Laying the Groundwork for Legacy
2021 in Review
By Samantha Weissbach, DWC Owner & General Manager
I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that since 2020 hit, my construct of time has been distorted into a brand new reality… one where each day, week, month, and year seems to blend together. Every year, I look forward to carving out time to reflect on the past year and write my review of our accomplishments; however, this year I’ve been dragging my feet, mostly because 2021 has felt more like the third book in a long series than a stand-alone novel.
To fully understand why 2021 was such a pivotal year in the DWC story, we have to go back in time for additional context. When my mom and I took over ownership of DWC in late 2018, my sole desire was to keep a longstanding resource for the community alive. Despite my passion, I knew we would be taking on a huge learning curve, not only in taking over a retail business (when the bulk of my business operations experience is in services) but also in maintaining and building on the level of fitting expertise previously provided at DWC.
As with most things in the dance world, there is no universal standard set in place for fitting pointe shoes, and when I took over DWC, a comprehensive curriculum for learning how to fit simply did not exist. Pointe shoes can bear up to 10-14 times your body weight, and incorrectly fitting or dead shoes can open dancers up to a litany of mild to severe injuries. Establishing an agreed-upon standard and methodology for fitting pointe shoes would not only provide a more concrete career path to becoming a pointe shoe fitter, but would more importantly give ballet dancers a champion in their efforts to dance longer, stronger, and safer. In our first 2 years of ownership, the staff and I sought out every possible resource we could find for fitting pointe shoes, but it simply wasn’t enough.
“Thank you for choosing to spend so much of your finite life energy with DWC - I truly could not and would not want to do this without each and every one of you by my side.”
We all know that 2020 was a year that will go down in every history book. It was a monumental event for humanity, and no business was left unaffected (whether it be positively or negatively). In the first couple of months of the shutdown, like most of us - I was left alone with myself and my thoughts. Even before the pandemic hit, my efforts to seek out higher-level education & mentorship were fruitless. It turns out it’s especially hard to find anyone willing (understandably so) to part with their trade secrets in a business as niche as pointe shoe fitting.
I was feeling dejected and hopeless and by May of 2020, like most businesses, I was seriously considering closing our doors for good. Our sales were in the toilet (we now have a good chuckle when we look at our April 2020 sales - a whopping $103.29 for the entire month), we were locked into our Fall ordering* of over $100k in product (a conservative order) that was likely not going to sell, and the SBA loans we did receive simply weren’t going to cover even our most base level operating costs.
*In most retail, inventory orders are done in bulk, on a seasonal basis, oftentimes months in advance. It isn’t unusual to purchase for September in February, April in November, etc.
For those who know me, you know that while I hold a deep reverence for people and their beliefs, I personally do not subscribe to a specific religion. I do, however, believe in energy. I believe matter cannot be created nor destroyed and I believe that humans, as a species, are incredibly limited in what we are capable of perceiving. Call it an ill-advised business strategy, but in 2020 I was looking for a clear sign from The Universe on whether or not I should keep going.
Enter ThePointeShop (TPS) and their release of The Progressive Pointe Method curriculum. I vividly remember the day Josephine announced she was opening applications for the fitter certification course and retail partnerships. My heart started racing, and I immediately started sweating profusely (I’m a sweater. Cute, I know.) I could feel it in my bones that this was the sign I had been waiting for, and this was the opportunity for the mentorship and training I so desperately had been seeking out. I told my mom the day we applied that if we weren’t accepted into the program and as retail partners, that would be my sign that it was time for DWC to close its doors.
Fast forward to today, January 20th, 2022 as I write to you from the plane taking me to San Diego to take my final test to become a TPS certified pointe shoe fitter. By now it’s no secret that we’ve not closed our doors, and that I’ve had the great honor of spending the last year in training with Josephine herself. I will forever be grateful to Josephine and her entire team for caring so deeply about progressing the dance industry that they made the unpopular decision to train fitters outside of their organization with the larger goal of elevating the craft of pointe shoe fitting on an international level. This seemingly small action had a ripple effect and gave us the sign we needed to press forward in a time when I had lost hope.
As I look back on 2021, I know it’s going to be a year that marks a huge milestone in the history of our business. We grew our small team of 4 into a team of 14, became members of DanseMedica and retail partners with ThePointeShop, traveled to Juneau, AK to fit pointe shoes, and of course - opened our 2nd location in Renton, WA. Our blog (headed by our amazing editor Madison Huizinga) has published a total of 76 posts, highlighting local artists and dance specialists, and subjects such as dancer mental health, injury risk prevention, and epilepsy awareness. We’ve also begun hosting regular networking events and educational seminars out of the event space in our Renton location, and of course, we provided multiple internal and external training opportunities for our staff.
None of this would have been possible without mentorship from ThePointeShop, the continued support of our customers (y'all are ‘the real MVPs’), my husband (aka the DWC dad: he fixes and builds everything - including the beautiful pointe shoe tree at our Renton location) and especially: the extraordinary members of my team at DWC. You all inspire me, keep me in line when I’ve gone off the deep end (it’s a more frequent occurrence than you might think - just ask Riley), and infuse the DWC mission and culture with such authentic passion and care. Thank you for choosing to spend so much of your finite life energy with DWC - I truly could not and would not want to do this without each and every one of you by my side.
While we have far from recovered from the financial loss of 2020, I am confident that we have laid the groundwork for a legacy of building community in the Seattle dance scene that will hopefully carry on long after I’m gone. There is still a great amount of uncertainty and unease in the air; however, I am certain of this: when a community rallies together, so much is possible. Here’s to all of us, 2022, and the joy and love still to come!
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