Women’s Month feature: Meet Jade Kirkel and Dani Silbermann
Morningside’s Sneaker-brand co-owners share their story toward spreading joy through great sneakers for children.
Morningside’s Jade Kirkel and her business partner Dani Silbermann shared the story of how their journey to launching their line of sneakers began.
The motivated co-creators of the JoyJoy children’s sneakers brand took a moment to share glimpses of their sustainable vision.
“I just wanted to test my theories – I wanted to go out there and understand building a brand from scratch,” Kirkel said.
“I wanted to build something meaningful that gave people a lot of joy and a lot of happiness. That’s when I met Dani, who was running a successful mommy blog at that time.”
Silbermann, according to Kirkel, had been a blogger and wedding planner before them deciding to build JoyJoy together.
“She mentioned she was in between chapters in her life, and I was similarly in between chapters,” Silbermann recounted. “We didn’t know what we wanted to do.”
JoyJoy’s interchangeable children’s sneaker is designed to be entertaining for children to wear.
“We’ve got over 50 designs – from glittery princesses to fire-breathing dragons,” Silbermann said. “At its core purpose, JoyJoy is about bringing out joy, and a way for children to just express themselves through the shoes they wear.”
Kirkel and Silbermann feel at home in the world of business dominated by men.
“I feel like men build careers and women kind of manage them,” said Kirkel. “You’ve got a lot to deal with as a woman. You have to dig deep sometimes. We’re all kind of in pursuit of the work/life balance.”
Silbermann advised young women venturing into business to never shy away from requesting assistance from those in their field of choice.
“From day one, we were never scared to reach out to people who have been there,” Silbermann said. “Never stop looking for people who can offer value and guidance.”
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