FACED with a crushing loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars, most people would give up on running their own business - but not Bardon’s Christopher McCallum.
The 27-year-old owner and head designer of men’s shoe fashion line Vein Wear had to rebuild his company in 2004 after a retailer went bust, taking his entire stock of footwear with them.
“It was a massive devastation at the time,” Mr McCallum said.
“The clients fled overseas facing criminal charges and all of the stock in their stores was seized and sold by the liquidators so I was left with nothing.
“The news couldn’t have come at a worse time. My wife Szuting and I had just been married in Taiwan with her family, and were coming back to Australia for a second wedding with my family when I got the news.”
However, Mr McCallum never gave up. In 2007 he opened his own retail store in the trendy TCB mall in Fortitude Valley and select fashion shops all over Australia and New Zealand now carry his shoes, including Always Habit in Paddington.
“Late last year the Vein Store won Best Fashion Store of 2008 in the Quest Business Achiever Awards, which was really great, although for me the best reward is when someone comes in and spends their hard-earned money on my product,” he said.
Mrs McCallum also has her own designer footwear label for women, Kitty Croquet, available in the Vein store.
The couple has recently set up a workshop in Taipei.
“It’s a very small operation, but it’s completely owned by us, and run by five master craftsmen who make every shoe themselves,” Mr McCallum said.
An autumn line, now in stores, is described by Mr McCallum as dark and sexy.
Visit http://www.veinwear.com.
Article Link: http://westside-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/shining-against-the-odds
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