Two former St. Albert sisters are making a name for themselves in the business world from the ground up, or in their case, well-heeled shoe or boot up.
Poppy Barley is an entrepreneurial success story, going from a simple idea to a fast-growing custom footwear business, with online customers in North America and beyond snapping up quality leather flats and boots as fast as they can be made in the company’s manufacturing facility in Mexico.
When 29-year-old Justine Barber was travelling in Bali a couple of years ago, she came across made-to-measure footwear when a pair of boots she wanted wasn’t available in her size. Upon her return home to Canada, the perfect-fitting boots appeared, and an idea that became a business was born.
With 31-year-old sister Kendall Barber on board – “though I wasn’t sure I wanted my sister and best friend to be my business partner too,” laughed Justine – the pair of university grads set up shop at Startup Edmonton, where mentoring was as important as learning business basics.
“We care a lot about where things come from – ethical fashion – and we want to be transparent about the manufacturing process and pricing of custom footwear,” said Kendall. “We’re learning and sharing with our customers as we go along, so we definitely see a role for ourselves as mentors to other women interested in starting a company.”
With substantial quarter over quarter growth in its mere 16-month history, Poppy Barley is obviously striking a chord with women, who want style and quality without the usually exorbitant price of custom footwear. Still running from the Startup Edmonton offices with five employees (plus two in Mexico) handling web design, customer relations and the online measuring service, the company does reserve a half-day each week for in-person measure appointments.
To some degree, it’s about fit issues, said Kendall – long, narrow feet or athletic calves, for example – but women equally want to be engaged in the process; a part of the brand experience. That’s the case for St. Albert’s Rachel Humphrey, a physiotherapist at Leading Edge Physiotherapy and one of about a dozen Poppy Barley ambassadors scattered around the continent.
“Through blogs or word-of-mouth, I get to spread the word about a product I love – I wear the boots and flats at work – but Leading Edge is also committed to supporting local businesses,” said Humphrey, pointing to the “cash mob” effort spearheaded by Leading Edge to give an “en masse” boost to a local company. The owners of Leading Edge even bought all their staffers Poppy Barley flats or boots last Christmas, and at prices ranging from $180 to $450 a pair, it was a sweet Christmas indeed for the delighted ladies of the physiotherapy centre.
Kendall said customers describe the boots and flats as light and comfortable above all else, made with quality leathers in unique styles and colours. A crowdfunding campaign last summer helped the company introduce a requested high-heeled boot, and plans are in the works to develop an ankle boot and a possible line of other leather goods.
“E-commerce allows our small company to go everywhere – though we do have a high proportion of customers in St. Albert,” added Justine. “We’re continually evolving and re-thinking every step of how footwear is made and sold. We want to be the top custom footwear manufacturer in North America.”
