Devon designer dazzles at debut showcase

IF Cinderella had been wearing a pair of Julie Mawson's shoes to the ball, she might never have been found by her handsome prince.

The Yorkshire-born shoe-designer living in South Devon has just launched her first range of shoes, aimed at brides and prom-princesses, under the name Occasion Shoe.

Following at sparkling debut at the British Bridal Exhibition in Harrogate, orders are now being taken from boutiques around the country.

Lined with soft kid-leather, Cinderella might have found Ms Mawson's shoes a little too indulgent to carelessly kick off when the clock struck midnight. Since the Bridal expo, the Wembury-based designer has been following up orders and expressions interest from stockists across the UK and from as far as the USA and Australia, for her shoes and sandals which retail for between £180 and £225.

Ms Mawson spent 19 years as a shoe designer for UK stores, before she and partner Chris Champion, a former retail buyer, established the self-funded Occasion Shoe at the beginning of this year.

Ms Mawson said: "There are lots of bridal ranges in the market using the same basic styles. I wanted to create a fresh and exciting collection of shoes for the discerning bride-to-be, where there would be no compromise on design and I could offer something really different. Some brides start with the dress, but for me, it's shoes first, dress second."

Although focused on design and production, while Mr Champion deals with the sales and accounts, Ms Mawson adds that she has also begun to develop a relationship with clients who prefer to deal with the designer direct.

Ms Mawson also had a hand in the company's distinctively branded website, which was created by Plymouth based Dv8 Media. Online tools enable browsers to closely scrutinise the shoes with a rollover zoom – "I wanted the site to be as 'tactile' as possible" – with clients able to focus upon detail as small as the grain of the shoes' silk.

Although a vital business tool, the website was built to support the firm's marketing strategy, rather than create e-business. "It is purely a showcase," said Ms Mawson. "We won't be selling the product online. One reason behind this is to support the small boutiques who stock our range. We also wanted it to be a product that the customer has to go and get."

The shoes are manufactured in the Far East, with the first shipment due to arrive in the country in the New Year, where they will be warehoused in Plymouth and dispatched to stockists within days of their arrival for the new season.

Despite dreaming up fairytale shoes to give bridal gowns a happy ending, the self-confessed 'heel fiend' and Mr Champion have yet to make their own wedding plans. "I'll have to design my own one -off pair when I do," she said. "At the moment, it's all too mad. It's just business, business."