Thank you so much to everyone who came to visit us at our London Pop Up with Host of Leyton at the weekend. We were blown away by how far some of you had come to see us and it was wonderful to meet so many lovely locals. Even the sun came out to say hello. Not only did we have a successful weekend but we came away feeling we'd made some real connections - customers, locals, other small business owners - and even some brand new clog converts. It was funny how many of you seemed to have just popped out to the gym or the shops and ended up going home with a new pair of shoes. Leyton, you were lovely, we hope to be back soon.
When you run a small business most of your contact with your customers is digital: emails and social media and newsletters. There's something so special about meeting people face to face. It's not just helping customers find their perfect fit or style that we love, it's sharing family clog stories, talking about the craft and the materials, hearing your own perspectives on the design or the history. So many of you wanted to know more detail about how and where the clogs are made. These kinds of thoughtful choices have to be the future of fashion. Learning about what you're buying: who made it and where and with what. Closing the gap between maker and buyer. When we have a greater understanding of the materials and the craft we have a greater respect for those items. Take good care of them and they, in turn, will take care of you for many years. Several customers came in wearing their beloved and battered clogs purchased from us years before. It's always such a joy to see these well-worn clogs: soft and supple and sunken like a comfortable old coffee shop sofa.
I wanted to share with you our favourite takeaway from the weekend. Two friends stumbled across the shop on their way to the train station. They were an absolute joy and spent a good hour or so with us trying on clogs and chatting. One was the first to pre-order our Poppy Flex Klassisk Pre-order. Her friend said to us: wearing only a natural material like wood underfoot means you are "grounding" all the time. Grounding is the practice of re-connecting yourself with the earth as a kind of therapy. When you walk in grass barefoot for example, you are grounding: connecting and sharing energy with the earth with no man-made barrier between you and nature.
Thanks so much to everyone who visited us, chatted or bought clogs or browsed quietly and contentedly. For those of you who went home with your first pair of clogs: ground and feel the earth under your feet <3
