fair trade. And if it doesn't happen, my investment was small, the experience was exciting, and I still get to say "I made these accessories for *insert celebrity name here*." 

  In my experience, in gifting HGTV's Cari Cucksey, I have tweets from her telling me how much she loves my shoes. Very handy for marketing purposes. Cari has also offered to consign my shoes at the Country Living Fair this year. That's a huge fair (my absolute favorite and I go every year) and I couldn't manage a booth on my own at this point. This is an awesome opportunity. And one I could only have gotten through these means. Plus, Cari is just a geuinely lovely person I am glad I was able to gift and get to know a little better through this. 

I also make sure I try for opportunities that make sense. Suri Cruise is known for her shoe collection. That was kind of a no brainer. Cari is a Michigan local who is well known for re-purposing items. She's a business woman as well as a TV star. In this particular instance, the celebrity has a children's shop that sells ecologically friendly items. I felt it would be a good fit and worth it to put my items into her hands. 

And lastly, if you're still with me, these opportunities give me the chance to create something completely on my own, to make designs I have been thinking about or wanting to make. It gives me a chance to stretch myself artistically. And that benefits my business in numerous way. 

I hope that sheds a little light on the situation. It's not hero worship, I don't expect my business to all of  a sudden explode with orders because my item was tied to a celeb in some way. But, I see many benefits in this type of experience. And I hope that now you do too.