When we think about “community,” what comes to mind? The city we live in, our neighborhood, schools our kids go to, churches we attend, etc. These are the groups we choose mainly based on geography. But in addition, we join and/or create online communities.
I’ll admit, I was reluctant to embrace online communities. I mean, how do you get to know someone if you can’t be with them face-to-face? What I wasn’t considering was the chance to expand my horizons and meet people with similar interests who live in other parts of the country – or world! It is kind of like 21st century pen-pals!
As the years have gone by, and online communities have grown, I‘ve discovered that the options seem endless – which can be overwhelming. How does one find and become active in these online communities? What I’ve realized is that they are actually quite similar to our physical communities – you find people with whom you relate and then you become involved with those groups.
I have joined online groups for my personal interests like fitness, crafting, gardening and cooking. Professionally, I have found them with shoes. Most women love shoes, but many of these same women have a love-hate relationship with shoes. Maybe it’s because their feet are experiencing problems such as bunions, hammertoes or heel pain. Many wear sizes that most shoe companies don’t make (or have quit making).
As the Marketing Director for Walking Cradles, I take great joy in being introduced to women with whom we can create a community around everything involving shoes – including dealing with those pesky problems, but still finding cute shoes to wear!
What I have also found is that these same women want to know about everything! Whether it’s skincare, makeup, menopause, creating and sticking to good habits, dealing with empty-nesting, mental health, romance and sexuality or travel – nothing is off limits. The same women who now know that the band size of your bra is only the first measurement that is important, now need to know that the length (size) of your foot is a very similar situation.
photo credit Amoena
Wait, what? Now we are comparing boobs to feet? Well, yes. Let’s use this example: Let’s say you wear a size 36 bra. Does that cup size make a difference? Imagine trying to put your DD’s into an A cup bra – or your A’s into a DD. Get the mental image? Yep, I thought so! Now, try the same with a shoe. Let’s say you wear an 8 (size) WW (wide-wide width). You go to the store and try putting a size 8 Narrow shoe on your foot. Kind of the same result as putting those DD’s into an A cup bra. However, what many women do – because they don’t know they have width options – is just keep going up in size, meaning instead of getting an 8 WW, they may just end up getting a size 11 Medium. This creates an entire host of problems, which is why I was thrilled to be a guest of Gail and Christina’s on the Midlife Moxie podcast!
Gail and Christina have engaged an audience of women who aren’t just looking for great shoes, they want shoes that aren’t going to hurt their feet. Perhaps they already know they need a size or width shoe that is difficult to find. Or, they might be experiencing common pains and problems but aren’t quite sure how to go about fixing or alleviating some of the pain.
Providing guidance in this area fuels my fire every single day! With over 20 years experience in the shoe industry, working side-by-side each day with our shoe designer (at Walking Cradles since 2015) and having the opportunity to consult with some podiatrists and physical therapists, I am able to share some things that women might not otherwise know about.
*Disclaimer – I am not a podiatrist or a physical therapist, nor do I play one on TV – I am merely sharing information that I have gathered over the years! *
After being introduced to Gail and Christina, we quickly discovered that our audiences have similar interests and they offered me the fun opportunity to be a guest on the Midlife Moxie podcast, Episode #58: OUCH, My Feet Hurt! We're Talking Shoes and Feet with Lisa Loyet Schmitz, which is now available on all major podcast platforms.
Gail and Christina met as Mary Kay consultants. Gail lives on the East Coast, and Christina on the West Coast, but together they have created a community of women who want to know more about all these midlife topics I mentioned before. Gail and Christina are style experts and midlife realists who understand that once we get to be a certain age, there are things we want to know, what to expect, or how to deal with. They bring people onto their podcast who are passionate experts in their fields. When they invited Walking Cradles to talk about wearing the correct size shoe, it was a perfect fit for all of us!
We invite you to take a little time in your day to listen to our fun segment on shoes, proper fit and dealing with some common foot problems. Going forward we have some other fun things in the works with Midlife Moxie – so we hope you continue to “Get Your Moxie On” with Gail, Christina and their guests, and become part of their community on Facebook and their website!
The Brannock - still the most accurate way to measure the size and width of a foot!
Oh, and if you haven't recently, go get your feet measured! :)
XO,
Lisa
Give a girl the right shoes and she can change the world. ~Marilyn Monroe
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