Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
When Kelly Weber graduated from Mizzou last May with a degree in textile and apparel management, there was no question what she was going to do next. She’d already been working as senior merchandiser for Naked Boot and Shoe (8157 Big Bend), the leather shoe store in Webster Groves that her uncle Bob Weber and Jim Ferguson opened in December 2017. “They’d asked me to come up with some [shoe] styles,” recalls the 22-year-old designer. “When the shoes arrived, I realized overnight this was going to be what I do.”
What inspires your designs? I love streamlined Western looks and bringing that Southwest style to the Midwest. I find a lot of inspiration in my mom: She’s beautiful and fashionable. I want her to look and feel great, and she doesn’t have to wear any boring shoes.
You offer a range of colorful options. When I first got the leather book, I thought, “Green, blue, and red? These are kind of weird—I don’t know if they’ll sell,” but all of our green and red boots sold out in the first month. I’ve learned our customers really love a pop of color.
You recently met renowned designer Nicole Miller. [RISE Collaborative Workspace co-founders] Stacy Taubman and Kate Wiegmann invited me to a weekend-long event with Nicole. At dinner, she was one seat away from me and said, “What do you do?” Then she puts on her glasses, picks up her phone, and looks it up. All of a sudden, I’m thinking about everything I wanted to change on the website. She said, “I really like how this is in alphabetical order.” Then she followed up on Instagram, which was really sweet. For her to be impressed with what I do was really rewarding—it gave me a little boost of confidence.
