Cammino Shoes might be popping into your inbox and news feed but do you know the face behind the name?
Meet the owner Katrina who started Cammino in 2017. As a self-confessed ballet flat, Italy lover and serial busy bee, Katrina found herself with a huge collection of ballet flats but she just couldn’t find the perfect pair - so she decided to create them herself!
Say Hi to Katrina
Mum of two preschoolers, wife, shoe lover and business owner Katrina, juggles multiple balls and wears all the hats every day with a big smile and a pep in her step. Her dream of creating a shoe both comfortable and stylish is a reality that was born while on maternity leave with her first child. Then the week Cammino launched Katrina found out she was expecting her second baby and life was about to get a whole lot busier.
Just one of the great stories to come from the process of creating a product and building a brand is the friendship between Katrina and the shoemakers' aunt.As luck would have it while looking into manufacturing the shoes, Katrina met Rosa, who although living in Melbourne was from a family of Italian shoemakers. With Rosa acting as interpreter, Katrina skyped her Nephew in Italy -and the rest is history.
At Cammino, we produce quality handmade leather flat shoes for women. For our owner and founder Katrina, this is what makes her heart sing and she wants to share the love with everyone she can. Discover more from Katrina and the Cammino story.
The story
This month we decided to pull up a chair in the tea room, get ourselves a cuppa and chat about how Cammino started. We ask our owner and founder, Katrina what it’s like to have a young family and a growing business and what’s next for Cammino and the best ballet flats!
Starting with the simple mission to find the perfect flat, Katrina created a brand and business that has been recognised as a brand to watch with a nomination for the 2019 Mumtrepreneur Award fashion category.
Why you started Cammino
‘I saw a need for a pair of comfortable flats, made with quality leather but they also need to be stylish. I wanted a foldable flat so you could pop them in your bag between racing from work, to drinks to after school activities and all the other stuff life throws at us.’
Favourite thing about Cammino
‘The absolute joy in finding a tribe of women that truly love the shoe and the brand. It is such a wonderful feeling to realise that other women needed the perfect ballet flat as much as I did. The appreciation for the quality of the shoe and workmanship behind it is just the icing on the cake.’
Proudest moment
‘When my best friend told me that she had had a work colleague from a different state recommend the brand to her without knowing she knew me. Also, when I took my first big wholesale order in my first 6 months, whilst I was 4 weeks post c section with my second bub.’
What you wish you’d have known before you started
‘How hard it is to stand out as a small business amongst so many mass brands.’
How you felt when you received a nomination for the Mumtrepreneur award
‘It was a huge surprise to be nominated by the judges in the fashion category. There are so many great businesses associated with this award so it was such a wonderful feeling to be recognised and know that the work had paid off.’
The shoes
Camminos are handcrafted in Italy by artisan shoemakers but the heart of the business lives right here in Melbourne.
The Le Marche region of Italy is known as the shoe valley and is where traditional shoe-making was invented. It is a hub of innovation that produces quality handcrafted shoes distributed all over the world to leading brands.
Wonder why so many shoes are made in one small town? It’s because the shoemaking technique is handed down through the generations giving expert level craftsmanship that only comes from decades of experience. Every single step you take in Camminos is brought to you with love a passion from the unique concept Katrina has followed to create a beautiful business to the high quality and love of the shoemaking.
From design to product development, marketing, shipping and customer service Cammino was born, and thrives, from our office located in Melbourne.
The reason
These days Katrina is one happy, busy and proud business owner. But there was a lot of sweat and tears, scrunched up paper full of ideas, long hours, conference calls with Rosa (and her nephew) and a pile of leather samples bigger than the leaning tower of Pisa before the perfect ballet flat was finally produced.
Creating the best ballet flats for all kinds of women is what really makes Katrina love this business. Being busy is a reality for so many women and mostly the being busy part is enjoyable. Having to do this in uncomfortable shoes is not! So instead of spending her life in heels or poorly fitting shoes, Katrina decided to wriggle to the middle and designed a shoe that was both comfortable and stylish. Most importantly it had to be versatile enough to wear from work, to drinks, to weekend activities, the daily commute or a fancy event. Being busy and getting life done is what Cammino is all about.
What’s next
OurNewest Arrivals have dropped and we love every one of these beautiful Italian ladies. With their unique patterns, colours and trimmings Camminos are not just any pair of flats they are the best women's flats on the market and if you don’t believe us find out what our customers say!
Check out ourFacebook reviews, and pretty please with a cherry on top leave us one! It helps other women discover Camminos and why they need a pair in their life!
We have also been working on something else fantastic and we don’t want to reveal too much but it’s really exciting. 2020 is going to be a great year for Cammino. So keep your eyes peeled on our feed and as always you’ll be the first to know about our news styles and collections. Thanks for supporting Cammino and remember:
Life’s an adventure, walk it your way.