Little Shoes: where comfort meets style

You have one of the largest barefoot shops in our country. How did you get started?

It wasn't some kind of business idea with a lot of planning. But I happened to come across shoes that I liked and that weren't available here, so I thought I might actually try it. And if I'm the only one who thinks they're great shoes... It turned out I'm not, that there really is interest in them. At first there were 50 of them, and then in a few months there were about 200, and somehow it gradually grew.

You started with children's shoes. Maybe you're educating a new generation?

We are very happy about it, although on the other hand we have to admit that we start to get overwhelmed by the brand-name thing. Teenagers who want to be cool and trendy still tend to go for other brands. But then we get a lot of mothers who want health, comfort, sustainability. For them, fashion is no longer the only criterion.

We were happy for Fleysen because I believe that it will be functional in a few years, that it is not some piece of plywood that we will throw away in two years.

Sustainability is very much associated with the barefoot world. How do you see it, is it important to you?

As a company, we try our best. It's also part of our philosophies and values ​​to behave as ecologically and sustainably as possible. We look at manufacturers, but it's hard to influence them, so we try to solve things internally. When we have a lot of paper here, we'll put up an ad asking if anyone wants to take it away, so that it doesn't end up in an incinerator somewhere, but so that someone can reuse it.

Is the new showroom in line with this? How did you choose the furniture?

I was glad that we were in an old building and didn't have to go to something new. I like when something is renovated. We were happy for Fleysen because I believe that it will be functional in a few years, that it's not some plywood that we'll throw away in two years.

When we were choosing how to furnish it here, there were a lot of criteria that played a role. I was surprised by how clearly Fleysen came out on top – from appearance, to functionality, to price. The choice was quite simple.

Did you come up with the showroom design yourself?

Yeah, I dare say yes. Or with my husband. I enjoy the transformations. When we rented this space, there were partitions, it was a bit gloomy. I enjoyed giving it a new twist.

It was absolutely crucial for me how nice and proactive the people from Fleysen were.

Do you have a style that you follow?

I'm definitely a minimalist, I like simple clean lines, but at the same time I don't like boredom. I like it when it has a bit of something bolder, more interesting. Maybe I like how it's a historical space complemented by something modern. I believe it was done tastefully.

They understand this with our corporate identity. It looks similar on our website, for example. It was easy to connect the brands.

Do you have a favorite piece here?

I would say that the whole is important to me, that it all comes together. But I am very happy with the sales counters, for example. Finding nice shelves is not that difficult, but the sales counters are such a highlight for me.

We are very pleased that you are enjoying working here so much. Is there anything that surprised you about the collaboration?

What is perhaps worth mentioning – when we were tuning this interior, it was absolutely crucial for me how nice and proactive the people from Fleysen were. They offered us small adjustments, which in the end significantly helped to bring the entire space to greater user satisfaction. At the beginning, I had the feeling that you mainly offer ready-made products, but it turned out that it is not a problem to do something individual – for example, color variants or reinforcing the shelves to make them more stable. You also made us logos on the sales counters… such details, but they have a big impact.

We put it to the test at the opening event. Thanks to the connectors from the 3D printer, we took the shelves apart in a few minutes, made them into bar tables, put snacks and flowers on them – and it was great. I was pleasantly surprised by how versatile the furniture was. For example, we go to exhibit at a mini-festival twice a year and I thought to myself: great, we'll throw it in the car, transport it and have a stand in the same style as in the store. And if we decide to change something in a few months or years, we know that it can be easily adapted.