WORDS Nicole Forster AS TOLD TO Liam Stretch PHOTOS Charlie Rose Jackson

Once you are swept away with a career, children, and all that comes with ‘adulting’, it is easy for those childhood dreams to fade into the background.

I was a child with many dreams, from being a doctor to a CEO, a shoe shop owner to a checkout operator (yes – they always looked like they were having such fun!).

Somehow, my career took me somewhere I hadn’t aspired to as a child – HR management! This evolved to Chief People Officer, and with a love for technology and innovation, that extended to Chief People and Technology Officer. Not something young Nicole would have even known was possible.

There was a little niggle, though, as I traversed this executive career.

When I first explored Christchurch as a new arrival, I wandered down the quaint, unique, and somehow ‘homely’ New Regent Street and fell in love! “One day,” I thought, “I’ll open a little shop here”.

I knew exactly what type of shop. With a love of shoes that had endured the years, I could picture myself in a little store that had the most amazing shoes from around the world. It would be full of books about shoes, I’d donate some of the proceeds to local charities, host fabulous events, and welcome shoe lovers like family.

It is never lost on me how lucky I am that in March 2022, that dream came true as we opened The Shoe Curator. Post (almost) Covid, pre-recession (at this time unknown), in a challenging climate for retail, little Nicole was over the moon that big Nicole was throwing her a wand.

Therefore, my gratitude and appreciation are immense as we approach our first birthday on 26 March 2023. We have a lot planned to mark the occasion. A week-long party – a festival of fun – with gifts, sales, music, food, and of course, shoes. It’s an open-door event because I’m a ‘the-more-the-merrier’ kind of gal. If you’re not already a part of our kindred, send a text or an email that simply says ‘birthday’ to 022 543 6309 or hello@theshoecurator.com, and we’ll be delighted to send you your invitation to join the celebration.

Finally, to everyone who has visited our showroom and website, joined our kindred, and bought our shoes, thank you! Your support made a dream come true.

Celebrating a year of ‘living a dream’