On Display Through August 30
I am a native of Atlanta. After graduating from Spelman College in 1962, I relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where for thirty-five years I served as an elementary school teacher with the Chicago Board of Education. Several years after retiring, I moved back to Atlanta from Chicago in 2009.
I have been collecting miniature shoes and other "shoe stuff" for over twenty-five years. As my trademark has always been that of a "fashionista", I have always been attracted to designs and styles for women that have an intriguing appeal. One day while I was shopping in the Hallmark Card Shop in Chicago, the glass case displaying the miniature shoes attracted my attention. I was fascinated with the different array of designs. Because I have always been fond of shoes, I finally decided that I would make my first purchase. I bought two of them and placed them on my living room etagere. When friends and family came over to visit, they would comment about how cute they were and became fascinated with them. I have purchased only a few of the shoe things you see, for most of them have been gifts for my birthday, Mother's Day, holiday gifts and souvenirs from trips. I have received some of the "shoe stuff" at other times from people just because the shoe things they saw reminded them of my collection which also showcases my favorite colors of yellow and pink.
As I am an avid traveler, having visited London, Switzerland, Austria, Amsterdam, Venice and Paris, as well as Alaska and the Caribbean. Many of my shoe pieces have come from shopping while in Europe. One such shoe is a perfume bottle that was purchased in Paris. A favorite in the shoe collection is a canvas lace up shoe I purchased in Barcelona, Spain. Another favorite shoe is a black and white saddle shoe. The one furniture piece in my collection is a shoe chair which is always the topic of conversation. The shoe collection also includes a shoe calendar, address labels, a shoe door stop, a floor shoe mat, a shoe telephone, a shoe purse, shoe pictures, shoe note pads, shoe stationery, jewelry, and a shoe address book. I also have cake shoe mold for baking. This is short list of the many shoe things that I have in my collection.
