I met Nancy Blue at the October Concord Antique Show. I was attracted to her booth from afar and when I discovered that she had designed a new take on the vintage shoe-clip, I knew my readers would want to hear all about it.
A self-described Jack of all Trades, Nancy works as an interior decorator in addition to making her shoe-clips, each by hand from found objects. Although she’s had no formal design training, she’s always had a creative bent.
Please describe Wrapcessory for us.
Wrapcessory is a multi-use, removable fashion accessory that can literally be worn from head to toe. The patent pending “mechanism” on the backside of each decoration makes it possible to attach to hat bands, barrettes, necklace chains, sleeveless and some other types of clothing, scarves, boots, many types of strappy shoes, sneakers and flip-flops which is what I actually invented them for! I’ve even had customers buy them for their dogs collars!
How long have you been making the Wrapcessory?
The idea for Wrapcessory came to me three years ago in December although it has undergone a few changes since the original.
What inspired you to come up with Wrapcessory?
I wear flips-flops almost every day when the weather is right and I had basic ones in black, beige and white, but just thought they were so boring! One day, I decided there had to be a way to decorate my flips to go with whatever I was wearing without having to glue permanent things to them so I turned on my gears, tried a few ideas and, VOILA, Wrapcessory!
How to they differ from vintage shoe clips?
Wrapcessory have soft, stretchy straps that wrap around whatever you put them on whereas, the old clips are metal and, from what I understand, they can be uncomfortable. Not only that, they break easily. Although I’ve never worn the old style clips, I did buy some once thinking they could work for my flip-flops, but they fell apart pretty easily. Another way Wrapcessory is different from metal clips is they can’t be used on a close-toed shoe unless there is some sort of decorative strap that Wrapcessory’s mechanism can wrap around. However; old-school clips don’t have near the versatility of Wrapcessory either!
What kinds of materials are they made of?
Currently, I make Wrapcessory out of all kinds of different materials. I love to upcyle old earrings, bracelets, necklaces, etc. I mix and match all kinds of things to come up with the decorative feature. The backside consists of the straps and hooks of the mechanism.
Who is you customer?
My customers are female and range in age from 3 to 83! The kids love to dress up their flip-flops and sneakers and the adults buy them for everything from scarves, to clothes to shoes of all kinds.
Where can we find Wrapcessory?
Wrapcessory is sold online through my Etsy shop at Wrapcessory.com I’ve also been selling at craft shows throughout the summer and fall months.
Are you doing any shows for the holidays?
The biggest show I have coming up is December 6, 7 & 8. It’s called Santa’s Bag Boutique and is held at the Lafayette Community Center at 500 St. Mary’s Rd. I believe this is the 23rd year for this show. I always do VERY well there and have had people come back to buy from me again!
Such a great idea! Thank you, Nancy for taking time with OverDressed for Life.
OverDressed for Life 
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