Where have your Aurora Shoes taken YOU?

Chicago

This little cutie is Dave's almost-one-year-old daughter, Reagan standing with a little support from her Aurora Shoe clad mama on a family trip to Chicago last week.  She took her first few steps yesterday and is going to be running around before they know it! 

Dave and his famiy were in Chicago to check out our leather supplier, the Horween Leather Company.  Check back later in the week to learn more about what Dave saw and why he loves working with this classic American leather company.

Feeling Hot, Hot Hot!

It's been a hot and humid couple of weeks around Aurora.  We feel lucky to have Cayuga Lake just down the road.  When you're hot and sticky there's nothing better than a dip in the lake.

How do you cool off when summer really arrives?

Meet Aurora Shoe Co. Founder, Mary Jane Dann

If you have had the pleasure of meeting  Mary Jane (or MJ as she’s known around here) then you know she’s an eclectic woman.   When I met with MJ to collect information for this post, she was open and friendly and willing to share way more information than I could ever fit into one cohesive story.   Suffice it to say that the Aurora Shoe Company has come to where it is today through many personal connections, a few professional ones and a lot of positive lip service.   Add to that 20 years of dedicated hard work, and you’ll see why MJ’s life still revolves around this small shoe company that she started all those years ago.

MJ’s step into the shoe business dates back to the 1980s when she worked at the ski school at Greek Peak, a small resort about an hour south of Aurora.  MJ worked with the wife of George Shurman, owner of a leather goods store in Ithaca.  When George left for a new life in New Mexico he coaxed MJ off the slopes and into a management position in his store.  One thing led to another and after a few years, MJ and George decided to create a new venture, this time producing handmade leather shoes based on purchased patterns from a Michigan shoe maker.  George was able to put his Cornell Anthropology education to work designing simple machinery, streamlining the shoemaking process just enough to make it a profitable proposition.  MJ worked on finding a location and says she was lured to Aurora by her Wells Alumnae friends (the lake views, local wineries and sunsets might have had a bit of pull too).

In 1991 MJ moved into the area and the Aurora Shoe Company was up and running in the 3rd story of an old school, now known as the Heary Building, on Main Street in Aurora.  The operation had three employees, MJ and Bill being two of them.  Aurora Shoes enjoyed quick popularity in the local area thanks to Wells College students and the local community.   People enjoyed the simple styling and the comfort and felt good about supporting such a local and high quality handmade product .   When the Wells women wore their shoes home, other communities became aware of them and the following grew.  This awareness spread throughout the US and caught the eye of a boutique owner in Japan who continues to buy shoes for distribution in Japan today.  By the late 1990s demand  had grown to a point where a larger production space was desperately needed.

In 1997 MJ made the decision to move the Aurora Shoe Company to its current location, just a few miles south of the village of Aurora.  The new location offered lots of space, room for new employees,  space for the shop pets to roam and a nice new perk - off street parking.  She was able to increase her staff to a total of 8 employees including herself and the company has retained a staff of the same size ever since. 

Over the years the Aurora Shoe company has seen several people come and go, including MJ’s daughter, Cassie who enjoyed contributing to the family business for a couple of years after her own Wells College graduation.  MJ sold the company to Dave a year and a half ago, but she has chosen to stay on, providing continuity, stability, quality control and a good dose of sarcastic humor.  The “mother” of the group, she’s also been personally responsible for keeping the shop pets fed and happy and for supplying the seasonal and holiday cheer.  She’s quirky and fun, but also straightforward and sincere - all qualities that have infused themselves into the Aurora Shoe Company under MJ’s management.   If you ask MJ, she’ll tell you she’s in no rush to retire.  She loves the local area and is saving up for her “year-long world tour”.  She won’t say when or where she’s going after her time here is up,  but knowing MJ, it’s sure to be an adventure! 

Aurora Shoes in Washington, DC

We loved this great shot of Aurora Shoes in our nation's capitol.  Pete, the shoe's owner and a local transplant living in DC writes, "I've outfitted several of my friends from college with Aurora Shoes, and they've taken them all around the world, as have mine".  

Thanks for sharing, Pete!

Where have YOUR Aurora Shoes taken YOU?

Where Have Your Aurora Shoes Taken YOU?

San Francisco, CA

Sara, a Wells alum and long time Aurora Shoe wearer writes:

"Here's a recent picture of my Aurora Shoes in San Francisco- that's the Bay Bridge.  These shoes have been to Spain, Ireland, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Bahamas, St. Maarten, St. John and probably a couple of other places I've forgotten.

I bought my Aurora shoes in 1994 before heading to Spain for a Wells semester abroad the spring of my sophomore year. They are size 5.5 EEE with custom straps because the tops of my feet are really tall. I've only had them resoled once in those 16 years".

Sara Floor Miller, Wells Class of 1997, current resident of Sacramento, CA

Thanks for sharing, Sara - those are some very well traveled shoes!  Where have YOUR Auroras taken YOU? 

Shoe Spotting in Japan

Dave has been on exchange in Japan since the end of March.  He hasn't had many opportunities to email, but has found the time to share some photos of his journey. 

As you may know, Aurora Shoes have become very popular in Japan.  We all wondered if he'd spot many while there.  If these photos are any indication, they're not very hard to find.  

It's customary to remove one's shoes before entering a temple or a home in Japan.  Lucky for Dave, this eliminates the need for awkward translations such as, "Would it be OK to photograph your feet?"

We're guessing this is Dave's own foot with the Hello Kitty sidewalk tile.

Meet Bill

As we near the end of our Meet the Staff series, we'd like to introduce you to a member of the original 3 person crew.  Bill came into this business at the very beginning and has been with us ever since.  He's a guy of many talents (not just around here, as you'll see below) and a person whom the Aurora Shoe Company definitely wouldn't be the same without.

Bill grew up on a farm in Aurora and has lived in this area his whole life.  In addition to his nearly 20 years at Aurora Shoe, Bill is also known around these parts as a honeybee keeper, a steam powered sawmill operator (built with his dad back in 1973), a squire for Paragon Jousting and most notably, as a driver of the Wells College owned Wells Fargo Stagecoach.  

Bill, his dad and their horses have been pulling the Wells stagecoach since the late 1960s

 Take it from Bill, nothing looks better with a tux than a well polished pair of Middle English shoes!

It's safe to say that Bill is a man of varied interests and abilities.  Around the shop he can be seen performing and enjoying all but a few of the nearly 50 steps that go into producing a single pair of Aurora Shoes.  He's especially skilled at the difficult task of attaching the soles and estimates that he's done about 200,000 pairs.  

When asked what he likes most about Aurora Shoes, Bill cited the difficulty he'd had finding shoes to fit his 11 and 1/2 EEEE (SUPER wide) sized feet.  It was a joy and a relief when Bill found that the leather in our 11 and a 1/2 D width shoes stretched beautifully to comfortably accommodate his hard to fit feet.

With so many other talents and hobbies, we feel lucky to have had Bill around for all these years.  What do you think, Bill - are you up for 20 more?

Check back next week to meet the staff member who founded the Aurora Shoe Company!