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Last week I had a pleasure to spend a day at one of the coolest fashion start-ups in London The idea behind Slinks is super clever: the upper part of the sandal is interchangeable, so you can mix and match soles and uppers as much as you want! So potentially you can have even 10 pairs of shoes with only one sole – which of course means that you can take all the shoes you want for holiday, for example, still taking up space of only one pair in the luggage. What’s not to love?

Have a look at my day with Jane in the sunny Islington

Q: Jane, how did you come up with the idea for Slinks?

A: It was one summer where I have gone to a lot of weddings. You know how it is – new shoes, new dress every time. By the time you have gone to hen weekends… and you haven’t even gotten the gift yet… I thought – there must be a better way to do this! There must be a way to wear the same pair of shoes, just change the top of them. And that’s how the idea of Slinks was born.

Q: Tell me about the beginnings of your business

A: I started working on the idea in the evenings and in the weekends. I started by cutting up old sandals and just trying to work out technically how this could work – have an interchangeable top, and yet still have a good quality and beautiful sandal. As the idea grew, I made a big decision to leave my full time job to concentrate on developing the business. I have started to win some awards and I have even gone on Dragon’s Den! There were many difficult moments too – but I persisted and today Slinks is going international.

Q: What is your next challenge for Slinks?

A: We get orders from 35 different countries so the next challenge is to establish that international presence. We are developing new products too – now you can get flat and wedge soles, but very soon we will expand to heels too!

Q: What advice would you give to young fashion entrepreneurs?

A: The number on advice is that you must do it because you love it, you enjoy doing what you are doing. You have to remember that for every Dolce & Gabbana on the market, there is a lot of designers who have not succeeded – if you don’t love what you are doing, you won’t have the strength to persist through the difficult moments. Your business will become your life – especially on the beginning – so you must be passionate about it. Listen to advice, ask for help. Be good to people and the goodness will come back to you when you most need it.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

Don’t miss out on a chance to WIN a beautiful set of Slinks!!

Competition opens on 15/09/2013
Simply go to our Facebook page and follow instructions

Good luck!!

Love xx
Magdalena and Jane

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