Brides are falling for the fun and distinctive designs from Hourglass Footwear, an innovative new company offering custom hand-painted footwear for women.
“If you’ve seen one bridal shoe, you’ve pretty much seen them all,” says Minnesota native Kira Bundlie, co-owner of Seattle-based Hourglass Footwear. “Until now,” adds Bundlie’s business partner, Lisa Strom. “We love the fact that we can offer brides something completely different.”
Bundlie and Strom met as friends and quickly bonded over a shared desire to build a creative business. Several months of brainstorming and experimenting later, Hourglass Footwear was born. Now, the company boasts nearly 100 designs and nine talented artists, as their hand-painted heels are selling nationally and internationally.
While choosing from the myriad of designs may be tough, ordering is easy. Customers pick a shoe style (flats, mary-janes, mid-heels, stilettos and platforms) and a design, and the artists get to work. They can also completely customize pairs. “We can match wedding colors or themes, paint names, dates or bouquet flowers... we’ve even painted pictures of a bride’s cats on her shoes, so they could walk down the aisle with her,” says Bundlie.
“Customers are also more than welcome to send us their own shoes to paint,” adds Strom. The only stipulation: The shoes must be made of a stiff leather or leather-like material.
Hourglass Footwear offers wedding packages; the most popular is the Bridal Shower, where brides pick a pair of custom heels and get half off a matching pair of flats. “That way, when it’s time to dance, they don’t have to give up their gorgeous shoes,” says Strom.
Pre-designed shoes start at $90. Pricing for custom styles varies by the design. 206.535.6193; hourglassfootwear.com
