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A gifted and accomplished footwear product consultant with a solid foundation in design, product development and concept strategy, de Baëre offers her clients an encompassing package that sets her apart as an industry consultant. In addition to creating fashionable, appealing designs, de Baëre provides comprehensive product services, including expert market and trend research and detailed positioning strategies to help ensure the highest possible sales success for each line.
Peter Charles, senior vice president of Stride Rite Sourcing International, provides a client’s perspective on the talents de Baëre brings to each project.
“Caroline is extremely professional,” he says. “It’s unusual to find someone who’s creative but who can combine those creative talents with very strong organization and product disciplines, and Caroline has both. That’s very rare in this industry. She’s an extremely talented designer, has terrific interpersonal skills, is extremely organized and has great follow-up. And all of my team really enjoy working with her.”
Before establishing her consulting practice, de Baëre acquired extensive product experience with three leaders in the footwear and apparel industry. She began her career with seven years in Esprit’s Footwear Division, and served as Director of Product Development for LA Gear and then Ariat International for a total of nine years.
“Sperry Top-Sider said, ‘We want you to help us from start to finish. We don’t want you to just create designs,’” de Baëre explains. “So I provide all the trend research, select the materials and develop color palettes. I write all the product briefs and work with them on merchandising the line. These are services that I think a typical design person doesn’t offer.”
The fact that her projects are largely collaborative in nature appeals to the outgoing de Baëre, and her ability to work comfortably with her clients’ employees during all stages of the development and design process is one of the keys to her success.
“I love the fact that it’s an interactive process,” she says. “For example, I get to have close working relationships with the Sperry Top-Sider team members every step of the way. I get to travel with their sales team, which is something I really enjoy. The bottom line is that we anticipate the Spring collection doubling the sales of Sperry Top-Sider’s women’s business.”
“We’ve found it very helpful to have someone with Caroline’s wealth of knowledge and experience,” says Jon Schoen, who oversees Birkenstock’s Brands Department. “We get the expertise she’s gained throughout her years in the industry, and she comes in without preconceived ideas about our products and our markets.”
Caroline’s enthusiasm for her chosen field translates into a personal identification with the missions and goals of each company she works for.
“I enjoy helping my clients succeed,” she says, “and I like working with people who are passionate about what they do. I love it when companies use my work to create successful product images, and I’m very passionate about everything I do for my clients. The sales reps are funny sometimes. They’ll tell me, ‘Oh, Caroline, you live and breathe it. It’s your soul. They’re your babies.’ I guess that’s true.”
“I would attend the prototype review meetings to become involved with the design team,” she recalls.” But the most help I got was from Lynn Miller, who was president of footwear and accessories. I kept telling him I wanted to be in design, and one day he finally handed me a shoe and said, ‘OK, if you want to be in design, draw this shoe.’ I didn’t even know how to draw, but he said, ‘Draw this shoe until you can draw it with your eyes closed. Come back in a month and we’ll see what it looks like.’”
de Baëre accepted the challenge and began the steady learning process that’s helped her achieve the design skills she sought. Those skills, in combination with her exceptional product development expertise, has enabled her to create a unique set of services and a fulfilling footwear industry career.
To anyone thinking of following in her entrepreneurial footsteps, de Baëre says to do what she did — get solid, broad-based experience, make a plan, and then go for it.
“Maybe the two biggest things that have happened in my career,” de Baëre says, “have been realizing that it was OK to take the risk of starting my own business. And back at the very beginning, having Lynn Miller say to me, “If you want to do it, go do it.”
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Footwear Designer/Consultant Caroline de Baëre Celebrates Sixteen Years in Fashion
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 2002) Caroline de Baëre, footwear design, marketing, and product development consultant and president of Caroline de Baëre, Inc. of San Francisco, is celebrating sixteen years in the footwear industry. The multi-talented de Baëre, who started her freelance business in February 2000, is spending “year sixteen” with a full roster of high-profile clients. She is currently providing a wide range of design and marketplace services to industry leaders including Stride Rite/Sperry Top-Sider, Birkenstock, and Brighton Accessories.A gifted and accomplished footwear product consultant with a solid foundation in design, product development and concept strategy, de Baëre offers her clients an encompassing package that sets her apart as an industry consultant. In addition to creating fashionable, appealing designs, de Baëre provides comprehensive product services, including expert market and trend research and detailed positioning strategies to help ensure the highest possible sales success for each line.
Peter Charles, senior vice president of Stride Rite Sourcing International, provides a client’s perspective on the talents de Baëre brings to each project.
“Caroline is extremely professional,” he says. “It’s unusual to find someone who’s creative but who can combine those creative talents with very strong organization and product disciplines, and Caroline has both. That’s very rare in this industry. She’s an extremely talented designer, has terrific interpersonal skills, is extremely organized and has great follow-up. And all of my team really enjoy working with her.”
Before establishing her consulting practice, de Baëre acquired extensive product experience with three leaders in the footwear and apparel industry. She began her career with seven years in Esprit’s Footwear Division, and served as Director of Product Development for LA Gear and then Ariat International for a total of nine years.
Full Services and Enhanced Sales at Sperry Top-Sider
de Baëre cites her year-long work with Stride Rite’s Sperry Top-Sider brand as an example of her professional range. Over the past year, de Baëre designed and developed Sperry Top-Sider’s entire women’s collection, and she’s signed on to work with the company for another year.“Sperry Top-Sider said, ‘We want you to help us from start to finish. We don’t want you to just create designs,’” de Baëre explains. “So I provide all the trend research, select the materials and develop color palettes. I write all the product briefs and work with them on merchandising the line. These are services that I think a typical design person doesn’t offer.”
The fact that her projects are largely collaborative in nature appeals to the outgoing de Baëre, and her ability to work comfortably with her clients’ employees during all stages of the development and design process is one of the keys to her success.
“I love the fact that it’s an interactive process,” she says. “For example, I get to have close working relationships with the Sperry Top-Sider team members every step of the way. I get to travel with their sales team, which is something I really enjoy. The bottom line is that we anticipate the Spring collection doubling the sales of Sperry Top-Sider’s women’s business.”
Informed Industry Perspectives
Because of her in-depth across-the-board industry experience, de Baëre also offers each client broad marketplace perspectives, including trends and best practices in design, product development and manufacturing. Birkenstock, de Baëre’s first consulting customer and a client to this day, has taken full advantage of this expertise. Among her many Birkenstock projects, de Baëre helped develop the Birkenstock Footprints women’s collection, providing trend forecasting, market research and design.“We’ve found it very helpful to have someone with Caroline’s wealth of knowledge and experience,” says Jon Schoen, who oversees Birkenstock’s Brands Department. “We get the expertise she’s gained throughout her years in the industry, and she comes in without preconceived ideas about our products and our markets.”
A Passion for the Industry
Of her fascination with footwear design, the California native says, “I always wanted to be in the fashion industry. My mother is an artist and my grandmother painted, so I’ve been around creativity all my life. I like making things look beautiful and seeing them work together. And I love to see an idea I’ve had become something tangible.”Caroline’s enthusiasm for her chosen field translates into a personal identification with the missions and goals of each company she works for.
“I enjoy helping my clients succeed,” she says, “and I like working with people who are passionate about what they do. I love it when companies use my work to create successful product images, and I’m very passionate about everything I do for my clients. The sales reps are funny sometimes. They’ll tell me, ‘Oh, Caroline, you live and breathe it. It’s your soul. They’re your babies.’ I guess that’s true.”
Getting Started in Design
It was during her days at Esprit that de Baëre received the encouragement she needed to follow her heart and make the move into design.“I would attend the prototype review meetings to become involved with the design team,” she recalls.” But the most help I got was from Lynn Miller, who was president of footwear and accessories. I kept telling him I wanted to be in design, and one day he finally handed me a shoe and said, ‘OK, if you want to be in design, draw this shoe.’ I didn’t even know how to draw, but he said, ‘Draw this shoe until you can draw it with your eyes closed. Come back in a month and we’ll see what it looks like.’”
de Baëre accepted the challenge and began the steady learning process that’s helped her achieve the design skills she sought. Those skills, in combination with her exceptional product development expertise, has enabled her to create a unique set of services and a fulfilling footwear industry career.
Going Out on Her Own
In November 1999, de Baëre sat on an airplane and wrote out a plan for starting her own consulting venture. By February 2000, she was up and running. Her first client was Birkenstock, and she’s been working with the world-renowned firm ever since. That type of long-term client loyalty has been a hallmark of de Baëre’s business.To anyone thinking of following in her entrepreneurial footsteps, de Baëre says to do what she did — get solid, broad-based experience, make a plan, and then go for it.
“Maybe the two biggest things that have happened in my career,” de Baëre says, “have been realizing that it was OK to take the risk of starting my own business. And back at the very beginning, having Lynn Miller say to me, “If you want to do it, go do it.”
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