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Business Voices is the Juneau Chamber of Commerce podcast focused on the people, ideas, and decisions shaping Juneau’s economy.
Each episode features thoughtful conversations with local business owners, civic leaders, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers who are working to build a stronger, more diverse, and more resilient business community.
This show reflects the Chamber’s larger mission: to support entrepreneurship, encourage responsible and sustainable development, improve the business climate, and help make Juneau a better place to work, live, shop, and invest.
Business Voices is a forum for insight, leadership, and shared perspective, connecting the people who care about Juneau’s economic future and the quality of life that makes this community worth building.
Welcome to Business Voices Juno, the podcast of the Juno Chamber of Commerce hosted by executive director Becca Parks. From entrepreneurship and leadership to growth, resilience, and innovation, this podcast shines a light on the businesses and voices helping define Juno's economic future.
Speaker 2:Hello, and welcome back to another week on, Business Voices. We just had a very loud version of the intro in the studio. So give her a minute to collect yourself, but I'm here with Sydney Mitchell from Shoefly this week. Thanks so much for coming on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thanks for having me. And I'm excited to be here, Becca.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, and I'm excited because I feel like you've got a pretty iconic shop downtown. One of those places that we all hear about as soon as we move to town and one of those places we tell people to go to when they come in to visit. So how did you get into the shoe business?
Speaker 3:Oh, it's a long story. So I grew up in Alaska in Ketchikan, and then we moved from Ketchikan to Cordova, from Cordova to Yakutat, and then Yakutat to Juneau. And the magic in Cordova and Yakutat for me as a young child was the store. So I really fixated on, there was Mallott's store in Yakuta, and then I think it was the Alaska General store. And then in Cordova, was Deneen's.
Speaker 3:And I just always was fascinated. So I always thought at some point I would own a food store. Know, the store. The store. And then, you know, I went and got a degree in natural resources management because, you know, that's really close to owning a store.
Speaker 3:Right path to where you are now. Yeah. And then I realized big mistake. And I went back for a year of intensive graphic design training. And so my career for the first part of my life was sort of marketing and graphic design on the side and working with environmental management programs, being their communications officer or their marketing person.
Speaker 3:I called it marketing, they would call it stakeholder engagement. And so then I realized that I didn't wanna work in government anymore. And I thought, I want a store. And I thought, well, I love shoes. So maybe that's a good one.
Speaker 3:And Claudia and Gary Pierce owned Hudson's Shoef Store in Downtown Juneau. So my lunch hours, I'd go hang out with them. And they wanted someone to buy their store, but they weren't ready. They had a plan. And so they took me to shoe shows and I said, yep, I'll buy you when you're ready.
Speaker 3:And then, you know, I realized, you know, the time has come, I'm turning 40.
Speaker 2:When all big things
Speaker 3:happen Milestone in moment. And so I went to them and I said, you guys, can I open a store right now? Are you okay if I open a shoe store right now, but I won't touch your price point? So they really believed that Juno Whites were super thrifty and really only wanted to pay $70 or under for a pair of shoes. And they specialized in those kinds of brands.
Speaker 3:They did well with that. I was thinking, no, we want Dansko here. We want, you know, we want these other We want quality footwear that's more durable, you know, and better for your feet. And so when we opened, we were at $70 and above.
Speaker 2:Wow, for anything. And what year was that?
Speaker 3:That was 2005. Okay. And so Claudia and Gary had the best three years of the entire time they owned that store, were the three years they overlapped with us. Because people were excited. We got everyone excited about shoes.
Speaker 3:And then for those people that wanted to be $70 and under, boom, right to Hudson's. We sent them there. Like this is, you know, there you go. The only negative thing about that was that we got pegged a little bit as a high price store. And so then when we bought Hudson's three years later, 2008, Then we had to work really hard to say, no, no, no.
Speaker 3:We have the full price ranges here now.
Speaker 2:And was that... I mean, it sounds like you were trying to find a niche when you first started and then expanded. How has the kind of vision and we talked a little bit before we started about mission of the store changed over time?
Speaker 3:Well, I think we were lucky. I had a business partner when I started Shoefly. Entrepreneurial wisdom is there are three big things, three big pots it takes to start a business, accounting, marketing, and whatever your product or service is. And I attended this amazing conference and this expert got up and said, There is not a person on the planet that is equally gifted at accounting and marketing. So you need to identify yourself, what are your strengths in those three things, and then find someone who loves the other thing.
Speaker 3:So Dawn, I had heard she had, Dawn Walsh was through the grapevine had maybe mentioned that Claudia and Gary like, Oh, shoes, shoe store. And so we went to lunch and I drew the three circles. And I said, which of those like lights you up? And she was like, accounting, like when QuickBooks makes the bubble up. And I was like, yes.
Speaker 3:Because mark... For me, marketing shoes for her are accounting predicted that. Yes. Yeah. And so we were lucky because of the kind of people we are, the kind of women we are.
Speaker 3:From the get go, Shoefly was about the experience. So it's a place where our goal is everyone through the door should be treated with respect and kindness. And if someone is seeking something that we rise to that occasion and our mission is not to sell shoes. It is how we accomplish our mission and it's how we support our mission, but it is not our mission. So our purpose is to delight women with a love worthy experience that supports them in whatever next step it is that they wanna take.
Speaker 2:I I have to say having known women that have worked in your store and shopping there myself, I think you're doing a fantastic job of moving towards that purpose of achieving your mission. How how did you get there?
Speaker 3:Well, I think, like I said, it came naturally to Don and I, and then probably in that five to ten year mark, was sort of able to articulate that and, you know, create a guidebook and onboard our employees to say, you know, we're not hiring you to sell shoes. This isn't transactional. Which isn't to say that sometimes people come in and they have a need and we are happy to treat them with respect and kindness and get them what they want and get them going. Right? But sometimes there's something else that they're seeking or they're not sure what they want or, you know.
Speaker 3:So I think it came to us naturally and then I was able to understand this is what made us unique. Yeah. And so I was able to onboard employees and I hire... The one thing you have to have if you're gonna work at Shoefly is a heart for service. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And if you have a heart for service, you don't have to love shoes. I have hired many people that are not fashionistas, they are not loving shoes. It's a bonus if you love shoes, but it's not necessary. What's necessary is a heart for service. That you love people, that you're able to work with a diversity of people.
Speaker 3:And it happens every day in Shoefully. We see a huge cross section of what world communities look like, especially in the summer. And it's really great.
Speaker 2:How does that look different in the summer? You know, it's such a community based organization, so focused on service and the customer experience in your store. But I would imagine the clientele during the winter is very different from who's coming in during the summer.
Speaker 3:Yeah. We do see a lot of people who are traveling even in the winter because we are the capital of Alaska. And women when we travel and we're primarily focused on women. We do have shoes for men, but our primary focus is on women. And when we travel, we have time to shop.
Speaker 3:And so sometimes, you know, that is who we're seeing. And then we're there for women who in their busy lives make time to come in and they have, you know, yada Or yada there's a milestone moment, you you and I talked a little bit about that earlier. So there are more locals, but we see locals in the summer too. And so again, Seward Street only sees less than 10% of cruise ship tourists make it to Seward Street. And so we're not overwhelmed the way South Franklin is.
Speaker 3:That's not what's going on. And what's been shocking for me is we have repeat customers who cruise to Alaska. And some of them say they are coming to shop Shoefly, which I mean, you know, it's like careful of believing your own hype. But when they show up with a thousand dollars that they have saved all year so that they can blow their shoe budget at Shoefly, I believe them. Wow.
Speaker 3:And we get probably one client a week in the summer who's returning.
Speaker 2:That's a pretty
Speaker 3:awesome I did not expect that. Never in a million years. But what's happening in the world is our purpose of we really wanna delight our clients. If you're up for going back and forth and being delighted, we're there for you. We're not going to force it on you because it's about what you want, not what we want in the final analysis.
Speaker 2:It's so interesting to hear that approach coming into the market in the early two thousands when now I think it is the way people are reframing brick and mortar because online shopping has taken over so much. The reason you go out is for that experience.
Speaker 3:Yes. Experience has become key. And there's a book called Custom Her Experience. And basically says, I mean, you know, it's like she looked at my guidebook and wrote a book about it. So it's very validating.
Speaker 3:That book is very validating and it talks about how men tend to be more transactional when they shop, whereas women are often looking for a deeper relationship with you know, how the business is run, what products are chosen to be there, and the kind of people that they're interacting with in the shop.
Speaker 2:Has the the back end of your store, the employees, are... Is it all female?
Speaker 3:It is right now. But certainly, we have had amazing men work for us and with a heart for service. Yep. Here we're back
Speaker 2:to that. The one qualification.
Speaker 3:That is. Yeah. So as long as that's there, it works well. But what's happening in the Lower 48 is smaller towns are losing their retail. They're losing independently owned retail shops.
Speaker 3:And so part of what happens when a visitor comes to Juneau, when we do get those people who are coming back to us, because this experience no longer exists in their town, it's gone. So they value it. They're celebrating. So it's kind of nice for my team and for me, you know, to get that extra like, yay, oh my gosh, I don't have access to this where I'm from now. And it's like, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:And in my travels, look, you know, and I'm seeing the loss of this category and it's a significant loss to a community, I think.
Speaker 2:Well, and I'm reflecting on my own experience going and shopping down south and traveling and then coming back home. And it is, it's another one of those things that just makes you love Juneau.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And again, another thing we talked about before we started was a store being more than a store, about being a third place in the community and providing a different sort of venue. Can you share a little bit about what you've seen Shoefly's role in that is?
Speaker 3:Definitely. And it's kind of these moments that if you do have a heart for service, it's the moments that keep you going. Are... You know, it's those moments that allow you to stay open and brings you full circle, returns energy to you. And so over the years, there's one client in particular, there's a couple.
Speaker 3:So one's an older story from probably twelve years ago and a woman was going through a pretty violent divorce process. It was not pleasant. And so she would bring her young daughter in at the time, and we had the sparkly shoes for girls at that point. And her daughter would... We'd bring shoes and her daughter would play and play with the sparkly shoes.
Speaker 3:And mom and I would sit there and she would... And I would basically just bear witness to what she was going through and just tell her like, you're gonna be okay. You're gonna make it through this. And so she was, and so at one point I had to say, now just come in and visit. Like don't buy anything because then this is gonna be a problem, you know?
Speaker 3:So let's be sure, you know, and she did. And then years later, this is one of those being in business twenty one years thing that I never expected. Her daughter lives in New York now, but she traveled back with her fiance to Juno and she came in the shop and she walked up to me and she said, Do you remember me? And I said, Absolutely, yes, And I she said, You know, my mom's passed away, but I'm about to get married. And I just want you to know how much it meant to her and how much it meant to me to have this space.
Speaker 3:And I was just like, you know, blah. Like, I'm almost I there know. I know. And it's just those moments. And then I...
Speaker 3:The other day, just last week, I had a young woman who's new to Juno, so not a well developed network and really sad come in the store. And I let her, you know, you'd don't wanna race up to someone. Hey. You know? My name's Sydney.
Speaker 3:You know? Whatever. So I kinda let her settle down, and then we got to talking and discovered that we had a mutual love of books. So then, what are you reading? What am I reading?
Speaker 3:What am I... You know, and we got really excited and, you know, for a moment there. And then as she turned to go, she said, she looked me in the eye and she just said, You know, I'm gonna go sit in my car, drink my coffee and cry now because I need that. But I really needed this moment in this right here. And thank you.
Speaker 3:And so I feel like retail in a small town, especially Juneau has a higher turnover sometimes. Like we don't necessarily have, hey, I'm fifth generation Juneau wide or I'm a, you know. Now we do in of course the Alaskan native plants, But there's more turnover in the non native community, I feel like. And so when you come to a community, you need some FaceTime. And I feel like, you know, Bustin' Out and Annie Kailes and Shoefly and Drip Drop Wondershop and now Ewing Leather Supply and Kindred Post and
Speaker 2:And that whole downtown. It's a
Speaker 3:real Yeah, I could just keep naming names and where you're gonna find... And we've watched women come in and make friends with each other. Yeah. At Shoefly, you know, and they're like, oh, let's make a date to go for a hike or whatever. Or I've made friends, you know, same thing.
Speaker 2:My son just had that experience at the Wolfsong in cinema downtown, looking at Roxie, met another kid around his age who had the same passion and they just hit it off. So it is true that retail can provide a meeting spot that you find mutual interest
Speaker 3:in. Right. And it's an intangible value of a community. Yeah. You know, you can't really, it's not out front.
Speaker 3:So we know it when we feel it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. And so thinking about that and thinking, like, all the stores you just listed off, You know, it makes me just my love for Juno burst out. But then I also have concern for Juno. You know, we hear a lot about the hard economy right now.
Speaker 2:That coupled with the fact that we just had a great summer and visitor season. What... How do you feel about downtown right now and kind of your your hopes for the next five, ten years?
Speaker 3:Mhmm. I do think a thriving downtown is a huge asset for a community to have. So my hopes are that I, you know, there are all these generations of people that I get to work with, which I love. And I am very hopeful with younger generations right now, digging into, you know, valuing that FaceTime, valuing knowing where something comes from. You know, is it fast fashion and destroying the planet or is it something that's sustainable, for example?
Speaker 3:Or, you know, who are these people that work in this shop and are they buying a house? Are they, you know, getting married? Are they, you know, what life are we supporting by bringing some of our dollars to this shop?
Speaker 2:And so I hope
Speaker 3:that we can see Juno make an intentional move in that direction of understanding that if you in the Lower 48, people moved away completely and then those stores are gone. So it is possible for all the stores to go away. My hope is that that won't happen. Right now with the visitor industry, most of us get enough of a bump that we can afford to pay a full time person year round. If we didn't have that, we would not...
Speaker 3:Without that bump, there isn't enough local business to stay open year round unless you're a sole proprietor, which is a hard life. Yeah. It's a lot to ask of someone. So, you know, my hope is that we celebrate the fact that we have this amazing downtown structure, that we protect it. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And that maybe we don't. During COVID, unfortunately, we gave it up to a certain group of folks who are unhomed. And that's a tricky subject. And, you know, we all have compassion, but there is this, if something is for the general public, it can't just be for one segment of the population. And what happens is sometimes if we give our town away and allow the sidewalks to become unsafe in a way for children, it's not a good thing.
Speaker 3:So it's like, how do you balance that compassion and caretaking of people who need it with the fact that you also need a town that serves everyone and not, you know, tough one.
Speaker 2:Again, it's what I love about Juneau, that it's a small enough community that we can have those conversations, the really hard communications, and bring the city and social services and retail all together to
Speaker 3:try services, honestly. Figure things out. Yeah. For a town our size, I am very proud of what Juno is able to offer. Yeah.
Speaker 3:It is not normal. I've been, you know, we can go out and compare ourselves to other towns our size. And let me just say, not normal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's true. We are
Speaker 3:very special. We are very special. Exceptional. Okay. All the hard, big
Speaker 2:conversations aside, I would also love to hear a little bit about your passion for shoes. Oh,
Speaker 3:love shoes.
Speaker 2:What what are your... Where do those passions lie? Like, you have a favorite style type? Is it the styling and all the different things? Tell me about shoes.
Speaker 3:I think shoes are the thing that ground us. Shoes are the things... That's your connection to the earth is that's how you're gonna walk through the world. And shoes affect how you walk through the world. And to me, so that's everything.
Speaker 3:So whether you're gonna wear a heel and you are athletic enough to pull that off because that is not an easy feat sometimes. And you're gonna stride about in this, that's awesome. You know, I can't do it anymore. But I did. I thought it was awesome.
Speaker 3:And I have love shoes. So in the baby photos, you know, the obligatory naked baby photos, it's me in extra tops and me in bunny boots. And so I am a little torqued towards probably Alaskan footwear, like I'm wearing bloodstone. I get really excited about things that are relevant to how we need to live here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's some practical.
Speaker 3:Yes. So, you know, you can't... Like we pretty much don't carry leather outsoles that aren't treated in some way to withstand this wet environment we live in because wet destroys a leather outsole. So we're like practical, but we like diversity in our shoes. So we don't really subscribe to the idea that, heels are impractical, therefore no one should wear them.
Speaker 3:We're like, no, if you wanna wear them and that fits your vibe and how you wanna walk through the world in this particular moment, then yes. Yeah. Yes to you. And if you wanna stomp it out in a, you know, giant platform boot, And yes to you. Yes, yes, and yes.
Speaker 3:So I think they're fun because they change the whole nature of your outfit. Like you could just wear an outfit and change your shoes and completely different tone. Yeah. Which is so fun.
Speaker 2:I actually think it'd be fun to do just a little documentary on footwear in the capital because I would bet that our capital has more unique footwear than any other capital in the country.
Speaker 3:It probably does.
Speaker 2:Or broader diversity. Because I see some women strutting up there in heels that just make me nervous. It's icy out there. But then plenty of extra tufts and
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah. Yeah. And when I was in high school, so I graduated from Juneau, the thing to do was to not look like you lived here. Oh. Yes.
Speaker 3:So if you go to school here, and I still see that a little bit, I have to say that hasn't completely gone away. You know, these kids are wearing Birkenstock and socks through Back four inches
Speaker 2:a 100%,
Speaker 3:yes. Right? So it was the same when I was in high school, which means you got, you know, you again, there you are in your four inch ankle straps. I just can remember running downtown in my... A fuchsia dress and four inch heels because I wanted my bagel.
Speaker 2:Oh, bagels.
Speaker 3:And I and I didn't have very much time.
Speaker 2:And do you have a favorite pair of shoes that you have ever owned?
Speaker 3:Oh.
Speaker 2:Or a dream pair that you
Speaker 3:might own someday? I do have a favorite pair right now, and it's it's a Western styled boot, but it's a style boot. And it's got like a mid heel, and it's cream colored. It's like an ivory leather, but it's got a brown inlaid wing on the outside of it. So they're my Shoefly boots.
Speaker 3:Yeah. That does seem perfect. Them.
Speaker 2:Well, I hope that I get to see them at some point. I think we are running out of time. So for anyone that wasn't listening at the beginning, we just are wrapping up with Sydney Mitchell from Shoefly Downtown. And is there... Just remind everyone where to find the store if they haven't been there.
Speaker 3:Okay. We are downtown on Seward Street. So 109 Seward Street, we're open seven days a week. Hours change seasonally, but we are always open seven days a week. And if you have a heart for service, we are looking to add some people to our team for part time positions.
Speaker 3:So come and talk to me.
Speaker 2:And just remember that it's as good a place to window shop as it is to shop going for the experience as much as the shoes.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. All right. Well, thanks so much. Yeah. Thanks, Becca.
Speaker 1:You've been listening to Business Voices Juno. Subscribe everywhere you listen to your favorite broadcast. Share the episode and learn more about the Juno Chamber of Commerce at junochamber.com.