Sole Mates brings Birks and more to Island Village.
Flat-footed.
That’s how Dorothy Scott and Jack Stuckrath felt on Dec. 1, as opening day for Sole Mates came with only part of the inventory delivered and nary a shoehorn to their name.
But they coped, drawing on their combined years of retail experience – and a shoehorn picked up at the last minute from a local drug store – to debut an assortment of select footwear that is anything but down-at-the-heel.
“We really weren’t planning to get back into business,” Scott said. “It was all kind of serendipitous.”
It started when Scott met the owner of Children’s Corner, who was considering taking a less active role in that store.
The location, at Island Village across from Safeway, just happened to be the one Scott and Stuckrath had pinpointed years ago as the “ideal retail spot” when they first moved to the island.
The couple began by discussing a transitioned takeover of Children’s Corner, and ended up assuming the lease on a vacant retail location.
“We decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and do what we know,” Scott said.
What they know is shoes, and the serendipity gave way to a breathless seven-week startup effort that took the pair from a signed lease on Oct. 10 to the store opening this month.
The two drew on Scott’s experience with nearly all of the major footwear vendors.
Starting in 1973, she owned and managed three shoe stores in San Francisco. When she got out of the business in 1989, she was the largest independent Rockport and Birkenstock dealer in the city.
Fine lines
Those two brands are strongly represented in Sole Mate’s product line, which blends popular footwear with select outerware and some related accessories.
“Our intention is to bring really good quality and really good comfort – things that fit in with a Northwest lifestyle – without tacking on the island price premium,” Scott said.
“We like to call it ‘island style at mainland prices’,” Stuckrath added.
In addition to Rockports and Birkenstocks, the shop offers men’s, women’s and children’s shoes from Bostonian, Clarks, Sperry, Stride Rite and Skechers.
There are some additional brands not as well known in the U.S., such as Rieker, from Germany, and Naot, a Birkenstock-inspired line from Israel.
The North Face, a company better known for sports gear, recently introduced a shoe line that is included at Sole Mates, together with selected North Face outerware.
They represent the only manufacturer Scott wasn’t already familiar with.
“I have a teenage daughter who’s now in college,” Scott said. “She informed me that everybody on this island loves North Face, and we had to carry it.”
Stuckrath, for his part, has been amazed at the teenage response to Birkenstocks.
Contemporary Birks go far beyond the sandals that typified “hippie chic” in the late ‘60s. The company also makes “Eco Friendly Socks” – knit with fiber spun from recycled plastic bottles – and socks knit with organically grown cotton.
He says local sports doctors have referred several patients to the store.
“Now that I’m on my feet again all day, I’m a real convert to the Birkenstocks, too,” he said.
The new store brings Stuckrath out of retirement from a high-powered executive career in the retail industry. Starting out as a shoe salesman at I. Magnin in San Francisco, he worked his way up the corporate ladder, ending up as the company’s director of stores.
He then filled a similar position for a large shoe retailer, Athletic Express, until it was “eaten” by the Kinney Shoe chain.
That background makes him a firm believer in old-fashioned customer service.
“At the corporate level,” he said, “they very quickly forget what it’s all about. You live and die at the point at which the company comes into contact with the customer.”
Sole Mate’s dual focus on quality and customer service has brought an “amazingly positive response” from everyone who has visited the store so far, Scott and Stuckrath agree.
“People are…pleased with the selection, and they’re pleased at being able to find hard-to-find brands,” Scott said. “And they’re so happy not to have to go to Silverdale or Poulsbo or Seattle to do it.”
Some winter stock is still coming in, including a new line of Smith and Wesson work boots – already popular with the island’s police department.
The inventory will continue to expand, its owners say, bolstered by customer requests and special orders.
“We just hope to continually bring in new things,” Scott said. “With the island in mind, of course.”
* * * * *
Sole Mates is located at 275 High School Road. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Information: 842-5679 or www.solemates-shoes.com.
