A whirlwind of a weekend

This weekend is what (my) dreams have been made of.  A true realization of all of my blood (literally from hand lacing all those shoes), sweat (it can get hot in my office) and tears (probably bawling like a baby at times).  Remembering the last 10 years of believing so hard this company would become a success, that I was willing (and almost did) to lose my house over it.  Seriously, this IS the reality of entrepreneurship. 

As many of you know I was at the re-launch for Monkey Toes at the Atlanta Mart (aka, America's Mart) for the Gift Show over the weekend.  I had no idea how I would react to being there and seeing everything in person, listening to reactions from reps and most importantly hearing the applaud from store owners.  I had my moments, holding back tears, truly, and I'm not a big crier.  But something about this weekend made me a sappy mess - oh and my feet hurt too (where were my adult sized Monkey Toes when I needed them??). 

I want to personally share with you what I saw and also show you what you'll be seeing in stores in the next few months - the pictures don't do this justice, you MUST see it all in stores personally.  SOO EXCITING!!

Greeting me at the elevators...

(Notice my lack of shoes...this pic was snapped at the end of the day after what felt like 18 hours on my feet - and yes, like an idiot I chose to wear cute shoes (4-5" platform booties), not sensible shoes.  YEP, that's me - queen of impracticality..at least I looked cute).

Waiting for me as I arrived in our showroom was this...

 The cutest kids, all wearing Monkey Toes.  I adore that picture of the little boy swinging like a monkey - and of course wearing his Silly Monkey Tennis shoes (painted version is now on sale, BTW)!

Next up - new product and a new way to display it...

This is a 360 degree, 6 foot tall "tree" display housing 128 pairs of cute little Monkey Toes.  We're initially re-launching our most popular styles for tennis shoes - Little Ladies, LUV bugs, Silly Monkeys and Leap Frogs - in sizes 4-8.  For the mary janes - Little Ladies, LUV bugs, Flutterflies and Buzzy Bees - in sizes 3-7.  I've found that over the past 8 years of selling these were our most popular sizes and styles.  Don't fret though, we'll be bringing back some more of your favorites, plus I've already got some new fun one's in the works!  

Can this new packaging get ANY cuter?  We all know that kids play with boxes more than they do with the contents inside.  That was the thought behind the new boxes - it slides open and is perfect for kiddos to carry around their baby doll, rocks, I'm sure boys would love to put a snake in it and scare mommy with it. You understand, right?  Plus, since our shoes never seem to make it to the "donate" bag, this box is perfect for keeping them in tip top shape for a keepsake.

Buzzy Bees box

LUV bugs box

 

The shoes, let me just tell you about the cutest feature of the shoes - the sandbox stamping soles!  This is so innovative.  I overheard someone saying - it's perfect for when your kid walks through the mud and then onto your carpet - at least the stains will look cute!  HA HA!

So what do you think?  These babies will be hitting stores in March - so keep your eye out for them and I hope you'll share with us a picture on our Fanpage.  

I don't ever want to come down from this High!!