Last night we had the privilege of inviting Emily from Milly J Shoes, Norwich to give her talk ‘Walk in Your Own Shoes’ to over 150 ladies for our final Federation virtual event of July.
Emily was abandoned on a bus as a baby and taken to an orphanage in Jamaica and adopted by British parents who are scientists. She was predominantly brought up in Bangladesh and has travelled extensively to over forty countries. After being educated in Bangladesh she went to schools in the UK.
Her school life was difficult – obviously a very talented lady – she found it difficult to study in the traditional sense having dyspraxia but her love of the arts including singing and acting allowed her to become a first class student although dancing was problematic. She has an soprano voice and studied opera, ballet and was a strong athlete. She attended the prestigious Tring Park of Performing Arts between 12 and 17 years of age.
Her parents instilled into her that ‘you should help others or they can’t help you’ by supporting women’s refuges and orphanages. Her mother set up a business designing and making batik material to support women in dire need of an income and focus which has encouraged Emily to continuing supporting others in her day to day life by mentoring children in high schools and supporting adults in prisons to name a few.
Her gifted and well loved brother, who was an artist, took his life in 2011 and this is what inspired her to start Milly J Shoes.
Her shoes were a combination of practical bespoke, up cycled shoes and pieces of art that were in her own words ‘a bit bonkers’. She also makes clips inspired by the Georgian fashion to help restyle a pair of shoes. She makes shoes for ladies and men. Although her shoes have adorned many celebrities such a Boy George, Kylie Minogue and Sheridan Smith she wants to ensure that her shoes are affordable which she said was a careful balancing act.
In early 2019, she launched her upcycling campaign to encourage the public to bring in their old shoes to have revitalised or turned into a new design. Promoting sustainability, this initiative helps reduce landfill which footwear is particularly bad for.
Emily continues singing, acting and tv work and was invited as a shoe expert for BBC The Apprentice’s shoe episode to help guide and inspire the contestants. She sang on The Voice in celebration of her brother.
Lots of questions were asked from the audience and all were fully engaged. So much so that it was suggested that a Federation visit to Norwich and surrounding area would be a wonderful idea so we can pop into Emily’s shop!
This was an excellent ending to our July programme.