Laura Ritchie, who was born with clubfoot, has started a children’s clothing company, Rosiebee and will be giving 10% of all shoe sales to Steps. We were so thrilled that we spoke to Laura to learn more about her story and why she wants to support Steps Clubfoot Care.
You grew up with clubfoot, tell us about that? How was the treatment process for you?
Yes I was born in 1985 with a left clubfoot, at that stage it was quite a shock to my parents as the scans back then were not very accurate and I was born in a small local hospital where they had never encountered a club foot before. My parents were lucky to find an excellent doctor in Johannesburg who treated and manipulated my foot over the course of the first 6 months of my life.
I then had surgery to lengthen my achilles tendon at 6 months old. I only remember going back to him once when I was small and being asked to walk around his office. As far as my parents tell me, the treatment of my foot went very well and there were very little complications for me
How did you first learn about Steps?
I googled to find information on clubfoot support groups in South Africa and that is where I learnt about Steps.
Why are you interested in learning more and contributing to our cause?
As I have grown and matured I’ve become very aware of how blessed I was to receive treatment for my clubfoot when I was small. I feel passionately that every child born with a clubfoot deserves to get the right treatment for it because it is something that can be fixed and this will allow all children’s with clubfeet to have a normal childhood. When I started my business I had the hope of being able to contribute to a cause and give back, but I was not sure which cause would be best.
In November of 2019 I had an experience which led me to the idea of making these little soft sole shoes and trying to find a clubfoot organisation that my business could contribute to. Since I started wearing shoes I’ve struggled to find the right sized shoes. So what I will be doing with our soft sole shoes is allowing parents to have the choice of buying two different sized shoes as a set, because I know with club feet often one foot is a different size from the other. I myself have this problem.
Is there any advice you can offer children born with clubfoot or their families?
Growing up I was never made to feel anything less because of my foot and leg being different from others, my parents always made me feel secure and able. My advice would be to be confident in yourself and your body. Know that you are strong and able to do so much in life. It can be hard at times I know, I’ve had moments where I am self conscious of my foot but then I just try to remind myself of how far I’ve come. Do what you dream to do – life is too short to worry about what others think.
Tell us about your brand and how you are aiming to help Steps?
My brand started out as a small dream in 2017, Rosie Bee was inspired by my daughter and my love for creativity. We handmake nostalgic baby, toddler and children’s clothing up to the age of 6-7 years, we also do accessories and swaddle blankets and now our soft sole shoes. I would like to give 10% of the sale of each pair of shoes to Steps, and I would also love for the community that supports my business on Instagram and Facebook to be made aware of your organisation. My hope is that they might choose to support Steps privately or even just share about Steps with family and friends
Where can people support you? Links / social channels?
Rosie Bee can be found on Instagram, facebook as well as our website which is www.rosiebee.co.za
