Sole Spotlight: Shoe Themed Jewelry From "Zoe's Barbie Shoes"

Raindrops on roses and fluffy orange kittens,
Da Bears and Tim Burton and SHOES make me smitten,
The packages that the mail carrier brings,
These are a few of my favorite things!

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One day a few months ago I sat down to look for some shoe jewelry on Etsy.  I had a purple Barbie shoe bracelet that I purchased several years ago and I wanted to find one in a different color scheme.  My search kept bringing up one shop in particular: Zoe's Barbie Shoes.

It was shoe jewelry heaven and I thankfully had the time to leisurely go through the shop.  Besides the bracelets I was searching for, there were earrings and necklaces, and even more - wine charms, keychains, brooches...  all made with shoes!  And some were not just shoes, but, for example, a bracelet with my beloved Chicago Bears and football themed charms mixed in with orange and blue shoes.  Squee!!!!!  When I found that I knew it was kismet.

The jewelry is made by Matthew "Zoe" Gladkowski, a Barbie fanatic (yes, the photo below is him in his amazing Barbie room).  He played with Barbies as a kid, encouraged by as he says "the BEST Grandmother EVER!!!"  Today with the start-up help of his Grandmother, he has over 1000 Barbies total, ranging from the 1960s dolls to those of today.  Besides his extensive Barbie collection, Matthew also knows REAL women's shoes.  He has done drag as "Biter Ann Jaded" and now can appreciate a well made heel.  That is something I appreciate as well!

Over the years when a friend would gift him Barbies for his collection, he would always make them a keepsake bracelet with the shoes.  In 2012 a friend found her bracelet from back in the 80s and posted it on facebook.  When the requests from others wanting one began to flood in, the Etsy shop was born.  With his 500+ listed creations being incredibly popular, today in just over 2 years he's almost at his 1000th sale.

When playing, he would dress his Barbies impeccably, obsessed with color coordination and making sure outfits, purses and shoes all matched.  This skill is definitely brought into his jewelry today.  The pieces are made with different yet coordinating shoe styles and colors, charms and vintage beads.  A lot of the materials used for his pieces are found while thrifting, and seriously, can you think of a better way to upcycle?!   Matthew makes his jewelry in his Barbie room and will often take a few dolls from the shelf that match to keep him both inspired and focused.  Making the items for his shop also gives him the most perfect excuse to spend more time with his collection enjoying it.

His charm bracelets are the most popular, with the rainbow, tropical, pastel and goth (made with deep red, purple, navy, forest green, silver, and black shoes) themed ones being the frontrunners.  Matthew also gets a lot of custom orders, such as a recent necklace and bracelet set he made to match actual John Deere themed heels, or the one I requested from him.  Besides my Chicago Bears, I am a huge Tim Burton fan.  I requested a "Nightmare Before Christmas" themed bracelet with black and white shoes.  I couldn't love it more!!!  The shoes are all my style sexy high heels, and mixed in with them are with vintage beads, Jack and Sally charms, a few pumpkins, a few skulls, and some spider webs.  I've already got my next custom request picked out.  It will revolve around Catrine DeMew, a Monster High doll I consider my alter ego...

Lately Matthew has been trying to expand his shop and make a larger variety of jewelry.  He has been adding many cameo styles (such as can be seen in my bracelet above), some with shoes and some without.  He has also been starting to use more clip art and customer photos to make truly personalized jewelry and gifts.  His creations come very nicely packaged, perfect for gift giving or better yet, a nice present for yourself (as mine both were).  Speaking of gifts, I have one just for you.  Go check out Zoe's Barbie Shoes on Etsy right now.  And the gift - use coupon code CUPCAKEDEB during checkout to receive 20% off your purchase.  Happy shopping! =)