Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
Nora Jones has owned the Shoe Vault for six years, and in that time it has remained the best location around Canungra to find quality, affordable footwear. Today she shares just how she’s kept it this way— along with other fascinating news about the area, including the history behind the local market that springs up behind the building every so often.
by Kyle Hitchmough
How did you get started here?
My husband wanted me to buy a business for myself. I looked at a few and they didn’t appeal to me, so I decided to build my own. I’d done 19 years of merchandising and I’d also sold shoes. So I knew I could sell shoes and I knew I could merchandise, it was just finding the right spot. We came to Canungra to look at another business and this building was up for lease, so we decided to open the Shoe Vault, and here I am!
How would you describe the identity of your store? Do you consider yourself more high-end or more accessible?
I like to think that I have my own personal style. It’s more of a casual, smart-casual look rather than high-end racewear shoes. I think that the world is going more casual all the time. I see comfortable, beautiful shoes, rather than beautiful but uncomfortable shoes. It’s definitely not overly high-end. I try to cater for everybody, that being the $300 shoes down to the $30 shoes. There is something here for everybody. Not everybody wants to spend $300 on a pair of shoes. Some ladies just want to spend a cheap and cheerful $30 and walk away happy in a comfortable pair of shoes. I try to find them the most comfortable $30 shoes they can buy.
Where do you source your stock from?
Most of the ladies’ shoes come from Europe. Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Italy…
Is it mainly ladies’ shoes you stock, or do you cater for men too?
We do have a small men’s’ section. I have Florsheim, Saramanda, Byron Bay shoes. I also have a really good range of orthotic thongs and slides for men, leather sandals, all very comfortable.
Do you rotate a seasonal stock for summer and winter, or do you stock the same selection through the year?
In Queensland, you can sell summer shoes all year long. That being said, we have a short period of about 2 or 3 months where you can sell winter boots, and you have to have them. Ladies get to know the shop and they know they can get a pair of boots from Spain or Portugal and they’re the finest European leather, and they’ll travel from anywhere to get them. Ladies tend to like the European leathers. They just make the best shoes. Anything out of Europe sells well.
Can you tell me more about the market that you run in the back area behind your store?
When we first bought the property, it had all these little buildings out here, but they were unloved and run-down. So recently I’ve done a renovation out here. Now we have six little shops out the back, so I set up the market which has been here for 4 and a half years. It’s open Saturday and Sunday, from 8:00 to 2:30. I’ve been gradually building it up and making it more and more family-friendly so now ladies can bring their prams through on the concrete pathways, that sort of thing. It’s a really lovely little spot away from the main road. It’s a nice relaxed lovely atmosphere out here with the gardens, and it adjoins the park so they can walk straight through, and the children can go play while mum has a look through the market or the shoe shop. It works really well.
Do you have any particular trends in your clientele?
I have customers from the age of 18 to 88. Mainly women, but I really like male customers because they come in, try on one pair of shoes that fit, and go “Yep! I’m done!”
Are you a local? What’s your opinion on the area and the community?
I am local, in a sense. It’s a beautiful area, really beautiful. The community is lovely, really nice people. It’s got a very friendly atmosphere. A lot of ladies who come up from the Gold Coast from the day, they’ll have coffee, and then they’ll come shoe shopping, and then have lunch and they’ll always say “Everybody is so friendly here!” It’s a lovely community.
What do you think the Shoe Vault really provides to the area?
I think it’s a destination town, Canungra. People are looking for destination towns for a day out, or they might come down here camping for the weekend and stay down at the Showgrounds or out at one of the three or four different camping spots. They’ll come to the shop, and then go to the bakery or to the bookshop, here, there, wherever. There are so many different little cafes people can go for lunch. I have a lot of people who tell me they didn’t expect to buy shoes in Canungra, but because they’ve come to the town and walked around, they’ve come into the shop and gone “Look at this!” They get quite a surprise when they come in and see the range. I’ve had ladies say to me I have a better range than Myers. I have ladies who walk in and ask me “Do you know this shop is famous?” I love it when I hear that. It’s word of mouth advertising. That makes me happy.
Do you have any standout stories or memorable experiences from your time here?
There’s a lady that comes all the way from Louisiana in the States to come shoe-shopping here. She has a deal with her husband who is a birdwatcher, so they go up to Lamington National Park, and he watches birds for the day, and then they come back here in the afternoon and she buys five or six pairs of shoes. That blows my mind.
We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, email your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.
