The making of Kazowe shoes

Kazowe Shoes was inspired by a map.

The story of how Kazowe Shoes came to be is about reading a map, a map that just happened to be the map of my life; while at one moment I never thought about creating a successful children’s shoe company, at the next, that’s exactly what I decided to do.

Here’s my story:

The seeds of what would eventually become Kazowe shoes started on the dusty windswept streets of a city in southern China. My husband and I were new parents to a beautiful baby girl adopted from this mystical land. Nothing seemed more right then the moment our daughter was placed in my arms. Raven haired, almond eyes; physically of no resemble to me or my husband, yet I recognized her right away. She was perfect and she was ours. Our bond transcended genetics, our daughter was not of our flesh; our family not formed the traditional way, yet on many levels I felt a homecoming. I knew this was the most flawless decision I had ever made.

Out on our sight seeing ventures in this foreign land I couldn’t help admire the gorgeous coloured footwear the Chinese children were wearing. They were adorned with whimsical appliqués and beautiful embroidery. I could not help myself; I had to buy these shoes! Without hesitation, a bountiful supply of footwear accompanied us home

Like many couples building a family, our second child quickly followed and 18 months later we returned to China to welcome our second daughter. Normal and natural, this baby joined our lives with all the juggling and disruptions a second child brings and obviously, more shoes found their way into our suitcases to be added to the growing collection at home.

The thought of starting a shoe company began small, but grew with intensity with each inquisitive comment from strangers as to where I bought my children’s shoes. These stirrings, along with the realization of the opportunity to cultivate a real relationship with my daughter’s birth country formed the fragments of thoughts that swirled endlessly in my mind.

I will be honest here, starting this company did not make sense analytically, but there was something else going on as well. I could feel the pull and push to move forward with this business. I could hear the whispers in the back of my mind and feel the nudge deep in my gut to jump in with two feet. Nothing profound, no burning bush, but if you were paying attention to your life it was undeniably there. Small, subtle confirmations that are only obvious if you are paying attention to your life. They sit in plan view, but they are so easily explained away, many not seen at all. We all have them, but what I call a confirmation others call a coincidence. For many, fear jumps in and an opportunity is lost.

Back to the shoes:

I wanted to modify the designs for the Canadian market but do so I had to work directly with manufactures in China. The quality and function of the designs needed improving if I was going to put my name on them. It was the summer of 2008, when I was trying to decide what to do, when in the middle of August, I could feel the concept of time running out. If I was going to do this there was a window to start and it was now. For an unknown reason the time to go was immediate, not next year. There would be no opportunity for success if started next year. That I knew for sure. The whispers were getting louder.

Did this make sense?

No.

But I did it anyway.

With interpreters hired and some preliminary research on the manufacturing sector in hand, I hoped on a plane by myself and flew to Southern China to source my own manufacturers and suppliers.

Lesson number 1…just because the path is correct you still have work to do.

I soon discovered that quality and price varied widely; I spent endless days searching for ideal partners. Nothing was coming together. After a long week of discouraging effort, I sat in my hotel room and had a “mini meltdown.” What on Earth was I doing alone on the far side of the world looking for shoe manufacturers, of all things! I should be home with my family. And what was wrong with me that I was so reckless, so irresponsible to undertake such a mammoth financial risk? Who did I think I was? This was never going to work.

I was well into a good pity party when, out of the blue, amid piles of tissues, I was hit with an unexpected revelation: I didn’t agree with all the negative things I was saying about myself. I just didn’t support the creeping self-doubt that can be such a familiar companion. A little voice in my head was piping up above the din of discouragement to make itself heard. That little voice did not think I was arrogant or delusional. No, the little voice in my head said,

“Gail, I am proud of you.”

That moment changed my life.

I tossed the tissues in the garbage, gathered up my courage and set out the next day to create success. I wasn’t out of the woods yet — I still did not know where else to look in this city. I needed a guide; so out of exasperation I challenged myself by asking “who knows this city better then anyone?” The answer came immediately and it was literally staring me in the face: my taxi driver!

With his help I was able to put in place the suppliers and manufacturers I needed so I could get on with the exciting pursuit of shoe-wise success. By the time I went home I was confident that my company would deliver unique, high-quality shoes.

But the story does not end here.

The original name of the company was Kazo Shoes which is made up of the first two letters of my daughters’ names. I can not take credit for the creation of the name as it was a suggestion that immediately felt right.

In 2010 while on a buying trip to China I spent an additional week in Beijing for the purpose of meeting with an American foundation that supported programs for special needs and orphaned and abandoned children. I wanted to observe first hand the work they were doing to understand how Kazo Shoes might help. It was on one of our orphanage visits that an unexpected encounter happened. A 4 year old little boy bound down the stairs and into my heart. Without even looking; I had found my son. This hit me with laser sharp certainty; I knew immediately I was looking into the eyes of my son.

When I showed an interest in this child, the director of the orphanage tried to discourage me by saying he was mentally retarded. (Her words not mine) I took one look into his eyes and knew there was nothing wrong with this child. He had some medical issues, but being mentally challenged was not one of them. I could feel in a stimulating environment this child would thrive. But I had a thousand questions. Additionally, how was I going to explain this to my husband? How was I going to convince him of my certainty? I was suggesting a third child, a labeled special needs child, and an older child. Ah, how does this fit my life?

My western controlling, predicting mindset was creeping in with all the rational rebuttals for how impossible this suggestion was. Rational thought was trying to over rule my natural, instinctive, intuitive knowledge that I have better success working from.

When you are holding the key to a door you do not have to worry about it being locked.

I phoned my husband from China and gauged his reaction to my news. He was open to the idea. When I ended that call, the reverence of the moment was overwhelming. I arrived home on a Friday evening and on Monday morning we started the paperwork that would have us heading back to China to pick up our son 6.5 months from that first encounter. That time line is practically unheard of in international adoptions!

As for the name; well with our son on the verge of turning 5, changing his name at this stage in his life just seemed cruel; so we kept his Chinese name which just happens to start with the letters W.E. So when added to Kazo shoes it creates Kazowe Shoes. A perfect fit for a made up word.

I have rewritten this story to honour how this company was actually created. The original version did not include the road map that was drawing itself in my life. I know now that my willingness to look at the map and allow it to be drawn and followed is the point of the story. I trusted my divine wisdom and knewI was worth the magic my life was bringing me. I found the courage to take the leap and I am joyful for the journey! This story will not be studied in a Harvard business review. It did not have the savvy business acumen of profit and loss analysis to support the decision to move forward, but was rather supported from an inner knowledge of worthiness to follow those whispers.

There is nothing worthier than who you are. The real you. The person you were born to be. The person of infinite wisdom that is created from the same matter as all the other masters from our race. All the other great minds in the history of man kind. You are made of exactly the same material. Not identical in form but equally no different. No person, job, belief, relationship, club, group or clique hold more worth then who you are.

I hold the knowledge of my worth and of my children’s worth. Simply; I wish this for you and your children as well.

With Gratitude;

Gail