If you haven’t heard about the ergonomic shoe then it’s time to get informed. These two inspirational women – Line Peteri and Frederikke Schmidt have made it their mission to make women’s dreams come true – create beautiful heels that not only don’t hurt but allow us to run in them.
Read their interview below and then check out their website to learn all about these wonderful women and their amazing product.
Roccamore, Roccamore Roccamore – there’s been quite a hype about your brand and you had a very successful crowdfunding campaign – tell us more.
Frederikke:
Well, that’s because we have the best users! We decided we wanted to do a Kickstarter campaign because we really wanted to build a relationship with potential users, get their feedback and also include them in the process. In this way, we could hear from them first hand and thus have a better chance of making the best product on the market. We really enjoyed our campaign, we learnt a lot and met a lot of fantastic people. The Kickstarter campaign really made Roccamore the user-brand we wanted to be – it was a success in many ways.
Line:
I have a background in I.T., in the I.T. industry it is very common that people use crowdfunding as a proof of concept. I.T. users are traditionally more demanding, for them, the whole world is within reach – a click of the mouse away. Therefore building a community and using Kickstarter is a great way to make sure potential users are heard and involved in your project.
You’re both extremely inspirational women – tell us your stories.
Frderikke: Yes, Line and I are a great team; we are both very creative and like to think big – actually Line dreams much bigger than me which is one of the things I love about her. We actually hail from very different worlds; I was educated as a shoe designer from the design school Polimoda in Florence whilst Line is old fashioned geek. She was always all about the digital world whilst I was living in Italy, working as a designer and creative director for different brands. Our different backgrounds are probably one of our biggest strengths, it means that we see the world from different angles but still creating a strong synergy effect in our creative work.
Line: Thank you:) Its nice of you to say. I’m originally educated on TEKO, there is a fashion design school in Denmark, but I realized immediately that I was better at IT. I have been involved in some amazing IT projects – Jubii Auktion, which was sold for 12 million euros after six months, co-owner of Zmags.com, which became one of the most used online publishing tools in Europe. I’ve also worked as a journalist and reviewer in Denmark for 6 years, and was a reviewer every week for two years on TV2 (one of the biggest tv stations in Denmark). We are in many ways yin and yang, and that’s amazing. We sometimes very fight like dog and cats, but we both learn a lot from it, to be fair, I have met few people towards whom I have the same respect as I do for Frederikke. Don’t get fooled by her fragile Scandinavian look and floral dress, she is tough as nails!:)
You’ve both led very successful past lives. What led to you working together to develop this brand?
Frederikke: We met by complete coincidence, through a common work relation, and I remember one of the first things Line said to me was “I have 300 pairs of shoes, you’ll love me” and I couldn’t help laughing. Then we started working together and it was just too much fun to stop.
Line: I was actually working on another project when I met Frederikke, but I was intrigued by her energy and drive. Although to be fair. it was not before I saw the first samples that I just knew that Roccamore was 100% for me. Now I absolutely love it, there is just something about working with shoes:)
How does developing the business together work? Does the fact that you’re based in different countries affect you negatively?
Frederikke: It’s quite amazing if you think about it; we have been working together for about two years now and we’ve only actually met each other twice. Of course, It’s a challenge to be based in different countries and it would be fantastic to work in the same office together, but at the same time, we are forced to be more focused and efficient this way since we don’t have all the time in the world together.
Line: Ofc we miss the normal office talk, and there can be misunderstandings over Skype and emails, but overall, I think we are quite lucky to be influenced by each other and the cultures we each represent but also live in. We both have a deep love for Denmark but also for The Mediterranean. It’s probably also why have managed to build the places in multiple countries. One tends only to focus mainly on the country you live in. We have been very focused on both Denmark and Malta (and a little in between)
What is an ergonomic shoe?
Frederikke: Well, it’s basically a shoe that takes the shape of your foot into account. Our insoles are shaped to fit the foot perfectly and mould it to walk as anatomically correct as possible in high heels. All this whilst distributing the pressure and the weight of your body uniformly in order to create a more comfortable high heeled shoe.
I know that you feel your target female buyer is an inspirational, powerful woman – describe her.
Frederikke: She is a woman that matters! A women with a passion, a dream, a mission in life. She is strong, feminine and on the move – and she doesn’t have time for sore feet!
Line: Someone like you Caroline, no limitations, and the skills and will to want to do much more.
Most important element in a shoe?
Frederikke: Feminine design and high comfort.
Line: I just had an ankle surgery, so right now, anything I can fit in:)
2015 plans?
Frederikke: Taking over the world?! Haha, no, seriously, we really want as many women as possible to wear comfortable high heels, so we want to expand as much as possible, taking on one market at a time and little by little, make Roccamore the preferred everyday shoe for the modern woman.
Line: Yes our agent, who is also the agent for Armani Loungewear and EA7 in the Nordic and Baltic region will start introducing us to other countries. We have been approached by some agents and shops from other regions in Europe, and we are looking into to which market makes the most sense for us to reach. I would also really like to point out, that we are where we are, because we have received support from amazing women, who have trusted us from the very start, and I hope we actually we will see much more of this sister solidarity, so we can see many other great projects and female entrepreneurs!:)
Check out the ROCCAMORE website and online shop
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