As  a new mom, and the mom of a brand new baby girl no less, I was VERY interested in her wardrobe. Can you blame me? When it comes to girl’s clothes, the cuteness is kind of endless. I’ve never been a frilly bow and flower kind of person, so when Naomi started walking, I did make it a point to find her well-made, comfortable walkers that were cute and relatively plain so they’d go with everything. Cienta Shoes fit that bill perfectly. I discovered them browsing on Zappos one day, completely by chance. I loved that they were easy to put on and take off (mostly take off, if you’re my kid), and that they were extremely durable; they’d get dirty, we’d pop them into the washing machine. And of course, they’re beyond cute & come in lots of darling colors and patterns. She’s been wearing these shoes since she could stand, as you can see from the pics below. Cienta’s been all over my Instagram for quite some time. And in those earlier days, I had no way of knowing that it would be this shoe brand that would totally surprise and delight not only me, but my community, when it was most in need.

Her Valentine’s Day game is on point. #tinynaomi

A photo posted by • e s t h e r • (@cuteheadskids) on Feb 7, 2015 at 7:24am PST

 

She’s so proud of herself for standing that she’s clapping! Followed by a total meltdown when she realizes she’s stuck like this. Being a baby is hard. #tinynaomi

A photo posted by • e s t h e r • (@cuteheadskids) on Nov 22, 2014 at 6:47am PST

Back in the Spring, Cienta’s team reached out to me about teaming up after they’d seen some of my Instagram posts, and it felt like a very natural, very organic fit. I had no hesitation; I post a lot of outfit pics and I do a lot of photoshoots, so I was excited to include these shoes in some of the shoots we have lined up.

Shortly after I agreed to work with them, the city of Houston, TX — where I live — experienced a flood of epic proportions. I’ve lived here my entire life, and never quite seen anything like this. Specifically in my area, the devastation was beyond comprehension. People had 3 feet of water in their homes. Furniture was floating. Bayous had completely overflown, turning pools black. Our street flooded, but luckily our home was spared. Relief efforts began almost immediately, as people were evacuated by boat from their homes. With friends and families’ lives turned upside down, it felt like the road would be never-ending to repair the damage, but that every little bit helped.

I decided that for the month of June, for every cuteheads item sold, I’d donate a t-shirt to a child who lost his or her clothing in the flood. It was the least I could do. I post a pic on Instagram saying so.

Very soon after, I received an email from the team at Cienta. They had seen my Instagram post and wanted to help. A brand wanting to help a local community that they weren’t even directly connected to? It seemed too good to be true. I was excited, but hesitant. Being a business owner, I know enough to know that you never report on what’s going to happen. You only report on what has already happened. So I waited.

And then this arrived at my front door:

That’s over 100 pairs of shoes, donated to children who lost literally everything. As you can imagine, I was completely floored. When I shared this news with disaster relief workers, everyone was shocked beyond belief. Handouts began immediately, and let me tell you, we had some VERY happy kiddos. There’s something about a new pair of shoes that just brightens your day and makes you feel like a whole new person. I truly believe Cienta gave that gift to many.

I will continue to work with and support this incredible brand, not only because of the quality of the product, but because of the quality of the company itself. Its not often you get a chance to be a part of an experience as special as this, and I’ll always cherish it. It had a profound impact on me, on my community, and on how my company will operate going forward.

You can shop Cienta on Amazon, Zappos, and many other destinations online.

** Full disclosure: I received NO compensation whatsoever for this post, and there are no affliate links embedded within. **