These Boots Were Made For Walking

From lawyer to shoe designer....

WHEN Angeline Tournier was offered partnership at West End law firm Clintons, the thought of being bound to a life behind her office desk, working long hours in the same routine and wearing nylon tights until retirement just seemed less and less appealing.

After 6 years of working in Private Client law, life for Angeline had become mundane and she knew it was time to move on: “At the time I was offered partnership, it made me realise I did not want to get on that railway track,” explains Angeline. “I felt like I had mastered my area of law and I was starting to give out the same old advice. It seemed stale and I thought….is this it?”

It was at this point Angeline quit her job and decided to embark on the career of her dreams…..designing shoes!

“I’ve always wanted to do something creative and have been fascinated by shoes,” says Angeline. “It was by chance that I read about a college which actually specialised in shoe design and making. It sounded like a dream come true.”

Angeline landed herself a place at Cordwainers College where she was trained on how to make a shoe from start to finish.

After her course, Angeline went on to do work experience at an East End shoe factory, making shoes for Vivienne Westwood and Matthew Williamson.

“I gained invaluable practical experience of manufacturing shoes whilst working at the factory,” says Angeline. “I wanted to design fashionable, relatively practical shoes which would work on both large and small feet. The factory made the first shoes I designed.”

And this was the start of Angeline’s new beginning. She set up her own company and sourced a factory in Portugal to produce her shoes.

She sold her debut collection to prestigious Paris department store, Le Bon Marchè and also set up her own online store, http://www.angelinetournier.co.uk/.

She describes her shoes as “colourful, bright and cute: simple with a twist,” and since launching the label in 2006, Angeline’s collection is stocked in boutiques nationwide as well as in France and Germany.

And with the recent launch of her exciting new bag range, the future looks good for Angeline. But does she have any regrets for leaving the corporate world behind?

“None. I am so much happier now,” beams Angeline. “I don’t miss being in a law firm in anyway! Although I am happy and grateful for what I learnt as a lawyer, I wish I’d left after four years post training, rather than six; the last couple of years were a waste.

“I feel part of the real world now and I love being creative and having the freedom of my own time.”
 
See Angeline’s stunning collection at http://www.angelinetournier.co.uk/