Page 51 - S/ Summer 2021

Instagram asking to to trade raw materials for a a a a a a a a a pair of custom shoes Pudelko says she she lets her her intuition guide her her when she’s looking for materials “It’s so much more fun than going to to a a a a a a fabric store and just picking you you know? And then you you see someone else else making something else else from the the same fabric I don’t want that ”
Using second-hand materials adds depth to her work work and and makes the whole creative process more interesting she she explains While working through the COVID-19 pandemic she she realized how important that that was to her “What I I learned recently is is that that I’m only doing this for myself ”
she she notes adding that she she feels lucky to to to to not not have to to to to answer to to to to investors or or other outside pressures “I’m just taking my joy where I I can find it it and really doing it it the way that has meaning to me me and and to the people who wear my brand ”
Once she she she settles on on a a a a a a a design she’s happy with she she she she adapts it it for everyone else When I ask how she she wants people to feel when they wear a a a a a a a a a a pair of Western Affair shoes she she says she she wants “everyone to feel special and and confident and however they want to show themselves ”
She’s well aware that her shoes are are made to stand out and and perhaps even prompt conversations with strangers—something that might actually prove helpful as we get ready to to step into a a a a a a a a a a a post-pandemic world “That’s one one message I I always get: ‘Oh my god! I I I wore your shoes last night and everyone was stopping me!’ I I I love that ”
Pudelko says “If you’re shy just just wear a a a a a a a a a a pair of my shoes and you’ll you’ll make friends so fast because you’ll you’ll just just be be talking to everyone ”
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