Show notes
Sarah Flint is the Creative Director and Founder at Sarah Flint Inc. She grew up near Boston and went to Parsons & FIT where she majored in Accessories Design. She interned at DVF and Proenza Schouler before founding her own brand. Her shoes have been worn by Meghan Markle, Lady Gaga, Kristen Stewart, Karlie Kloss, Cindy Crawford and more. Mom has enjoyed being an ambassador for the brand.
- What was your experience like going to both Parsons & FIT? Shoes have always been her passion. She tried to wear her patent leather tap shoes to school when she was little. She always loved fashion, & worked at the only retail store in her town. She moved to NYC, & was doing a fashion design program. Then transferred to FIT so she could focus on accessories. She wanted to make shoes for women that were comfortable & beautiful. She thought it was crazy to spend $800 on beautiful shoes that at the end of the day you were dying because your feet hurt so much. There was a lot of emphasis put on the 150mm heel height, but not a lot of focus on flats. She wanted to learn why the shoes were uncomfortable. She moved to Italy to study alongside factory workers to learn about the engineering. There are a lot of details around comfort in her shoes: arch support, padding, rubber on the bottom. Heel height: 100mm is 4 inches, 85mm is 3.5 inches, 50mm is 2 inches, 30mm styles is 1 1/2 inches. Since she has a direct-to-consumer brand, she can have a dialogue with the customer. She loves toe cleavage, but just the right amount. Her shoes are functional, comfortable and chic. She wanted to make shoes that women could commute in, not have to commute in another pair of shoes and change once you arrive.
- How did you find factories to work with? This was a challenge. She knocked on the door of a lot of factories before finding the right one. She wanted to make shoes at the top luxury factories at the top brands, because she didn't want them to be just comfort shoes. She was 23 when started going to factories & 25 when launched the brand, so it was hard to be taken seriously. One of her college teachers had been a pattern maker for a factory, & convinced them to take a chance on her. It is better to keep your focus narrow in the beginning, because if not, it is a red flag for the factory.
- How do you choose the color ways? Do you come out with seasonal collections? Since direct-to-consumer, not so much on a wholesale calendar. It is more buy-now-wear-now. Have limited edition launches. They have core colors they always have: taupe, navy, cognac. They use vegetable tanned leather, so it has a nice patina to it. The seasonal colors come from her inspiration. For example, a Scotland inspired collection for fall. Patina means a look that comes with age that has a weathered, but beautiful quality.
- Originally, you had a wholesale model where you sold your shoes to retailers. Did you always plan on changing to D2C? If not, How did the idea for changing the model to D2C come about? It was not always in the plan. It was something she thought about for 2 years before had the courage to do it. She saw the retail landscape changing, and looked to see how she & her friends/clients were shopping. She wanted to have the shoes available to more people. They switched, but didn't change the manufacturing, so had the same luxury quality.
- Have you considered opening Sarah Flint stores or popups? Yes, probably in 2020. Focused on online growth right now
- Has it been challenging with brand awareness going D2C? How has Instagram helped? Social media is a huge part of it, especially since this is a great way to interact with your customer. They use digital marketing & advertising. Word of mouth is the most effective. If you see an ad on Instagram for a pair of shoes vs. your best friend telling you, you are more likely to buy based on your best friend's recommendation.
- I have really enjoyed being an ambassador for the brand, and watching it grow so successfully and so quickly. The shoes are beautiful and have a smart price point. You were able to reduce the cost but keep the quality. It’s very exciting that all these high-profile people love the shoes, women like Meghan Markle and Amal Clooney, who I admire so much. It’s important for someone like Amal to be stylish but when you’re going to be on your feet all day you want to be comfortable as well! The only issue I have run into is that sometimes shoes are sold out because they are so popular. I know you all are doing your best to keep up with the demand. What are the pros and cons of high profile people wearing your shoes? They have added a lot of factories to help with out-of-stock. They are in a better position to forecast demand. They had so many styles & SKUs when wholesaling, because everyone wants exclusives so they don't have to go on markdown. She was designing 200 pairs of shoes a year. She has been able to figure out what are the best sellers, & put volume & dollars behind those styles. Will have limited edition styles. Email [email protected] if something is sold out. They were able to narrow the assortment and focus has made it much better to order the right amounts.
- Walk us through the process of designing a shoe: start with a sketch, go to Italy and work with the modalista (pattern maker of the shoe), comes back with a prototype. The prototype requires a lot of corrections. If lots of changes, go to a 2nd prototype, then make minor tweaks, but sometimes have many rounds of prototyping. A last is the form a shoe is built on top of. May go through a lot of phases to offer the right width. After prototyping, you get a sample in the final materials you'll use. You sign off on the sample, it goes to production. You get a top of production sample to make sure everything is the same and sign off on that one. They have 5 pairs shipped to test everything to make sure all set.
- How many times a year do you go to Italy? It varies year by year depending on the needs. Right now, it is every few months.
- As an entrepreneur, what are challenges you face? With growth comes challenge. Scaling the team (finding the right people at the right time) & production can be hard.
- What do you do outside of work? She works a lot! She loves eating out & traveling. She is very close with her family.
- It was exciting when you found out Barneys, Bloomingdales, etc wanted to pick you up. I’m sure you were honored they wanted to carry your shoes. How did you approach telling your retailers you were going D2C? Everyone had been such great partners, so were sad to say goodbye, but wished her the best. Haven't said goodbye forever.
- What have you learned from Cindy Crawford who is an investor in your business? Cindy talked to her about having iconic pieces and focusing on them. She knows a lot about branding & marketing. Stick with your gut. Cindy probably has a lot of people giving her opinions, she has to decide what she thinks is best. Women have strong instincts, but don't always trust them. You instincts have gotten you this far, & it is your brand at the end of the day. They always look to, "What would you tell or do for your sister".
- What future plans do you have for your brand? Are you interested in featuring different classifications like RTW, handbags, etc? They will launch small leather goods and belts. Very focused on shoes, but could see Sarah Flint as a lifestyle brand. Home, outerwear, etc.
