How it all began, cont.

So, there we were, sitting on my front porch after our trick or treating adventure, talking about how fun the night had been etc, when my sister followed up on my husband's comment. 


You see, ebay had just started (I told you this was quite some time ago) and she was a seller of her son's slightly used (but in still good condition) clothes he outgrew.  She loved it to say the least.  So, she posed the idea that I should take my daughter's slightly used-but outgrown shoes, and add sparkle and fun to them... and then sell them on ebay.


Hmmm.


Now, if you remember, I was quite the addict when it came to wanting to add more sequins and rhinestones to her costume, going as far as adding more rhinestones to her crown that already had rhinestones, yeah, that was me.  So, the thought of being able to add more glitter and fun to something else.. anything else... without looking like I had a serious issue with bling, was pure heaven!


Oh, and this was even before the term "bling" came about. 


Man I feel old.


Anyway, I sat there immediately mapping out shoe ideas.. such as taking her used (but in very good condition) hiking style boots and adding a killer cobalt glitter mix all over them, then removing the laces and replacing them with ribbon.. what a cute look, then taking her use (but only worn once) mary janes and covering them with hot pink glitter and adding sparkles to the bow accent it had...  My mind was in full overdrive with thoughts on what I could change, add to, and well.. simply.. glitz.


Now, the only thing missing (according to my pro-ebay seller sister) was my ebay user name.  It had to really say something about the item(s) I was selling.  It had to be fun, yet clever, and it had to be unique.


This is when our mom joined in. 


Now, I do have to back up for just a minute.. as I forgot to mention something.  You see, I like to decorate for Halloween, not scary mind you.. I had a young daughter, more pretty in style than creepy.  Well, as I mentioned, I did sort of start having a really problem when it came to the time when I no longer could fit another rhinestone or sequin on her costume (seriously, the costume was beginning to drag the kid down due to it's weight) so.. well.. I attacked the decorations.


I bought several faux pumpkins in various shapes, then spray painted them either gold or silver. I then sprayed the stem area and just below it with glue, then sprinkled either my gold glitter mix or my silver glitter mix over them.  I then added a touch more sparkle by adding some sequins as well (to give it more texture etc.. and well.. I had to, I am an addict.)  :)


So when I set the pumpkins out on the porch, and looked at them under the stands of purple or orange fairylights I strung about, they were stunning.  But, silly me, I did have extra glitter from my glitter mixes.. so.... I decided to sprinkle our walkway from our front gate (yes, I had a house with a white picket fence in front with a charming front gate) up to the porch, so, when the trick or treaters came along, they would not only see the glitter pumpkins and their sparkle, but the sidewalk would sparkle under their feet from the street lights and the fairylights.  It was magical to say the least.


Back to mom.


Mom did not walk around with us when we took the kiddos door to door, she was our candy giver-outer (if that is a word - doubtful) anyway, she handed out the candy.  She would sit on the steps to the porch, with the bowl, and delighted as she heard the children "ohhh" and "awww" when they saw the sidewalk and notice the very Cinderella style pumpkins.


She even had fun with the boys she thought were a bit too old to be asking for free candy.  As they would come into the gate she would yell at them to not walk on the fairy path.. as they would be walking on the fairy dust.  They, not knowing what to do, would quickly get off the sidewalk, most would apologize, and come up the grass to get their loot.


Needless to say, when we started talking about user names, Mom piped in with Fairy-Dust.. as the shoes.. would literally be dusted with glitter -our fairy dust.  The name would also appeal to moms who would love to purchase the glittery glamorous shoes for their very own little princesses.


So, I added the obvious word "shoes" to the name.. got online the next day with my ebay-master sister to walk me through the process, and Fairy-Dust Shoes was born.

A little Fairy-Dust Shoes history

As I start to share more stories, I thought I should go into how the whole "custom shoe thing" came to be. 

When my daughter was three, my sister bought her a game lame princess dress (Belle of course) from the Disney Store when we were visiting her.  The dress was lovely, but I did not really like the Belle logo on the front, I simply wanted it to look "princessey" ... so, as I have always been a crafty sort of person, I bought some sequins and rhinestones and covered the front of the dress (as well as adding a ton of sparkle to the trim and hem.)

Knowing it would be cold in the evening (we live in Northern VA) my mom made her a purple cape to wear the costume, which, though it was very regal, I did have those extra sequins and rhinestones... and I did want the whole thing to match... (in other words I found that I just liked adding the sparkle and wanted to do more.)

The shoes... well, I found a perfect pair of gold glitter shoes at our local Target.  They sparkled and were so much better than the plastic things they sold at the Disney store.. comfort wise.  I had seen far too many little girls coming around trick or treating and while they had to deal with a coat over their costume, the bulkyness and all, and hold onto a plastic pumpkin, many with a flashlight necklace on them to boot.. all while clunking and sliding along in their plastic shoes slipping off their feet, with the short heel so many had never worn before..  well.. I did not want that.

 Now the Target shoes were fantastic, and my little girl thought so too.. so she ended up wearing them - alot- before Halloween.  And as any mom knows, heck, let them wear them as the kiddos will outgrow them in a blink of the eye.

Well, of course, the glitter of the shoes started wearing off... so... a few days before Halloween.. I did have the extra rhinestones.. what the heck.  I ran to the store to buy some gold glitter to first cover them with glitter, then thought it would be lovely to add (to my joy) the rhinestones.  So, the glitters were all pretty, but not what I wanted... but if I mixed some... then yes, I would have whatever it was that I was looking for. 

The day of Halloween my father, mother, sister and her son (who was 1/2 year older than my daughter) came over for our neighborhood Halloween parade and then of course, trick or treating.

In the late afternoon, with the sun dropping and turning the light golden, my little blonde daughter was glittery, gleaming, and quite a little show stopper.  Oh, and did I mention the belle crown she wore.. was well.. yes.. covered with sequins and rhinestones of course.. had to.. at that point I was looking for anything to attach rhinestones to.

Now, covering things with rhinestones may be a norm and quite the teen habit now, but this was 1998, and no, Paris Hilton was not showing up yet with her Swarvoski crystal covered phone yet.. and there were no crystal covered anything really in stores.

Anyway, as the light faded away, and it was time for a short round of hitting the neighborhood homes, there was something about those shoes.. in the light of the street lamps and porches.. that literally made each step she took a brilliant one, one that light danced off the rhinestones.. it was amazing.

(For those that have rhinestones on their shoes... accent or otherwise, please take a moment to look at them in the evening.... the effect is really something.

While my daughter went on her treat gathering way, the neighborhood moms kept commenting on her shoes.. "where did you get them""I want a pair for my daughter" and so on. 

My hubby, after the 20th mom asked, made the side comment to me that I should sell them.

Hmmmm.....

(more to follow...)

A Shoe Story - Post 9/11

It was several months after the 9/11 attack when I received an email from a woman from New York who lived near the site.


Her job took her away from her home frequently, so she was not in her apartment on Sept. 11th.  Though her apartment was still standing when the fires were finally put out, her windows were blown in.  So, she could not move back in until it was cleaned and cleared - as it was now a bio hazard.. which took several months.


After she was finally able to move back in, she told me she never felt like it was home for her again.  She felt that there was so much sadness now, within her own walls, she simply did not feel the same way about her apartment.


So, she found me via my website.... and decided that she should have her own pair of Ruby Slippers.  The Ruby Slippers with all the meaning behind them, was worth a shot, she really needed to feel something, anything, that would take away the misery she felt when she was home.


After making and sending the shoes, I received another email from her.  She told me that she had been on another business trip when the shoes came in, and the doorman brought the box in, placed it on her coffee table as they normally did with any package she received while being away.  So, when she opened the door to her apartment and saw the box, she simply came in, sat down, and cried.  (I always decorate my boxes with some sort of sticker -either a Wizard of Oz one for Ruby Slipper orders - or a fairy for child shoes, or a princess for Cinderella shoes.. you get the picture..)  anyway, she knew immediatly what was in that box.. and it made her burst into tears. 


She told me she felt immediatly better, she did not even need to open the box (in fact she kept it closed for several days, and when she finally did, she just placed the shoes on her coffee table, just so she could see them - for the feeling they gave her - just having them in her apartment.) 


She ended the email with the simple words - the shoes made her feel like it was home again.  That she was home again.

The Ruby Slippers - new stories?

What the heck do I mean when I say the "new stories"... I mean, the Ruby Slippers are those icon shoes.. from that incredible movies "The Wizard of Oz"... the shoes have been around since 1939 .. shoes that have a book written just about them, have countless websites that go into every little detail about them, from the size of sequin used to how many they think were made, who has what pair, the auctions.. you name it.  If you want to do a little searching, you can find everything about the Ruby Slippers.. more than you ever wanted to know.


So... new stories?


Yup.


I am Fairy-Dust Shoes.  I, by accident, started a business a million years ago (1998) and have made thousands (yes, thousands) of pairs of custom made wearable shoes over the years.  And for all of those thousands of shoes, I have heard the stories from almost all of the buyers -as to why they are buying them, and as to why those vintage shoes mean so much to them.


So through the years, I have saved countess emails.. countless stories.


The stories have made me smile, made me cry, but above all, showed me that whatever the hold those sparkly red shoes had when the film was first shown, it is still going strong today.


The names of course will not be revealed, or the locations of the buyers, so no worry if you are one of my past buyers, you are protected... but what will be shown is that for so many, the shoes really mean "there is no place like home"


I am Fairy-Dust Shoes, and welcome.