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

Alright, Kate thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

As a busy freelance dancer in NYC, my pointe shoes always seemed to be on the way out. traditional Pointe shoes generally only last eight to twelve hours as they are made out of paper mache, burlap and paste. Sweat, humidity and dancing in general “kills” a pair of pointe shoes. Each pair of pointe shoes on average is about $130 or more. So making your pointe shoes last is essential! Most dancers use a modeling glue to get a few more hours out of their shoes but like many dancers I found glue to be abhorrent. Glue is very toxic and it is known to smoke and sting your eyes. You have to get your face extremely close to the bottle when carefully dripping it into the box of your pointe shoe- not a pleasant experience! It also evaporates quite quickly and you may only get one to two applications out of a bottle of glue. The lids on these bottles tend not to be secure – many dancers tell the harrowing tale of glue spilling in their dance bags and ruining expensive leotards, shoes, tights, etc. I also find that glue builds up in the box of the shoe making it quite uncomfortable on my feet. It’s not unlikely for dancers to get cut by the glue in their shoes.

After ruining a pair of shoes with glue as the box no longer had its flexibility, I had had enough and swore off glue. One day while scrolling away on Instagram, I saw ballet legend Marianela Nunez shellac 40 pairs of Freeds ( a popular English pointe shoe that is known to die quite quickly) I thought to myself, huh, if she shellacs her shoes, I’m sure it’s worth a try. I ordered a quart of shellac and when it arrived my boyfriend at the time quickly returned. “Why did you return my shellac,” I asked him. And he responded with, “We’re not polishing our floors, this is a rental!” I explained to him that it was for my pointe shoes and he said, “well then how come it doesn’t come in a cute bottle with a pointe shoe on it?” That was officially the Eureka moment- but I had to try it for myself. After re-ordering the shellac – and with my screw driver, paint stirrer, and paint brush – I finally applied the shellac. What was this? No build up, no color, no odor- there must be something wrong. After ten minutes my shoes were dry, I cautiously put my foot in my pointe shoe and to my disbelief, my shoes were in fact harder and without the build up! The shellac became one with the shoe, absorbing into the materials of the shoe. I was beyond impressed.

A week or so passed and between heading to my office job, going to class and making my way to late night rehearsals, I again was cramped for time and had a pair of dying pointe shoes on my hands. I had to choose between a shower and shellacing my shoes that night and chose the former. I thought to myself, it’s going to be a little weird bringing a quart of shellac, a screw driver, paint stirrer and paint brush, to my office tomorrow. The nagging idea of the cute little bottle with a pointe shoe on it came railing back in full force. I knew what I had to do. I was sure dancers everywhere were just as fed up with glue as I was. And I knew that once dancers tried it, they would make the switch. And so my adventure as a first time entrepreneur began!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Kate Griffler and I’ve been in New York City for a few decades. I’m a dancer, choreographer, producer, teacher and now entrepreneur. I went to Purchase College, Conservatory of Dance which I absolutely loved. For 15 years, I ran the non-profit REVERB Dance which produced dance festivals in NYC. This small but mighty organization brought choreographers from all over the globe to showcase their artistry.

As a performer, I’ve freelanced with incredible artists and dance has taken me to Japan, Mexico, Canada, Italy, England, and all over the United States. Most recently I’ve had the opportunity to dance for Dances Patrelle, Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet, and Jessica Ruhlin of Bodies Never Lie. I currently have a project based dance company called the 121 Dance Project and present four new works or so a year. I’m a producing partner on my mother’s musical “The Awakening of Angel DeLuna” which had several productions including a run Off-Broadway at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. I love all dance styles and am willing to try everything but have a soft spot for ballet. I go to ballet class almost everyday and train primarily with legendary ballet teacher Nancy Bielski at Steps on Broadway. The dance community in New York City feeds my soul, my passion, and my endurance to keep going. Even when my body is broken, creativity feeling flat, and my finances are on shaky ground- I just go dance and everything is right in the world.

I’m extremely proud of my brand Les Cygnes and the single product it produces: Pointe Shoe Shellac. So much of dance is presentational and I believe that designing, marketing , and advertising a new product isn’t that much different. Ballet is a luxury- class and pointe shoes will break the bank and I’m delighted that I can contribute to making ballet more accessible. Learning about dance retail has been extremely educational- the most harrowing lessons have been about shipping dangerous goods especially internationally. There is a glaring reason why this product isn’t currently on the market by any other ballet brand. It’s a hurdle that’s forcing me to unite with partners internationally and perhaps start a direct to consumer model in the UK and the EU. Our new administration is making sales to Canada and Mexico quite difficult- with new tariffs and issues at the border, I’ve now had to come up with several different back up plans. The one thing about learning a new business, is that it can be an expensive education that doesn’t always work out in your favor. Having people to talk through different business models and plans is essential for success- having unwavering faith of being able to afford two rents in NYC is also paramount. Overall I enjoy the challenge of Pointe Shoe Shellac into the hands of ballet dancers across the globe. Nothing makes me feel better an email saying how much a dancer loves my product!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The most important factor that helped me build a reputation with my market is the fact that I am my target market. I created a product because I had a need for it and I knew other ballet dancers would probably have a need for it too. I often make Tiktoks and Instagram reels after rehearsal or class (when I’m good and sweaty) shellacking my shoes. Relating to your audience is key! Also my product is extremely niche- top professional ballet dancers usually receive free pointe shoes from their ballet companies and free glue – the New York City Ballet has its own shellac room! With this being said, it’s really the up and coming ballet dancers, dancers in smaller ballet dance companies and freelance ballet dancers whom are my target market- and again I fit the mold being a freelance dancer in NYC.

Dancers however are not my primary customer. My business in the US and Canada is primarily wholesale. It’s really the dance store managers, buyers and pointe shoe fitters in dance stores that are my primary customer. Dance retail store owners love that I’m a female dancer who created a product for other dancers. There’s a natural comradery that’s hard to ignore – women with small businesses helping other women with small businesses. I love my relationships I’ve built over the past thirteen months and am grateful for their business, advice, and support.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One story that I’m still recovering from, is that I thought I would have a huge secondary market in the EU and the UK. After months of working with DHL, a grueling exam, and countless test boxes being denied because of extremely meticulous packaging, haz mat sticker placement regulations, customs forms, airway bills, and shippers declarations, I finally was ready to ship dangerous goods internationally.

I invested $5000 into the biggest trade show in the EU, Danzinfiera, and was ready to take on the world, literally. At Danzinfiera, Pointe Shoe Shellac garnered the interest from over thirty international dance retailers. The event was challenging as many of the retailers did not speak English and all I knew was a little French. However, I left feeling quite optimistic as I had an incredible wealth of contacts who I knew would be excited to put Pointe Shoe Shellac on their shelves. I also met with two prospective distributors, one from Germany and one from England, who wanted to explore a future with Les Cygnes. Once back in the states, I quickly realized I couldn’t have been more mistaken. It turns out that the expense of international Dangerous Goods shipping was just a bit too expensive for dance stores. When it came to the distribution deals, even when I was able to price out an affordable cargo shipments by sea- once the product landed, it was still too expensive to ship inland -as shipping dangerous goods above 150ml through the national post was forbidden in the EU and UK. In order to ship a case of shellac, even to just go across the street, a dangerous goods certified shipper is needed and the price tag is steep! This realization was a major setback to my plan. I’m currently looking into a new retail business model- direct to consumer as my business partner lives in the rural countryside in England and has the potential to sell up to three bottles at a time to dancers via the local post. We are currently waiting on more shipping quotes but I’m remaining hopeful that a direct to consumer business through our Shopify store may have legs. But needless to say, did I want to quit- yes, did I? No. Was there a lot of moaning and complaining and ice cream involved- absolutely. But, like the tagline in my first ad says,”The shoe must go on!”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.LesCygnesNY.com
• Instagram: @pointeshoeshellac
• Facebook: @pointeshoeshellac
• Linkedin: Kate Griffler
• Youtube: Les Cygnes

Image Credits

Marina Panina
Andrew J Mauney
Mckenzee Griffler
Alex Skibinski