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- Nicole Yelland launched La Reina, a new athletic shoe, with profits benefiting the Hispanic Organization of Mortgage Experts (HOME).
- Inspired by her daughter and mentored by another social entrepreneur, Yelland designed the shoe with a focus on empowering Hispanic and Latino communities.
- La Reina shoes are made in Italy and available for both men and women.
It took almost 40 years and some nudging from her young daughter but Nicole Yelland finally achieved her dream of becoming a designer with a jazzy new athletic shoe with a gold sole called La Reina out several weeks ago.
The shoe’s moniker — which means “the queen” in Spanish — includes a women’s and men’s version, is made in Italy and sells for $230 with 100% of profits reinvested into the mission of the Hispanic Organization of Mortgage Experts (HOME) to increase homeownership opportunities for Hispanic and Latino Americans.
Yelland, a married mom with a son (Leo, 3 years old), explained the genesis of her journey. It began with her daughter, Penelope “Poppy” Yelland, who turns 6 on July 6.
“We started this tradition called “girls night” — just the two of us, snacks, and watching “Project Runway” reruns (featuring model/entrepreneur Heidi Klum and fashion adviser Tim Gunn and others),” Yelland said of the popular TV show featuring clothing designers who compete for prizes. “One night, Poppy turned to me and said, ‘Mommy, I want to be a designer too! How do I do that?’ ”
For Yelland, who used to make clothing for her Barbie dolls, the conversation evoked special memories. It also spurred her to re-embrace her designing side and become a social entrepreneur, too, which she did after seeking advice from Amy Peterson, CEO of Rebel Nell.
“Rebel Nell started with a mission to provide employment, opportunity, and support to women transitioning out of shelters,” Peterson told me. “I wanted to create a company that not only hired them but invested in their growth. That’s how Rebel Nell was born — from a spark of an idea to turn reclaimed material like fallen graffiti at iconic locations like Michigan Central Station into meaningful jewelry and gifts and provide pathways to independence.”
Numerous would-be social entrepreneurs have reached out to her as she has been down that path a few times. “I’ve been through the roller coaster of starting from scratch on several businesses — so I try to help when possible or lend an ear,” Peterson added.
Yelland recalled her early interest in designing things.
“I remember being asked to draw my dream job in kindergarten,” Yelland said. “I wanted to be a designer, but I had no idea how to draw it or what it even looked like. So, I drew something else and moved on.”
Yelland went on to a career in communications working for Livio, General Motors and others, and today is chief communications and strategy officer at HOME, a nonprofit focused on increasing Hispanic and Latinx homeownership. I posed a few questions to her about her new venture:
Question: Tell me about your path of finally becoming a designer?
Answer: It was my step-grandmother who first put a needle and thread in my hand as I would sew clothes for my Barbies. Back then, I didn’t understand what being a designer could mean. It’s true what they say: You can’t be what you can’t see. Fast-forward nearly 40 years and now I have a daughter. After she asked how to become a designer, I couldn’t sleep. I stayed up that night searching for a way to make design tangible, not for me, but for her. That’s how I found AliveShoes, an online platform where accepted designers transform ideas into Italian-made footwear, choosing from 130 silhouettes, hundreds of materials and full branding options. The platform allows users to create a shoe, design a custom shop and click to sell or launch a pre-order campaign. AliveShoes handles the e-shop, production and shipping while users collect a $30-$50 profit depending. I applied to the platform and once accepted, spent two months working late nights and early mornings with my daughter poring over every detail: type of leather, silhouette, the message stitched inside the tongue. She became my creative partner.
Q: Who is the target market for your shoe?
A: Inspired by Hispanic and Latino culture, she (the shoe) is built for the real-life rhythm of working women. Every pair sold fuels a bigger mission: expanding homeownership opportunities for underserved communities. Recently, based on popular demand, we started offering it in men’s sizes, too.
Q: Tell me about becoming a social entrepreneur?
A: I had a conversation with Amy Peterson about building something bigger than a product. Amy has given me a lot of great advice, too, that goes beyond business, including motherhood, marriage, friendship, advocacy, the list goes on. I then reached out to Rogelio Goertzen, CEO of HOME, and pitched him the idea of turning La Reina into a social enterprise, where 100% of the profits would help fund their mission of expanding homeownership for Hispanic and Latino communities. He said yes on the spot.
Q: How many shoes have you sold so far?
A: We do not disclose our sales numbers, but I can tell you that we’re meeting our sales goals.
Q: Advice to others who may want to design something?
A: If anyone is dreaming of designing something, especially parents with creative kids, I’d say go for it. It’s such a fun hands-on way to discuss business, marketing and design with kids in a way that makes them curious to learn and try more.
For more: https://www.aliveshoes.com/la-reina-shoes
Contact Carol Cain at clcain@cbs.com. She is senior producer/host of “Michigan Matters,” which airs 5:30 a.m. Sundays on CBS Detroit and 9:30 am Sundays on CW Detroit 50. See Tony Vernaci of Aerospace Industry Association of Michigan, Jeff Simek of RCO Aerospace, Kevin Michaels of AeroDynamic Advisory, Dr Ivan Baines of the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Center and Dr. Steven Kalkanis of Henry Ford Health on this Sunday’s show. You can also watch the show on the two station’s listings on Fubu, Pluto TV, YouTube TV and Apple TV.
