If you’ve ever browsed the aisles of comfort-forward shoe stores and stared sadly at the chunky, rubber roles and dowdy, dark colors, you can relate to the mission of Neely Woodson Powell, founder and CEO of Charleston Shoe Co.

“My goal is to make comfortable, versatile, great looking, and affordable shoes,” says Powell in a statement. “There are so many women who want to look fabulous but have constant issues with their feet. I want to remedy that.” 

Powell was inspired by a trip to San Miguel, Mexico 25 years ago where she noticed the local women wearing hand-sewn sandals that were both stylish and practical on the cobblestone streets that Powell also had to navigate in her Charleston, South Carolina home,

Charleston Shoe Co. shoes are hand-sewn by a core group of 50 cobblers and artisans in Mexico and sold in more than 200 stores across the United States from Palm Beach to Nantucket. Some hallmarks of the design include treated soles from traction and elastic straps to provide comfortable give when walking. Perhaps best of all, many of the shoes aremachine washable. Despite comfort-forward design, the shoes are stylish, colorful espadrilles, wedges, and flats.

“In the shoe world comfort was a bad name,” says Powell in an episode of the Voices of Courage podcast. “I reallywanted my shoes to look great but be timeless and classic and I’m still selling one shoe that I was selling 25 years ago.”

Powell grew up in a creative family, taking inspiration from her mother, who created the wholesale furnishing business Worlds Away. In fact, the salespeople at those furniture tradeshows, women on their feet all day long, became some of her first and most devoted customers. But it wasn’t just good style that helped Powell create the business. She also at the Savannah College of Art & Design to learn the ins and outs of the shoe design process. Her first retail store opened in Savannah a year later.

It hasn’t always been a smooth ride. The pandemic shutdowns greatly impacted sales and staffing, as it did for retail across the country. Powell has also had challenges with staff. In a PBS episode of “Start Up” she shared that a trusted employee, who had gotten married in Powell’s backyard and was seen as part of her family, stole half a million dollars from the business.

“Trust is so important and those relationships that you build are so important,” says Powell. “Unfortunately it’s just a fine line. That’s been my hardest lesson.”

Charleston Shoe Co. also has a philanthropic arm that spreads “shoe joy,” and supports causes like Healthcare Heroes and Share Your Soles by donating shoes to healthcare workers, residents of underserved countries and communities, and veterans. Powell hopes to turn her focus to the continual development of those programs now that the retail space has stabilized from pandemic shutdowns.

“I love the business more than I’ve ever loved it in my life,” says Powell. “[The pandemic] put me back in touch with things and reminded me why I started it in the first place. It’s been a fun ride.”