Shop: ThePointeShop
Shop Owner: Josephine Lee
Location: Santa Ana & Oakland, California (and mobile fittings all over the USA!)
Expertise: Pointe Shoes
What is your background and what led you to start your business?
ThePointeShop began to give dancers access to the correct tools they need (pointe shoes and accessories) to have long and successful careers en pointe without the pain and injury typically associated with pointe! You can check out our full story on YouTube.
What keeps you going and doing what you're doing as a store owner?
The moment a dancer who has been struggling steps up onto their new pointe shoes, pain-free and completely over the box... That is what we live for!!
What do you love most about providing dancewear to your community?
We love providing fittings to our ballet community and watching our dancers grow and thrive!
What are some favorite brands that your store carries, and why?
We do not have a favorite. Each brand and model has a unique quality that makes it exactly perfect for some dancers (and not quite right for others). It's all about the dancer and what they need.
What sets your store apart from other dancewear retailers, and why?
We specialize in pointe shoes and professional pointe shoe fittings.
Are there any new dancewear and/or accessory trends you’ve noticed lately?
Not sure if it counts as a trend, but we are loving the flesh-toned pointe shoes and PointePeople Pointe Paint to help everyone easily find the shade that works for them!
What are some of your best-selling products?
Easily boxliners - ask any of our fitters. Everyone has two different sized feet, and some are more drastically different than others. Boxliners save the day in this situation!
A lot of dancers struggle to find pointe shoes that fit correctly and flatter their feet. Do you have any advice for finding the perfect pair of pointe shoes?
Find a trained fitter! Your fitter should be open to post-fitting feedback, encouraging asking questions after you have danced in the shoes, and generally being knowledgeable about pointe shoes and how feet work inside of them. Things with your feet change constantly; even when you're not growing, your muscles change depending on how you are using them. It's normal for things to get weird, and your fitter should be open to chasing your feet around as they do the wonderful and weird things they are going to do.
In your opinion, is there a “must-have” item for any dancer?
Water...??? In all honesty, every dancer needs a great physical therapist or injury prevention team by their side! Like I said, things get weird, and having a team of trained professionals can help to build a healthier dancer!
What made you make the decision to carry Pointe Paint?
Okay, we all know that the ballet community is a bit behind the times. Even the new flesh-toned pointe shoes that are out now are often only offered as a special order for a few select models of pointe shoes. Even then, they don't truly match most people's skin tones. The variety of colors and ease of application with PointePeople Pointe Paint makes it a wonderful product to carry for our customers!
What’s one thing you want customers to know about you and/or your store?
I'm going to take this opportunity to plug our partner company DanseMedica. Check them out on Instagram and YouTube. There are so many great injury prevention and rehab resources there for dancers from specialists all over the world! (Check ThePointeShop out too if you haven't! Send us all of your pointe shoe questions!)
Is there anything else you'd like to share with the PointePeople community?
Keep up the great work! We love your product and look forward to working with you more in the future!
Contact information:
Website: https://thepointeshop.com/
Location: Southern California Showroom: 200 E. 3rd St | Santa Ana, CA 92701
Northern California Showroom: 878 Jefferson St | Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: 949.387.2003
Instagram: @thepointeshop | Facebook
