Kaitlyn Pan's Origin

February 11, 2020

Like many others before me, I came to the US to pursue my American dream, which was to become a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry. And as you can probably tell, things changed big time and got pretty interesting from that point onward…

Technically speaking, I am still a scientist, but I’ve just decided to merge my two passions: healing and heels. While my passion for the former came later on in my life, I’ve loved shoes for as long as I can remember. When I was around 6 or 7 years old, I recall wanting a pair of red patent leather shoes…like really wanting them. Being as young as I was, I let my mother know this in the best way that I could. To cut the long story short, she ended up buying them for me to save her poor ears from my incessant wails. I recall putting them on as soon as she paid for them and a few minutes—and a lot of bloody blisters—later, I really had something to cry about. No matter how much my heart loved them, my feet just couldn’t stand them…

These beauties, along with many other fabulous shoes that I’ve bought in the past, were banished to the depths of my closet, never again to see the light of day. In fact, my childhood was littered with moments like this that my feet would rather forget. When I entered the shoe industry, it was only then that I discovered that my heels—too narrow to fit snugly into the back part of my shoes—were to blame for all this. Note that I say this in the past tense because this is no longer a problem for me… and it shouldn’t be for any of you narrow heel sufferers once you get ahold of our Magic Shoe Gripper. The moment you try our grippers out, you’ll understand why they’re named that way.

When they said that beauty is a pain, I think that they were mainly referring to shoes. Actually, most people have come to accept the fact that beautiful shoes require a certain level of sacrifice (or pain tolerance), of which I have none, but, as a scientist, it is my ultimate goal to change your mind. My love for shoes is only rivaled by my hatred for discomfort, which I’d love to spare you from! This is why I personally test out most of our pieces and make necessary adjustments until they are comfortable enough for me because if I can wear them, then so can you!

The same people who said that quote about beauty and pain probably also think that fashionable things don't come cheap. In high school, gone were the days of crying like a baby to get what I wanted. I was older and wiser… but not much richer, to be completely honest. This required a shift in my strategy. If I wanted a pair of shoes, I’d hang out with my mom and let her try the shoes on. I’d proceed to tell her how pretty they were on her and convince her to buy them. Since my mom wasn’t much of a shoe person, the rarely worn shoes often found their way into my closet as planned.

Fast forward to grad school and me being a “financially challenged” PhD candidate. I couldn’t get my mind off a pair of over-the-knee boots that were all the rage at that time, but there was no way that I could afford them. They were but an elusive dream… they had to be if I wanted to not live off instant noodles for the next 6 months. I endlessly looked for a cheaper alternative to no avail. My search ended in December 2014 when I spent the holidays abroad and I was even more elated upon realizing that I could easily afford two of them!

Upon returning to the US, the reality of working in a lab everyday hit me. There just was no way that I could do my work in these over-the-knee boots. With a heavy heart, I decided to list them on eBay one night, with the hopes that they go to someone who can actually put them to good use. The following morning, I was shocked to find out that both pairs had been sold! 

Then it hit me… I realized that so many women wanted the same thing that I did!

What’s serendipitous about the whole thing is that this very design became our signature item, our Pamela Slim Fit High Heel Boots, and our customers were extremely grateful that these high-quality boots didn’t cost them an arm and a leg. Apparently, they had been looking everywhere for these boots just like I was!

Needless to say, my two passions in life are very different, but I’d like to think that this allows me to offer something unique and special to you. As a scientist, I naturally have a very serious and scientific approach to things. I always want to get to the bottom of things and find out why things are the way they are. I apply this mindset when canvassing items to make sure that I get only the best possible options available in the market. As someone who knows the struggle of buying just one pair of shoes when it’s simply impossible to choose, I try to keep our prices as low as I can, which means that I have to directly acquire stock from the main factory so that I can have better control over both price and quality. 

If I am to be completely honest with you, this long journey is not without its fair share of difficulties. When I started out, I wanted to do everything on my own and that obviously didn’t turn out well… Bad decisions and mistakes were made, and I sincerely apologize to everyone who was inconvenienced along the way. The best apology is changed behavior and I’ve constantly been in the process of experimentation, learning, and improvement to make sure I don’t repeat the same mistakes. 

In order for an experiment—like one to introduce a potential drug candidate to the market—to be successful, every step must be performed with careful precision. I’ve come to realize that the same thing goes for shoes. If science seeks to demystify the beauty of nature, then I’ve taken it upon myself to offer shoes that bring out one’s natural beauty, creating a world with beautiful ladies standing tall and walking proud in our beautiful shoes that were made with a whole lot of love… and science! 

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