Window Shopping
Birdies lands on Union Street.
When Birdies founders Bianca Gates and Marisa Sharkey launched their line of luxury slippers designed for indoor entertaining, they were just dipping their toes into the waters of a lifestyle brand. A little over two years later, they’ve raised $2 million from prominent venture capital firms and strategic angel investors, and just opened a new boutique on Union Street. And their Blackbird style happens to be a favorite of the future Mrs. Harry, Meghan Markle.
“Shortly after we launched, we thought about having an influencer, and we saw Meghan Markle and we were just like, ‘She’s it,’ ” Gates says. “So we had our PR firm reach out to her PR firm and she gladly accepted a pair, and within a few days she started posting on Instagram.
“She just embodies this feminist, beautiful, ambitious, humanitarian aura that we felt so deeply connected to as a brand.” When Markle and Prince Harry announced their engagement on Cyber Monday, Birdies had already exceeded sales from the previous year by 8 a.m. — clearly the “Markle effect” in full effect.
Seeing how well Birdies did during trunk shows, Gates knew they needed a permanent space. “I did not want to be a regular store. Our brand is beyond even just a slipper; it’s a way of living. It’s a philosophy of, ‘Come together, open a bottle of wine, order a takeout, connect, put your phone down, put your Birdies on.’And we were grappling with how to bring that lifestyle to life without spending $200,000 re-creating a home.” That opportunity arose near the end of summer in a spot formerly occupied by Sotheby’s, and because the agency sold high-end homes, the space was already decked out like one.
“No. 1, this had to feel like a home. No. 2 was going to be merchandising, which is crazy, because in retail, merchandising is No. 1 and then a place to sit if you’re lucky. We had a lot of blank space on the walls. The idea was if we were going to put in art and we can’t afford art, let’s just make the shoes the art. That was the concept from the beginning,” says Gates. She worked with La Finca interiors to ready the boutique in time for holiday season, lining the walls with Birdies and furnishing the space with seating areas to enjoy a glass of wine and put your feet up.
“We are going to be so much more than slippers in the next 18 to 24 months.” With new products in the pipeline, Gates and Sharkey plan to release more styles of Birdies in 2018 — maybe with a heel — and they’re planning a kids collection, something their own daughters have been asking for.
“It’s unique. Everyone gets it. It’s so simple, you’d think this would have been created. It’s like stupid simple. You come home, why are women still barefoot? It’s 2017.”