Art lecturer customises 'bonkers' shoes in her spare time - The Stratford Observer

Art lecturer customises 'bonkers' shoes in her spare time

Stratford Editorial 22nd Jul, 2017   0

GAME of Thrones and Dr Who – nothing is off the cards for an art lecturer who customises shoes in her spare time.

Stratford College tutor Jen Burton launched her business – Bunny Pumpkin Boutique – six years ago when she became frustrated with the task of finding nice shoes to fit her unusually large feet.

And now Jen not only creates shoes to fit unfortunate sized feet, but also caters to the most extravagant of tastes.

From mirror shards and peacock feathers, to Beatrix Potter print, the fashionista has it all covered.




Her Seven Deadly Sins range was even showcased on the catwalk in London, and worn by internationally-acclaimed pin-up model October Divine. It is the range she is most proud of.

She said: “They are bonkers designs and completely insane. I wanted to create glittery and bejewelled shoes for the catwalk so I had complete free rein. They were never a range I thought would sell but people seem to love them – especially a shoe with a six inch heel I’ve sculpted to look like an ice cream sundae with sprinkles and cherries.”


Never one to rest on her laurels, Jen is also set to launch a Game of Thrones-inspired range, including dragon boots and a pair of flats featuring the show’s notorious baddies, ‘White Walkers’.

Despite running the burgeoning business, she has no plans to leave teaching.

She said: “I love working with young, creative, artistically-minded people. If I didn’t teach, I don’t think I’d be anything like as creative myself – I get as much from them as they do from me.

“It helps me to lead by example. Running a business as well as working as a teacher makes it very difficult for any of my students to legitimately claim they didn’t have time to complete a piece of work.

“Having a flourishing business also shows them that it’s possible to do something creative and be successful.”

Jen – who had no idea her hobby would take off as a business – plans to continue teaching while creating new ranges for Bunny Pumpkin which she hopes one day would become a household name.

Visit www.bunnypumpkinboutique.com to find out more.

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