February 13th 2006:heart-and-sole.com

1: How did you come up with the name heart-and-sole? Answer: My favorite Shoe Jewel design is the “I Heart U”- we place the new couples initials within a heart. During a creative session to come up with a name for our company, we kept saying 'heart this', 'heart that' and finally “Heart and Sole.” I liked that it is a play on words of the well-known phrase "Heart and Soul"-- just substituting "Sole" since our product is placed on the sole of the shoe!

2: Do only brides buy heart-and-sole? A: Absolutely not. We’ve had requests from bridesmaids for personalized items such as bachelorette party t-shirts as well as decorating their own shoes. Outside of the wedding arena, because our crystal designs can be applied to almost any surface, people may choose to decorate their children’s first shoes (instead of bronzing) or perhaps have t-shirt designs made up for birthday parties, team bags & uniforms -- the possibilities are endless! We plan on launching more products on our website in the coming months.

3: What color do you sell the most of? A: Blue seems to be a popular choice... a lot of our customers have been using their blue Shoe Jewels as their “something blue” for their wedding day outfit. In fact, that was originally how our company got its start— I didn’t want to go with a blue garter on my wedding day and was looking for a unique way to bring my own style to my outfit. After blue, a lot of brides have been matching their Shoe Jewels to the color theme of the wedding.

4: Have you done any craft shows? A: We did the January Bridal Expo! show in Chicago and had a great response. (You can see a picture of the day in the News section of our website.) Approximately 600 brides came by our booth that day which was very exciting. It was great to be face to face with ladies who were excited about our product. We have no immediate plans for upcoming shows, but we always keep our options open.

5: What do you like about having an online shop? A: Flexibility! With an online store you can add new features, links, and product displays at such a greater pace than with a traditional storefront. We love that people all around the world see our store—not just here in Chicago.

You can find heart-and-sole here..heart-and-sole.com Item to check out . I heart U