Meet Daniella Shevel | Owner, Founder & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniella Shevel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniella, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?

I’ve always disagreed and not liked when people have told me, “Fake it ’til you make it.’

A boss early on in my corporate career gave me this advice when I was feeling insecure or nervous about a certain strategy or task. Perhaps it can work in some cases.

But, for me I have really learnt to lean into my vulnerabilities, be honest with people, say where I am struggling, where I need help, not pretend to be the expert on everything, and it’s made me feel more confident as a person and to be who I am.

I think people actually appreciate it more, of course this is only from my experience.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Shoes and having my own brand was always a passion of mine. I studied Business at the University of Southern California.

After graduating I felt lost. My friends were going on to get finance jobs and I felt alone and confused on what to do. My passion was somewhere else.

I decided to move to NYC and get my feet wet in the fashion industry and figure it out from there using my business degree. I started interning for a small online fashion publisher and moved to larger brands like Shopbop, ShopStyle and rag&bone working on their digital marketing teams.

This became my biggest advantage when I decided to start my own footwear company because I had unintentionally learnt the skills to market and run an online business.

That gave me an edge in my company and industry.

The challenge was then to figure out how to find a factory and break into the industry where I had no experience or contacts in footwear specifically. I had rough shoe sketches (I cringe now thinking about them now) and eventually after many no’s and rejections I found a factory who agreed to develop my first prototypes using those sketches.

The biggest lesson is tenacity. Passion is #1 but eventually that can only take you so far because all the challenges will make it very difficult to keep going. You have to be tenacious and relentless to solve problems and overcome setbacks.

If I had to sum up what my brand stands for it would be:

We sell true comfort with exquisitely designed shoes for women who deserve to walk, move and be on the go without succumbing to the unrealistic beauty standards and pressure of wearing shoes that may look beautiful, but hurt and damage your feet.

I also love meeting our clients and hearing their stories. I love to remind people that you can chase your dreams and goals in a non-traditional way. Every job and skill you learn will be valuable for whatever journey you end up going on, even if it feels unrelated at the time.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

NYC list:

Central Park picnic (check for any free concerts happening) and a visit to the Guggenheim right across the street
Jack’s Wife Frida for brunch (any location)
MOMA
Comedy Cellar for BIG LAUGHS!
Shopping on Bleecker St.
The Happiest Hour for drinks
Lola Taverna for dinner
Lil’ Frankie’s
Molly’s Cupcakes
Empanada Mama (open 24 hours)
Walk on the Highline
Bike ride on the Hudson river
Domo Domo for sushi

LA list:

Elephante
Sugar Fish
Marina Del Ray / Venice Beach visit for the day

Abbot Kinney shopping
Runyon Canyon for hiking
Nobu in Malibu 

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

First and foremost, my family.

My father, Jackie, an entrepreneur himself and mom, an interior designer, gave up their careers and lives to move to the United States where we could grow up in a safer environment and be able to pursue our dreams.

Phone calls to my parents when things have been really tough and I’m feeling like things may not work out have always kept me going and given me the confidence to push through. They haven’t let me give up, ever.

Secondly, I read the story of the brand Jimmy Choo when I was thirteen years old. Tamara Mellon who was a big part of founding and running the company became such an inspiration and the first female leader I had learned about. It allowed me to see that a woman can do it.

Website: https://www.daniellashevel.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellashevel/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniella-shevel-93323933/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniellashevel/

Other: https://www.google.com/maps/place/DANIELLA+SHEVEL/@40.7342202,-74.0044603,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xe49a1282e66a0960?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiMnc6Dl4KAAxWyD1kFHSUXBWQQ_BJ6BAhOEAA&ved=2ahUKEwiMnc6Dl4KAAxWyD1kFHSUXBWQQ_BJ6BAhdEAk

Image Credits
Dan Li