The Read | Behind the Business Poppy Barley Weekly 25 + 26 November 21, 2014 5-minute read We missed you last week! That means we're giving you 14-days-worth of updates, so let's get started... Here's what happened: We spent five days in Toronto measuring more than 150 women for custom tall boots, ankle boots and flats. The best part about it was meeting all the new + returning customers. Many had been following the Poppy Barley story for months, and many had heard about us from this Globe & Mail article (we are so thankful for press!). Our first popup happened with Jeff at Brodawka & Friends at 1114 Queen Street W. If you haven't been here before, go. You're in for plaid pants; MeFits critters, "solving a world of insecurities one story at a time"; a tasteful selection of records--rotated regularly; hot tea; and some beautifully handcrafted footwear. Our second popup shop was co-hosted with BRIKA, a very cool, curated and well-crafted e-tailer that helped kickstart our Christmas shopping. A final word: stay tuned for details on a more permanent Poppy Barley shop-in-shop in Toronto. We launched the Black Contemporary Ballet Flat! It doesn't get more classic than this. We launched our first Ready-to-Wear Collection. Some of you are lucky enough to have a standard foot size and foot width, but you're looking for serious comfort and classic style. With our Ready-to-Wear line, you can order Poppy Barley flats and ankle boots from us in Black, Ruby Red, or Cognac, and cut the wait time. They'll be on your feet in just two weeks. We received an honest and articulate Poppy Barley review--one that we'd be crazy not to share--from Nicco at A Different Face. We were featured on Style Bistro, Elliven Studio, Lark & Linen, and The Sparkle. If only you could see what a blog post does for office morale (high-fives, heel clicks are involved)! Thank you! We got a hard copy of Vancouver Magazine and their 2014 Gift Guide featuring our Cognac and Black Foxhunt Boots! Damn, they look good. We shipped out copies of Kelsey Nixon's cookbook to the winners of our #PoppyBarleyFeast contest. We shot the lookbook and measurement videos for our upcoming Men's Collection at IZM Design. We will be launching in beta the first week of December, but it's invite-only for access! Sign up here to get on the list. We celebrated our 2nd birthday on November 15th in Toronto! We're putting together another timeline for you capturing the highs and lows of the last year, but first, read our timeline from our first year in business. We had a mini-makeover of our website with a more streamlined measurement process. We hope you like it! We welcomed two new staff members to Poppy Barley - Yvonne and Erika. You'll be hearing from them, and more about them, in the coming weeks. Here's what's coming up: We are hosting TWO popup shops in Edmonton this weekend! The first is at Cory Christopher's studio for the CC Christmas Market. The second is at the Royal Glenora Club's Christmas Gift Show. We'll be measuring you for custom shoes and selling Gift Card Packages. Don't miss! We are hosting another popup shop at Vine Styles in Calgary, but this time, we're adding some sweet treats from Crave Cupcakes to the wine pairings and measuring appointments. Book here. We have an exciting collaboration with Berg & Betts coming! If you click through, we bet you can guess what it is... Our Limited Edition Bordeaux Everyday City Boot launched last Monday - and there's only 12 of 25 pairs left! Our cofounder, Kendall, was nominated for an Alberta Women Entrepreneurs Celebration of Achievement Award! We can't stop listening to Serial and watching new episodes of Homeland. We had some serious laughs at the latest Mean Tweets sketch from Jimmy Kimmel. We attended the official opening party of Kit and Ace on Whyte Avenue last night, and are getting ready for Saturday night's PARKSHOW at the Go Centre/Saville Centre in Edmonton. There's only about 40 tickets left, and it's going to be an outstanding night in fashion. See you there. Ken Bautista of Startup Edmonton announced the re-vamp of Vacancy Hall in the Mercer Building. Expect pop-up retail and studios that are short-term, flexible, and customizable. *As always, you can follow the happenings at Poppy Barley LIVE via Instagram. Thanks to @AnyaGeo and @Chiutips for your photos this week! Shop Poppy Barley The Universal Pouch Large Black Pebble $158.00 AUD The Large Shopper - Nylon $4.00 AUD The Small Shopper - Nylon $3.00 AUD The Leather Kit $32.00 AUD Older Post Newer Post