An emerging shoe company is looking to make a greater impact in Birmingham with a new concept.
Lydia Pass, a native of Jacksonville and a graduate of Auburn University, launched Stelona Shoes in 2020 and is now in the early stages of taking pre-orders for her new women’s footwear brand.
Stelona Shoes aims to better serve the footwear needs and wants of women through personalized fashion.
Though she has been interested in fashion since she began sewing at 7 years old, the inspiration for the concept came to mind while she was in college. She said she realized women have to choose between style and comfort, and when they happen to find a pair with both qualities, they are limited to one season.
The inspiration for Stelona began through the idea of an interchangeable shoe with fastening mechanisms that allow the quick change from summer to winter styles while keeping the comfort of a broken-in base. While this is being developed, Pass has launched a made-to-order line that allows women to select their style, material and details of their insoles. She said the made-to-order line is a pivot to be able to enter the market earlier while staying true to the brand message of highlighting personalized fashion.
“It’s a shoe that fits their personalized style, and properly fits their feet and provides support … because it is a very individualistic need,” Pass said. “The industry doesn’t and really cannot successfully (offer this kind of product) at an affordable price. That hasn’t been available to women, and that’s because the tooling needed to make shoes is not available in the U.S. Everyone has to go offshore, and tooling is super expensive.”
She said she is developing a more sustainable way to offer this type of product by making the process more efficient, using the technology and engineering expertise in Birmingham through Fitz-Thors Engineering and Red Mountain Makers to make the shoes here. Because the company’s shoes are bespoke, it cuts down on inventory and waste, reducing the cost of tooling. The company’s suppliers are also located in the U.S., making it easier and faster to ship.
The company is currently operating from her apartment, but Pass said she will make the move to Hardware Park full time once she scales the business.
In addition to herself, Pass has one employee in charge of social media and focus groups for the company. When she fully launches, she said she will add employees to help with the assembly line process. The company is not seeking any venture capital seed rounds at the moment but is open to angel investments, she said.
Pass, who was recently featured in Alabama Inno’s inaugural Under 25 class, said she is very excited to be part of the growing entrepreneurship scene in Birmingham.
"I always knew that I wanted to stay in Alabama and start a company here. I got to meet a lot of people through Auburn's entrepreneurship program. While I was involved there, I was introduced to Alabama Launchpad," Pass said. "In May when I was a finalist in Cycle 1 concept stage, I was introduced to the support and the innovation happening in Birmingham. It introduced me to a part of Birmingham that I didn't know about, but I'm very excited to be a part of to scale Stelona."
