Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jordan Clark. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jordan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission the drives your brand?

Four and a half years ago I moved to Amsterdam and began working from home. I tried to adjust to this new lifestyle by building good habits…namely not sitting all day…but I grew tired of having to choose between wearing unsupportive slippers or outdoor sneakers to be comfortable on my feet at home. I craved a stylish, supportive house shoe that captured the coziness of a traditional slipper. Finding nothing with actual foot support and cool style, I decided to create it.

As I started researching the fashion industry, I quickly learned how terrible of an impact it has on the environment. It is responsible for up to 10% of annual global carbon emissions — that’s more pollution than international flights and maritime shipping combined!

At Dooeys, we’re reimagining slippers for modern home life creating stylish and supportive house shoes made from innovative, plant-based & recycled materials like bio-based leather made from apples, EVA soles made with sugarcane, and lining made from recycled plastic.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My background is in startups and management consulting. My first job out of college was working for a small startup in Seattle. I had the opportunity to work there for four years seeing it grow from less than 15 people to over 100. I learned so much during that time, including how to be scrappy and excel in a fast-paced environment. My time as a management consultant pushed me outside my comfort zone and built my confidence as I was able to learn new industries quickly and developed a skillset for relationship building.

I launched my house shoe brand with no prior fashion experience. Just an idea I was super passionate about and the drive knowing I’d figure everything I need to know out. I read shoe books, listened to business podcasts, networked within the entrepreneur community, and built relationships with suppliers around the world.

Over the past couple years, people have been spending a whole lot more time at home and house shoes have now become an at-home essential. Slippers on the market today lack the style we expect from an outdoor shoe, the support we need to be comfortable on our feet at home, and are made from cheap, low-quality materials that have a negative impact on the environment.

In 2020, I launched the Slipshoe® — the perfect combination of a slipper and a shoe that is ready for everything she does at home. Dooeys has spared no detail in the design, construction, and sourcing of our shoes. The result, beautiful house shoes that serve women in their everyday life at home enabling them to look good, feel good, and do good for the planet with every step.

I’m most proud of the fact we’ve created house shoes our customers love and rave about and are doing it in a sustainable way. We only use high-quality plant-based and recycled materials, ethically produce our slipshoes in small batches in Portugal, use recycled packaging that serves as shoe and shipping box all in one, offset carbon emissions on every order, and give back to environmental organizations.​​​​​​​​ We’re still a small company, but we’re working hard to create brand awareness and are currently raising for our seed round to grow this brand into the household name we know it can be.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

Everything I learned about manufacturing shoes was from books I read, experts I connected with, and the experience itself. When I first decided to develop a house shoe brand I read 3 books cover to cover repeatedly until the information was ingrained in my brain. One of the books was literally called “How to Start Your Own Shoe Company”. I then connected with shoe designers to help me get my ideas and initial designs into a 2D design and tech pack. I then networked with people in the industry which led me to engage with a footwear agent in Portugal who helped me find the right factory to provide our shoes. His expertise aligned with my small factory who very much cared about my brand enabled me to learn so much during the prototyping process and set me up for success with our first production.

From my designs to launch took a year and a half. It was a lot of work, but through a lot of learning and a little fake it ’til you make it, I was able to build expertise in the industry and manufacture a product I’m proud of.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

We sell Dooeys on our own website, dooeys.com, and on select online marketplaces. I believe it’s important to build a relationship with our customers and provide them with a seamless end-to-end experience. I think creating that connection can get lost on big websites as we’re not able to communicate who we are and the value of our house shoes. For us, we’re not like every other slipper out there so to be put on a large e-tailer’s website next to other less expensive, cheaply made products does not do our products justice.

We love learning from our customers and understanding their needs. I think this can only be done (at least for new brands) by engaging directly with potential and existing customers through social, email/SMS, and our own website.

With that said, we have chosen a few online marketing places that focus on sustainable brands that produce their products ethically. These websites make it a point to communicate our brand story and the key points about what makes Dooeys unique (style, sustainable materials, ethical manufacturing, recycled packaging, offsetting carbon emissions on every order shipped). We also have a dropship model with them so we still have the opportunity to provide an excellent delivery experience for every order.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dooeys.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dooeys.slipshoes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dooeys.slipshoes/
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jordan-dix-clark
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dooeys
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC37ZvtxZHmtvsgWvo3njwzw