We launched our first collection in 2005, in London, England. We are predominantly a footwear brand, but are just about to launch our first clothing collection.
It was my nickname in college - I dyed my hair a bright, fire-engine red. One of my friends pointed out that my hair looked like fire, which as my first initial is L, soon became Miss L-Fire.
I worked as a designer and buyer, first for Clarks in the UK, and then for OFFICE , also in the UK. After 10 years industry experience, I felt the time was right to launch my own line. As a lifelong lover of vintage clothing and fashion history generally, I recognised that it was incredibly difficult to find original vintage shoes in any size larger than a 6 ( I wear a 9 myself). I did my research and found that I wasn’t the only person frustrated by this, so I created my line to give ladies vintage style shoes, but with a modern twist.
It’s always tough when you start out, but equally tough to keep going! I’m not afraid of tough though - I’ve never met a small business owner who doesn’t have a bit of tough in them :)
It’s a LOT harder than you ever imagine! You literally never get a day off. The offset to this though is that it can be extremely rewarding - seeing someone looking great, wearing shoes that you dreamed up, is a pretty good feeling.
I studied fashion at university in the UK and majored in footwear design & technology. As mentioned before, I worked for two large UK shoe companies, and learned A LOT about the industry and about business, before starting my own company.
I’m afraid to ask!?! :) We don’t make crazy high heels, and we add ‘memory foam’ padding underneath the insock in all of our shoes. We also add padded arch supports into all of our closed-sided shoes. We make sure that the fitting is spot on and we never compromise on quality. We’re regularly told by our customers that our shoes are the most comfortable shoes they have ever worn.
I am pretty obsessed with all fashion from the first half of the 20th Century - 1900 - 1950, though lately I am pushing that forward through the 60’s & 70’s! I guess my favourite style from the last 100 years is Art Deco, and LA has some of the finest Art Deco architecture to be found anywhere. I wanted to incorporate both LA Art Deco styling cues, added with English eccentricity in my store to reflect our UK roots, whilst embracing our new US home.
We get a LOT of positive feedback about the styling, fitting, comfort factor and quality of our shoes. I think that, for a long time, all you could buy was cheap shoes, or super expensive shoes. We offer something in-between. We also get lots of compliments on our customer service. We have a small team and we’re all very knowledgeable about our products - we’re pretty good at helping our customers choose the right style for them.
There are so many memorable experiences! I guess the most awesome thing is when a girl tells us she has chosen our shoes for her wedding, danced all night in them, and they didn’t hurt! We always feel pretty honoured when a bride chooses to wear L Fire for her special day.
Absolutely! Summer ’16 will see the launch of our first ever clothing collection! We’re super excited about this, and we’re making it all in Downtown LA - we’re super happy to be launching this latest project with local manufacturers.
We’re a lot smaller than people think. But we have big ideas :)
I very much admire Sophia Amoruso, the founder of Nasty Gal. She has done an amazing job in building a super cool, strong young fashion internet empire. I also absolutely love and admire Dita Von Teese. The way she has branched out into make-up, lingerie, books….she’s pretty smart.
It’s great to have the freedom to create the products that myself and my team, and of course, our customers, want to wear. With Social Media, we get to converse directly with our customers so we always feel like we are in tune with what they want. I think larger companies tend to lose that personal contact with their customers. Business is pretty exciting - i get a real buzz when customers tell us what a great job we’re doing.
Don’t expect to be an overnight success! You’re going to get a LOT of knocks before you start to earn a living out of your passion! Stick with it. Don’t give up!
It is a REAL community. I’ve met many many lovely people who have lived in this area for 20+ years - that’s rare in LA! I truly feel welcome, and at home in Los Feliz.
I love Figaro Bistrot- it’s just wonderful to sit outside on a summer evening and take advantage of their happy hour! I also love Paper Moon, right down the street from us on Hollywood - they stock Vintage Clothing and Nicole has great taste, so there’s always good finds there. Wacko is a local institution, and an absolute go to for a last-minute gift! I have been tattooed at Dark Horse Tattoo across the street from our store on Hollywood, and as a keen motorcycle rider, I also love Tri-Co & Glory…for their window displays alone!
I love hiking in Griffith Park, and absolutely adore the Observatory. I can’t not think of Rebel Without A Cause every time I go up there! Hollyhock House in Barnsdall Park is also amazing. I’m slightly obsessed with Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.
One of the many reasons Los Feliz Village is so awesome is that there are so few big corporate companies open there…..the numerous, wonderful independent boutiques and restaurants make it so special. Of course we need people to keep shopping in Los Feliz to KEEP it special.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissLFire/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/misslfire
Website: http://www.misslfire.com
Instagram: http://instagram: @misslfire