Discount + A Giveway!

I'm sorry. Did you not hear me?

The sisters behind KM2 shoes have been kind enough to offer an exclusive 20% DISCOUNT to my readers! Once you decide to order a pair of KM2 shoes all you have to do is email info@km2shoes and give them the code AGGTS which will be good for 20% off! Which would be good towards

These

OR

These

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

The ladies have also, oh so generously agreed, to give one lucky lady a FREE pair of KM2 shoes OR $200 worth of accessories!!! Super amazing stuff, right??? Okay now here is what you have to do. I'm even gonna make it easier for ya.

The contest will run from today through next Tuesday, and the lucky winner will be announced on Wednesday, July 21.

To enter you must:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite item is from KM2shoes.com

To increase your chances of winning you can do the following:

• Be a follower of A Girl's Guide to Shoes and the KM2 Shoes blog (2 entries)
• Become a Facebook fan of KM2 shoes and A Girl's Guide to Shoes (2 entries)
• Follow @AGGTS and @shopKM2 on twitter (2 entries)
• Tweet about this giveaway and mention @AGGTS and @shopKM2 and then leave a comment on this post telling me you tweeted (2 entries)
• If you have a blog mention and link back to this contest in one of your posts, and then leave another comment letting me know you posted about it. (2 entries)

All in all you could garner a total of 11 entries! Now what the heck are you waiting for???

Enter now!

This is an amazing giveaway!

Good luck!

Interview With THE Shoe Designers (Part 2)

I had SO much fan with Katelyn and her sister Mattison. They were kind enough to let me try on some of their amazing shoes. Lucky me!

AGGTS & Katelyn of KM2 shoes

Admiring what was easily my favorite pair

For part 1 be sure to check out yesterday's post. And now without further adieu, part 2 of my interview with KM2 shoes.

AGGTS: What role does each one of you have within the company?

Katelyn: I am director of operations. I oversee nuts and bolts stuff, AKA paperwork. Mattison is Director of Sales and Marketing, she is a selling machine and a huge driving force behind the company, she has quite an edge! Megan is a genius... I mean seriously, she dreams up new shoes and wakes up and makes them, she is the creative director.


Truth is though that we all sort of cross our borders as far as our roles, we all have so many ideas to bring to the table whether its design (we all have 3 completely different styles and tastes which make for a great blend), or even on the business and selling aspect... Km2 is a sister team effort with a capital T.

AGGTS: As a customer what should I know if I want to order a pair of KM2 shoes from your website?

Katelyn: You should know that not every style is up on the website... we interchange them to keep things fresh. We are constantly producing new shoes, new styles, new colors! That's why you've got to check the site constantly and follow us on facebook and twitter at shopkm2 and also our blog! We post new shoes and inspiration all the time. You should also know that we sometimes use vintage pieces as the main custom element to our shoes. That means that no two pairs are exactly alike so you may receive a slight variation in ornaments, which is part of the excitement. And also if you see a shoe you love and maybe you have an idea for a color you would like to add or are looking at a style to match a certain outfit, than email us at info@km2shoes.com. Let us talk it out with you, design you exactly what you want!

AGGTS: And where can we find your shoes in stores (both in St. Louis and L.A.)?

Katelyn: In Saint Louis go to CHA on Clayton Road in Ladue and Susan Lynns in Town and Country at Clayton and 141 with the polka dot awnings. Both stores are amazing and the people that run them are even more amazing. You are sure to have wonderful shopping experience at both places.


In L.A., we are at Em & Co on 3rd street right in the Fairfax District! This store is so awesome, they had our first fashion show for us during LA Fashion week in '09, we love them.

AGGTS: What are your plans for the future?

Katelyn: BIG ONES! NO SMALL PLANS MADE HERE. in upcoming months we are THRILLED about our boots coming and flats and closed toed pumps to follow. We are getting ready to be featured on a international webisode that will expand our borders tremendously. We are definitely an international brand and I am thrilled to hear stories of customers from all parts of the world. The customized part will always be there, we will always give our customers the option to decide exactly what they want and create with us. We will be doing another line that is not customized and a lower price point but with all the elements of our line now, timeless, wonderful, head turning, sexy shoes. We are on a mission to spread the love and joy of fashion we have in every day life and hopefully all women will want to "Start with their shoes!"

I really can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed meeting the incredible women behind KM2 shoes. Here are a few more pictures, including the boots Katelyn mentioned. They are amazing!

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I had such a blast meeting Katelyn and Mattison and I hope you enjoyed learning about KM2 shoes as much as I did.

But wait! That's not all! The sisters behind KM2 shoes have been kind enough to offer an exclusive 20% DISCOUNT to my readers! Once you decide to order a pair of KM2 shoes all you have to do is email info@km2shoes and give them the code AGGTS which will be good for 20% off! Amazing stuff, right?

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

And (drum roll please) as promised there is a GIVEAWAY! The ladies have also, oh so
generously agreed, to give one lucky lady a FREE pair of KM2 shoes OR $200 worth of accessories!!! Super amazing stuff, right??? Okay now here is what you have to do.

The contest will run from today through next Tuesday, and the lucky winner will be announced on Wednesday, July 21.

To enter you must:

• Be a follower of A Girl's Guide to Shoes and the KM2 Shoes blog
• Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite item is from KM2shoes.com

To increase your chances of winning you can do the following:

• Become a Facebook fan of KM2 shoes and A Girl's Guide to Shoes (2 entries)
• Follow @AGGTS and @shopKM2 on twitter (2 entries)
• Tweet about this giveaway and mention @AGGTS and @shopKM2 and then leave a comment on this post telling me you tweeted (2 entries)
• If you have a blog mention and link back to this contest in one of your posts, and then leave another comment letting me know you posted about it. (2 entries)

All in all you could garner a total of 9 entries!

Good luck!

Interview With THE Shoe Designers (Part 1)

As a resident of St. Louis, MO it isn't everyday one comes across bonafide shoe designers. Especially ones who actually reside in this fair city. Nevertheless that is exactly what happened when I decided to do a little research on facebook for local shoe stores. I quickly discovered the brand KM2 shoes and was instantly smitten. Their facebook page led me to their website and I couldn't believe my eyes. Gorgeously designed, ORIGINAL pieces with a uniquely artistic flair for a fraction of the price of those high end designers. KM2 shoes is a company founded by a trio of sisters (Megan, Katelyn, and Mattison) who all share an intense passion for fashion. Fashion is in their blood, after all, with a father in the industry for 26 years and a mother who has a keen eye for what will always remain timeless and feminine. I instantly knew I wanted to learn more and I naturally wanted to share my find with you (The best readers/followers out there!) so I set up an interview. Katelyn and Mattison (Megan was in L.A. but I still managed to get a few questions answered by her via email) were kind enough to invite me out to their showroom/design space to get a peek into the latest addition to their business. Just wait until you get a load of these shoes! Here is a little teaser picture for ya.

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AGGTS: I love the story behind how KM2 came about. Would you mind elaborating, for my readers, on how this business was first created?

Katelyn: Well Megan and I were in a marketing class at UCLA with Peter Kraus (wonderful teacher by the way) and he gave us the mission, given our background and love for fashion, to create the perfect shoe. So, we went about sketching and creating and ripping shoes apart to get ideas and loved it! We called our sister Matti and said "Oh my gosh we gotta do this thing... ". We started showing people in class our designs and the response was amazing! Our teacher told us we didn't have to have everything out, just to step towards our new found dream of having a line and that we would be halfway there, so we stepped out, invested each a small amount of money and had our shoes made at a factory in Brazil! The rest is history!

AGGTS: Tell me about the design process and where you find your inspiration.

Katelyn: Well all creative credit first and foremost goes to God, He is the ultimate creator. Beyond that we do love to follow fashion and trends via runway or just the amazing style you can find on fashion blogs from all over the world, and traveling. We are mostly inspired by people I would say. Personality, personal style... We are inspired by characters... when creating a shoe we start by thinking of the girl who is wearing them... is she cultured? Is she adventurous.. is she dainty? Wild? Rock and Roll?? There are so many facets of design and so many women of style to inspire us daily. Our mom is a style icon to us:) She is beautiful and timeless. Megan is Creative Director... I am sure she has some clear cut ideas too.

Megan: We start out designing a classic and timeless base construction and have that hand made in a factory. Once we get them in we go to town designing what we would love to see on our own feet. That includes hand sewing, dying, studding... Everything added is done by hand and therefore each shoe is one of a kind and couture.

As for inspiration, it comes from everywhere. Whether it be watching an era movie and loving a character, seeing someone on the street, studying runways and trend reports, or simply getting a divinely inspired idea. There are times when I will wake up in the middle of the night and have an idea on how to design and assemble a shoe and I'm like "Thank you God"! I have to keep a notepad next to my bed. When executing a design idea on our basic construction, our shoes become a character. The thinking becomes all about where the woman will be going in the shoes or what she will be doing. Is she going to meet her Romeo in them, is she going to get the big promotion in them, is he performing on stage in them etc...

AGGTS: What makes your shoes unique?

Katelyn: Well not only are they customized which is the obvious answer, but they are also partly handcrafted. We mull over every pair that comes out of our studio, we spend hours, sometimes even days searching for the perfect pieces to go on each shoe we design... We treat every pair as a piece of art , when a customer gets a pair of KM2 shoes they know we put our heart into them. Even our employees treat the shoes with the same tender loving care.

Megan: There is such a thought out process to our shoes. We love dressing up and becoming a character. I think our shoes reflect that. Growing up in a shoe design household, there was never a time where the outfit didn't start first with the shoes. My dad always said, "As long as you have a great pair of shoes and accessories you can pull off anything." I guess that stuck.

AGGTS: What is your favorite style of KM2 shoes?

Katelyn: MY FAVORITE ARE GLITTER! I LOVE GLITTER! Oh and this new pair we made that are AMAZING. Fire engine red with radiant swarovski crystal flowers... maybe those are my favorite. I think they are, I have worn them every day this week with every type of outfit imaginable, dressy to cut offs. This is a hard question.

Megan: I think I have worn my Esthers more than any shoe in my life. They have gone from the grocery store to the Grammys.

KM2 Shoes - Esther

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 of my "Interview With THE Shoe Designers". Another teaser, here are couple more designs for you to drool over enjoy.

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Seriously??? How hot are these?

A pair of custom designed bridal shoes.

I guarantee if you come back tomorrow you won't regret it. There may or may not be a special discount available exclusively for AGGTS readers towards the purchase of a pair of KM2 shoes AND a GIVEAWAY too!!!!!!