Design Your Pedestal

For the Love of the Game--a Pair of Baseball-Themed Stilettos

2011-05-18T10:18:00.000-06:00

We've said it before, and we'll say it again, at Atelier Shoes, we love love love a bride with a sense of adventure and the upcoming summer season has made us giddy with some of the designs that we have helped our brides create, especially these 3 1/2 inch customized heels that Cathy designed for her late summer wedding in Yankee Stadium. These stilettos, custom designed in white leather with a red leather interior and completed with baseball's signature red stitching on the heel and sole of the shoe, are the perfect complement to her perfect day. And the idea... all Cathy, exactly as she asked for, we just helped to make it happen.

Wedding Themes We Love--The Enchanted Forest

2011-05-06T10:22:00.000-06:00

One of the most fun parts of creating customized wedding shoes is getting to work with a bride with a really original idea. A bride that is creative and adventurous and wants her wedding shoes to be every bit a special as her wedding day. Over the last six weeks, we've been working with Allison on a dreamy wedding shoe, carefully designed to incorporate her wedding theme, an enchanted forest. Allison first contacted us in mid-March with some photos of her wedding dress, her flowers and some other accent pieces that would all be a part of bringing her dream wedding together. After we received her photos and her story, we went straight to work on her custom wedding wedges, which we decided would be a low wedge heel, elegant and light in ivory satin, with a flower bouquet adornment made of satin ribbon flowers and other accent pieces made to match her wedding flowers and the overall theme of the venue and a row of silver-backed crystals along the wedge of the shoe to add some additional sparkle. We finished it all up with a green and champagne ribbon sash around her ankles which tied to the colors in the flower adornment. The end result? A fairy tale wedding shoe, perfect for a ceremony along the Mississippi and a reception at the Grand Oaks Mansion!

Congratulations to Allison and Noah on their upcoming nuptials!

With These Shoes, I Thee Wed...

2011-04-25T22:12:00.000-06:00

With these shoes, I thee wed...

Spring is finally here! The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and brides everywhere are in full swing planning their upcoming nuptials. At Atelier Shoes, we love a bride with a sense of adventure and this wedding season, we are really digging our brides' shoe-designing style. We'll be keeping up appearances with a lovely pair of ivory satin wedges, perfectly designed for an "enchanted forest" wedding in New Orleans this fall. And, we'll be showing our "love of the game" with a pair of white leather stilettos complete with red baseball-esque stitching at Yankee Stadium later this summer.

For those of you that haven't explored our possibilities, let us give you a quick tutorial on shoe-designing bliss. First, plan the event of your dreams. Then, give us the details. Tell us your what kind of flowers you picked and in what colors and send us a picture of your dress, your bridesmaids' dresses, your location--whatever you can and as much as you want, and we will design you a band jamming, champagne toasting, garter belt tossing pair of bridal shoes that cut the cake and make your bouquet blush with envy. All with your approval, every waltzing step of the way. We may know shoes, but we know that every bride knows best and we love that about you.

And, best of all, we've got your memory making at the forefront. All of our shoes are made with a padded footbed so that you can spend the evening flaunting your good taste and fashion sense instead of swapping your shoes for a frumpy pair of flip-flops. Be sure to visit our gallery to see what we've been up to and check out the Atelier Shoes' Boutique where we've made some of our most popular styles available.

Design Your Pedestal PINK! Atelier Shoes' Couture for the Cure

2010-09-17T11:35:00.000-06:00

As many of you are all too well aware, October is breast cancer awareness month and this year, Atelier Shoes is getting involved in more than one way! We recently partnered with breastcancer.org to specially design a pair of heels to be auctioned off as part of their 10-year anniversary, Rock The Ribbon, celebration. The Antoinette shoe, as shown below, is a silver metallic satin wedge, with a custom-designed pink ribbon charm. The winner will have the Antoinette shoe made to fit following the auction. All proceeds from the auction will go to breastcancer.org.

Atelier Shoes has also specially designed a signature shoe for our very best friend Lisa Lee who recently lost her battle with breast cancer. Lisa was a beautiful and loving mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend and we, more than anything, wanted to make her proud. Lisa, like every other woman, loved shoes and she was one of our first supporters and biggest fans. So, without further ado, we present to you the Lisa shoe--a small 2 1/2 inch wedge heel in camel and pink, with the signature pink ribbon on the heel patch. The Lisa shoe is available for purchase for $85.00 (including shipping) with 50% of the proceeds to be donated to breastcancer.org. The Lisa shoe is available for pre-order now by visiting the Design Your Pedestal PINK page in the Atelier Shoes' boutique.

And, finally, beginning on October 1st, 2010 and running through October 31st, 2010 we will be hosting the Design Your Pedestal PINK campaign. During this campaign, any custom designed shoe orders using the color pink and placed through our Online Design Studio will result in a donation being made to breastcancer.org.

Breastcancer.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the most reliable, complete, and up-to-date information about breast cancer. More information about this organization and their efforts can be found by visiting their website.

Style File: A Lovely Glow

2010-09-16T22:20:00.000-06:00

We are loving the custom beadwork and flow of this wedding gown by Atelier Aimée Montenapoleone! A gown this beautiful truly deserves a pair of shoes equally as beautiful, so we paired it with our Sally shoe, made as a three inch wedge in ivory satin, accented with our custom stonework design.

Getting Married? Custom Design Your Own Wedding Shoes!

2010-09-08T22:08:00.000-06:00

We always thought that June was the month of brides, and maybe that's true, if you're talking about the month in which brides become wives. But, as it turns out, the fall is the month in which girlfriends become fiancees.

Many newly engaged women focus on the dress, and, we agree, that's the focal point for the evening for sure. Nothing will showcase you as well as the perfectly picked wedding gown. But, we encourage you not to forget your feet, as nothing will make you feel sexier under those yards and yards of satin, silk and organza as some sleek heels. Whether you want to go with a traditional ivory and dress it up with a fun accessory, or go for something more outrageous, such as pink patent with zebra fur accents, we're here to make sure that you are dressed for the occasion--truly from head to toe! See what we've done in our gallery!

Beat the Shoe Blues-Get 30% off your Custom Order

2010-09-03T16:51:00.000-06:00

This afternoon Atelier Shoes made a quick trip to some of our favorite shoe stores to get a sense of this fall's style options. And, to put it mildly, it was a gloomy day. Plenty of black, brown, beige and boring to choose from, but nary a stitch of color. Talk about a case of the shoe blues!

Babs Shoe with Teal Leather and Brown Snakeskin Accents

Now, we get that even the most liberal spenders are watching their wallets a little more closely these days, but we really, really want to see some fun-loving feet on the streets this fall. So, we've decided to extend a "Color Me Original" gift to our biggest fans for the month of September. From now until the 30th, get 30% off a custom-designed shoe online order by entering the promotional code "Beattheblues" at checkout. Incorporate brown if you must, but pick yourself out something a little more fun!

Engagement Season is Upon Us!

2010-08-30T20:58:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of Aginet Photography

Atelier Shoes is pumped (no pun intended) to be a part of our brides upcoming weddings. Initially, we worked with brides on customizing our existing line of shoes for their weddings. Sara J. designed this really cool, very funky pair for her wedding, and honestly, we LOVE a bride with a sense of adventure!

Since Sara J.'s wedding, we've expanded our offerings for creating the ultimate pair of shoes for each brides special wedding day. Julie F. contacted us wanting a pair of baby blue satin wedge heels with flowers on the shoes. We took that request and approached it with gusto, picking out different flower accent pieces and sending Julie photos of the possibilities so that she had the final say in her wedding shoes...and here she is wearing them on her wedding day!

The self-proclaimed Ultimate Wedding Shoe

And, with Julie's inspiration, we are now really engaged (again, no pun intended) in helping brides design the perfect shoe. We're now working with local designers to create original, handmade bridal shoe adornments to compliment each brides wedding gown, floral arrangements and color selection. And...we're having a blast doing it! Here's one of the shoes that we recently put together, but be sure to check back here, and in our gallery to see our latest creations!

Ladies, Help Your Guy Get It Right This Valentine's Day

2010-01-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and it's that time of year for dropping hints, such as, hints for a new pair of custom designed shoes. Now, we understand that there may be more pressing hints that might be at the top of your hint-dropping list (such as, for example, an engagement ring), and if that's the case, we hope that you'll keep us in mind for your one-of-a-kind wedding shoes or for getting your bridesmaids together to design their own bridesmaids' shoes. But, if you're looking for something more unique than a box of chocolates, a little something that you can slip into for that "I feel oh so [fill in your own blank]" feeling, then might we suggest you point your devoted to our gift certificates page where he can pick up a gift certificate for you to design a pair of your own shoes.

And for those ladies who just as happy to spend the evening among the fairer sex, perhaps you should plan a Girls' Night In with your best girlfriends to design your own shoes at an Atelier Shoes' shoe party.

After all...a box of chocolates won't make your legs look longer.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

2010-01-12T20:05:00.000-07:00

As anyone who has been reading the news lately knows, it's been a chilly month for the better part of the United States. With temperatures in Florida threatening the citrus crop, it makes one hesitate in the morning when selecting the day's footwear. While Uggs might be tempting, consider this--it's a great time of year for suede. Warm shades of brown, fores green, hunter orange and cream can keep you your most fashionable self and Atelier Shoes can help you design the perfect pair to suit your style... just wait a few weeks on the peeptoes.

Of course, if you've got a tropic vacation planned, now might be the time to indulge in a custom-designed open-toed stiletto to show off those freshly pedied toes. Go exotic with tropic shades of aqua blue and lime green.

The New Website Is Up! Preview Your Shoe Designs Before You Purchase!

2010-01-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time coming and we've been slacking on our blog updates in the meantime, but the new website is finally up and we are so proud of it! Now, visitors can customize one of our template shoes, choosing the exterior upper, interior upper, heel, sole, footbed and label and preview their design in our new and improved Online Design Studio before making a purchase! Check it out at www.ateliershoes.com.

Shoe Party!

2009-05-02T17:55:00.002-06:00

Just finished submitting some new orders from the most recent shoe party! There are some fantastic designs that I can't wait to share with you, one in particular that I wish that I had thought of myself--zebra print with lime green and aqua blue accents Very jungle-like! I think that they are going to be very, very cute when they come in. Also pretty excited about my new guide on guidespot.com. Check it out, it's called Top 5 Girls' Night Out (or In) Ideas. Of course, hosting a custom-design shoe party is one of them.

A New Shipment Arrived!

2009-01-27T21:45:00.004-07:00

So, the website has been up for almost a month now and it's been a lot of fun. We're getting hits from all over the world. We've gotten some orders, some very original and some a little more mainstream. I can't decide which ones I like best, so I think I am going to reserve judgment for a case-by-case basis. These hot little numbers came in yesterday. It's our Tess shoe, with pink ostrich, baby pink leather and lime green for the interior. Super cute for spring and a pair of jeans. I think that the hardest part of this new job is going to be shipping these babies to their rightful owner. But, I do get to have some fun too. This pair just came in for me. I love, love, love them! I maybe even convinced my die-hard mountain biking, barely owns a dress neighbor that she needs a pair too. Check 'em out!
They're pretty original, I think. And they'd look good with the baby blue leather in place of the pink too. Hmmm... might have to try that one out. You could probably put the pink leather on the heel and the sole too and get a great pair out of that.

2009-01-15T22:27:00.002-07:00

2009-01-15T19:10:00.003-07:00

Atelier Shoes is finally up and running! Thank you to everyone for their support as we got this off the ground! Our website is up www.ateliershoes.com and we are very proud of it! We had an amazing Web designer put it together for us, so if anyone wants the contact information, please let me know. I'd be happy to pass it along!

So, this blog will be a little about what it's like starting a custom design shoe company and little about the current status of the company and what were up to. I'll also share little pieces of entrepreneurial wisdom that I pick up along the way. My sister-in-law says you gotta have good content!

For today's post, I just want to invite everyone to the site www.ateliershoes.com to check it out and let me know what you think!