By Jaime Coffin
When I was a kid, I would lay awake on New Year’s Eve listening to the fireworks going off at night. Where I grew up, New Year’s Eve was a big deal. So much so that people would buy boxes of fireworks and wait for that perfect moment to launch into celebration. If you were able to stay up, you could walk out your door and see the fog of smoke up and down the street from all the fireworks. For me though, I preferred laying in bed listening to the fireworks.
As I laid there, I waited for that magical transition where we moved from one year to the next… where we would be leaving the past behind and jumping into our future in a moment’s time. I would think about all the plans that I had for the next year until eventually, amidst all the celebrations, I would fall asleep. Then, I would wake up in the future.
Now as an adult, I know that we are always creating our past and jumping into our future every moment that we breathe. Still yet, there’s something special about leaving one year behind and going into the next. Instead of thinking of all the plans for the new year, I now spend that last week leading into the new year as a time of reflection. It is that time of year to stop, breathe, and take in all that you’ve created this year before you put your head down and continue on in your journey.
At Kkira Feet, we have taken this on as well and reflected on our 2021 this past week. As we closed out the year, we were present to all things that there were to be grateful for as a team and as a company. For us, it has been a learning experience in what it looks like to be a small business that is committed to sustainability, fair wages, equality, and full self-expression because the heart of this company is about people. It is not a common thing in the workplace where a company genuinely takes action to make a lasting difference in the world as part of its core and continues to grow. This past year we set out to have Kkira Feet fully self-expressed just as we stand for each and every person in the world. And the outcome was beautiful.
This year we started our Fashion with A Cause line to join our Black Lives Matter line where 20% of profits go to the associated causes. We continue to research and post on social matters that are important to us to give voice to those matters. We wanted a way to continue to bring awareness and to continue the conversation beyond the standard newscycle as well as financially be able to support those causes.
In terms of communications and social media, we had multiple firsts as well as some exciting growth! We started our blog and newsletter to keep connected with our followers and increased our social media presence from Instagram and Facebook to expand into Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. On Instagram, our connections grew from a little over 670 followers to over 7,000 followers.
We also were honored and grateful to be in multiple publications this year: CR Fashion Magazine, Marie Claire, Vogue, and Eurowomandk.
We partnered with the amazing Mark Bryan, an influencer and our brand ambassador, who lives in Europe and advocates for the freedom of choice in clothes. In line with our stand for freedom and full self-expression, Mark Bryan shares his belief with the world that “clothes and shoes should not dictate a person’s sexual orientation or gender.” His message speaks to the heart of Kkira Feet… to be free to fully embrace and express yourself!
As if that was not enough, we also had the wonderful privilege of collaborating with Patricia Fox (@purelypatricia) aka the walking installation of New York City) and Annaliese Dayes(@annaliesedayes - former America’s Next Top Model Contestant and current Fashion presenter at QVCUK) this year on photoshoots and projects. Their bold and unique styles and their support of us inspired us and provided an avenue to share who we are to all of you!
We also took on interns for the first time this year where they were equal team members along with the core team and created projects that supported their growth and development in an area of their choice. They have been a vital part of our presence in social media and communications. A big thanks and acknowledgement to them! Jessica, Anna, Abby, Samira, Adrienne, Samantha, Isabelle, and Eleanor, you are rock stars in your own right and we are grateful for you!
Needless to say, it has been an exciting year!
As we have closed out 2021 and start off in 2022, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to you, our customers, friends, and supporters! We would not be here without you. Thank you for choosing us, thank you for believing in us and what we stand for, thank you for being your beautiful, free self-expressed self! You are our inspiration!
With that, from Kkira Feet, we wish you all the love, joy and happiness as we say good-bye to 2021 and wish you all that and more for 2022! Here’s to You! Happy New Year!