There’s the office party, the fundraising gala, and don’t forget your best friend’s cocktail bash. Before you know it, your calendar is booked with holiday parties. What it all adds up to, however, is some very, very sore feet.
No matter how hard we try ladies, there’s no ignoring how we torture our tender tootsies for a few nights in four-inch heels.
That’s where 22-year-old Hailey Coleman comes in. A couple of years ago she was partying in London, England, when she had a eureka moment.
"I was hobbling home barefoot, and I thought … why hasn’t somebody done something about this?"
That was the beginning of Damn Heels, Coleman’s portable, bendable ballet slippers that wrap up in a tote bag and are small enough to fit into your clutch.
The premise is simple. When the feet start to hurt and the stilettos are too much, take out the Damn Heels package, unwrap the slippers from the bag, slip the flats onto your heels, expand the tote bag and tuck away your party shoes.
The momentum for Damn Heels really took off last March when Coleman applied for, and won, a $25,000 business grant through Ryerson University, where she was a student. As sole serendipity would have it, the professor who gave her the grant also happened to work for CBC. He pitched the business plan to Dragon’s Den and, like a dream, Coleman found herself whisked in front of the den last September. And like an even bigger dream, the lady dragon bit.
"I definitely geared the pitch towards Arlene [Dickinson], but it still came as such a huge surprise."
Coleman came into the den asking for $25,000 in exchange for 33 per cent of the company. She walked out of the den with an even better deal. In exchange for five per cent royalties, Coleman receives $25,000 in cash and $25,000 in marketing services.
"It made me feel more capable, like I could go bigger," says Coleman.
While Coleman has yet to meet up with Dickinson, she has been working hard to expand her empire. She’s just launched another company, Damn Straight, which provides hair straighteners in public washrooms.
"Basically for two dollars, you have a certain amount of hair straightening time," she says. "It’s completely sterile, because of how hot the straightener gets."
The straighteners are already in two Extreme Fitness clubs in Thornhill, as well as in Entertainment District nightclub This is London.
As for Damn Heels, Coleman is launching her gold and silver ballet slippers next weekend at This is London, just in time for the holiday heel-a-thon.
Go to www.damnheels.com to find out more
