Ten Feet Tall Turns Two!
Ten Feet Tall Turns Two!
It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since we launched Ten Feet Tall shoes with our pop-up shop at Dulwich College Singapore’s Founders Day event. Our mission was simple: to provide properly measured and fitted school shoes for children in Singapore, helping them make the most out of every extraordinary day at school. We launched with a fabulous range of black leather school shoes, our team of ten amazing fitters and 8000 pairs of stock in our warehouse.
Since launch we’ve gone on to become the biggest retailer of ASICS kids in Singapore so now parents can come and get their children properly measured and fitted for school shoes plus trainers, football boots and netball shoes. The support we’ve had has been overwhelming and so we wanted to say a Ten Feet Tall sized thank you to our customers, friends, family and school partners who have supported us every step of the way.
People often ask us what things we’re most proud about from our Ten Feet Tall journey and whilst there are many, there are without doubt two highlights:
Cherry, our store manager in Holland Village
Cherry used to help Sam with babysitting but prior to launch we asked if she’d be interested in joining our team of expert fitters. She quickly showed us she was an absolute natural. Brilliant at measuring and fitting but also guiding parents and children with her easy, cheery, confident style. We promoted Cherry to Store Manager after year one and constantly receive glowing feedback on her from our customers. We are very lucky to have her as the face of our brand and know she has a promising future with us as we take over the world of children’s shoes, one step at a time.
Our School Shoe Bank
When we first conceived the idea of Ten Feet Tall we wanted to stand for something special. With the help of our amazing consulting podiatrists Helen and Rob from the Osteopathy and Podiatry Centre we developed the idea of the School Shoe Bank, asking customers to bring their old shoes back to us when they came to buy new ones. After all, children’s feet grow so quickly their shoes will be good enough for someone else to wear.
We have collected over 2000 pairs of pre-loved school shoes so far via our Shoe Bank in the shop and our Kick Off Your School Shoe events at schools on the last day of term. With the help of students, Scouts and Brownies, we’ve then cleaned, polished and packed the shoes with a handwritten note from one wearer to the next and sent them to children in other parts of Asia who really need them. Our friends at UWC Dover have helped take all of the shoes we have collected so far to Bali, Cambodia, Vietnam and India, helping us make lots of happy feet all over Asia.
Here’s to another exciting year ahead in the world of children’s shoes and The School Shoe Bank. Watch this space for which shoes we’ll introduce in our third year (or tell us if you have any special requests!). In the meantime, thank you again for voting with your feet and choosing Ten Feet Tall.
Love from The Shoe Ladies (aka Sam and Nic) X
Ps There will be birthday cupcakes in the shop today so come and join us to celebrate! Plus post a birthday message or review on our Facebook or Instagram pages and we’ll enter you into a prize draw to win a free pair of school shoes. Winner announced on Saturday 9thJune.