Sole Trader – An Accountant Turned Entrepreneur Is Using 3D Scanners To Help Women Create Their Perfect Shoe

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If it hadn’t been for a perfectly fitting slipper, where would Cinderella be today?

Such is the historical importance of footwear in our lives – and the arguments rage as fiercely today as they ever did – should women be forced to wear heels to work – when are flats the right option, and are 5 inch Cubans ever a good idea?

One enterprising entrepreneur is leveraging the power of today’s technology and launching a

target=”_blank”>Crowdcube campaign to help her create shoes for women that she believes will finally put an end to the debate over comfort vs style.

Taxing problem solved with Tech

Iris Anson, a former tax accountant, believes that 3D scanning technology could make it easier than ever before to create shoes “made to exact foot specifications”.

Anson is now launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise £70k to help develop her company Solely Originals’ 3D foot scanning technology to create shoes made to exact foot specifications.

Every curve and every quirk of one’s instep, heel and toes measured to within nanometers – it may sound too good to be true, but thanks to technology originally developed in Japan, Anson says she is ready to go to market and put her product to the test.

Thanks to extensive R&D the project has been two years in the making but with the launch of their crowdfunding campaign Solely Original takes another step towards empowering women to design and build their own shoes online.

It wasn’t just a perfect fit that was important to Anson and her peers, however; the technology also prioritises chic design, encouraging users to create original, personalised, and inspiring shoes.

solely
Can Solely Original make the style / comfort dilemma a thing of the past?

Love Shoes – Love Solutions For Shoe Lovers

Says Anson: “Solely Original is a product of passion. I, like many women out there, have always loved shoes, however I have found that lots of traditional retailers were designing beautiful shoes that were incredibly painful and impractical to wear after long periods of time.”

For Anson, this was down to one thing, and one thing only; the fit.

Inspired to make a difference, Anson enrolled at the London College of Fashion where she and her colleagues developed “the innovative 3D scanning technology, which enables us to create shoes that are the perfect fit, and unique to each customer”

Solely Original has already built a significant fan-base and Anson wants them to become part of the company’s unique and ground breaking journey by joining the crowdfunding campaign.

“We’ve always put our customers at the heart of what we do, so we’re incredibly excited to give our loyal fans the opportunity to invest in Solely Original alongside professional investors, and join us on our journey to become the UK’s most loved footwear brand.”

The company is raising £70k in exchange for 8% equity in the business, at a pre-money valuation of £800k.

Even Deborah Meadon would be hard pressed to put the boot into this campaign.

How does it work?

Lovers of shoes, (and not to put too fine a point on it, we understand there are many such people, quite a few of them female) can choose from hundreds of different designs, and combine them with their favourite choice of colour, materials and heels easily thanks to the company’s online 3D design tool.

Standard sizes are also available, but for a little extra the premium bespoke fitting service is available – either for home use thanks to an innovative 3D fitting kit, which uses a specially delivered sock to create a “flexible, reliable and detailed cast”, or at one of Solely original’s pop-up stores.

It takes 8 seconds per foot for the sock to work its magic – 16 seconds of effort for a lifetime of spring heeled comfort.

Your feet will thank you, especially in the long run.

When it comes to shoes, people talk a lot of cobblers, but thanks to the efforts of one determined, bootstrapping entrepreneur – the future of style looks a whole lot less painful.

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