First though, a confession….I greatly dislike Tax Free Weekends. I know it saves everyone some money, but it really comes with a cost. Sandy’s is the top source for kid’s shoes in Central Texas because of our expertise and service. Tax Free craziness really hampers that service. At several times during the weekend we must have had 25 families in the store at one time. We rarely had less than 8 families in at any given time. Try as we did, it is just difficult to give the kind of service that is unique to Sandys.

So a great big thank you to all the families who put up with the madness and extended such grace to our overwhelmed staff!

We saw a record number of families and had a double digit increase in sales volume. The overall vibe over our new location continues to be positive and we will be ironing out some of the wrinkles to serve you all better in the future. The construction in front of the store will be finished August 30th!!! We have some new neighbors who will begin construction very soon. Great Clips will be next door to us and next to them a Frozen Yogurt shop (yum). Game Stop will take one corner spot and Elevation Burger will be next to Dos Batos on the other corner. So good things are ahead.

So thanks again for your support of a local business trying to make a difference in our community.

We have found the ideal shoes to satisfy the specific need for indoor shoes at Montessori Schools and other private schools. Foamtreads have been around for a long time and their reputation is fantastic. These shoes are soft, have a sole that can hold up to light outdoor wear, and are machine washable. There are no characters or embellishments to distract and the fit great.

All this for just $24.99. They just arrived and we can fit your child today!

The good news is WE GOT ‘EM ALL!  We are commited to providing the right shoes for your young athlete and there really is nowhere else in Central Texas that concerned parents can go to insure the proper fit in the best athletic shoes for their kids.

As many of you know, the Sandy’s staff has over 90 years of combined experience fitting children’s shoes.  We have the finest brands of athletic shoes available, recently adding Asics to our mix.  We carry more widths than all the other stores in Austin combined.  And we are the exclusive source for the Aetrex i-Step technology to measure and examine the arch and pressure  of your child’s feet.

If you haven’t been to our new location yet or if you have not realized how advanced our selection of kids athletic shoes really is, we invite you to stop by and let our experts partner with you to provide your kids with the best footwear for their growing feet.

That said, the construction in front of our store has taken a turn for the worse in the nuisance factor.

Walmart is ahead of schedule, which is good for our future business. Our hopes were that the major construction would be completed before we get into full swing for Back-to-School.  The bad news is the entrance off of Anderson Lane that leads you into our parking lot is officially closed off.  Walmart is planting big oak tress, (YAY!!), and beginning to ready the parking lot for paving etcetera.  But for now, it is hard to get to us.

The easiest way in is to turn on Northcross Drive, which is the first stoplight just west of our old location.  It is the light in front of Cover3 and Alamo Cinema. Northcross drive heads south toward the Post Office. There is a stop sign where you turn left into the rear of our center. Drive around to the front, turn left and “voila”, you found us!

We really appreciate all of you who faithfully shop with us.  It is a pleasure to serve you and your children, and we hope you will continue to spread the word that Sandy’s is a local business that supports local concerns, like the Austin YMCA, and countless schools.

We have long been the largest independent retailer of kid’s New Balance athletic shoes in the state of Texas.  We have now added Asics to our back to school line-up!

Along with Asics and New Balance we still carry Saucony for kids and Stride Rite, Tsukihoshi, and will be adding others this fall.

As most of you know, we are the first dealer nationally to offer the Aetrex i-Step system for young athletes. Aetrex i-Step is a patented, state of the art technology that measures the foot, offers analysis of the arch type and pressure points. You can learn more about the Aetrex i-Step system by going to the Aetrex page right here on our website.

Alot of running stores dabble in kids shoes, but NONE have the expertise and years of specialization that we offer.  Big box stores offer the brands sometimes, but face it, you are on your own as far as fit.  Sandy’s is the only store in Austin to offer as wide a selection of widths and sizes for young athletes and soon to be athletes.  Plus, our over 90 years of combined fitting experience guarantees your child will be fit correctly.

So pass the word around that Sandy’s is expanding our selection for your young athlete!

This saturday, May 8th, we are celebrating our 32nd year serving Austin area families.  But did you know, our family has actually been fitting shoes since 1954? That is alot of shoes.  I have been asked many times by kids in our store, “How many shoes have you tied?”  I came up with a pretty good estimate; I have been fitting shoes since I was 14 years old in my family’s store in Illinois; since it usually takes at least 4 pair of shoes to be tried on before a purchase is made, I figure I have sold at least 20 pair a day X 4 to try on X 5 days a week X 37 years…the number is over 1.5 million pair!  My fingers are aching right about now.

We are really excited about this Annual Birthday Bash we are throwing.  Not just because we have Kiwi the clown coming from 10 a.m. til 1 p.m., and we are giving away free decorated cookies for the kids and we will have 20% off all toys in our new Melissa & Doug toy store.  No, the reason we are excited is that our business is really growing right now.  In the middle of a tough economy, and after moving into a great new store that is isolated and in front of a construction sight…business is actually better than ever!  And we have you, our customers, to thank.

You all have been fantastic!  You have embraced our relocation with enthusiasm and have shared the news of the move with lots of friends. (Keep this up please, we still need your help!)  As we have engaged in communicating via e-mails, the response has been great.  We have pledged to expand our brands and to have monthly events and lots more special offerings, and you have responded so positively…thank you.

We are adding new brands like Asics, Puma, Me Too, and Naturino.  We will be featuring a ton of fashion boots this fall, and have greatly expanded our hairbow and sock selection.  Also, we have committed, with the partnering of Aetrex i-Step technology, and the best running brands in the business- Asics and New Balance- to establish ourselves as Austin’s Premier source for Kids Running Gear. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has the expertise in fitting your young athlete correctly like we do.

So this year will continue to see new things and new excitement here at Sandy’s.  Please come out this saturday, May 8th, and celebrate with us. Free helium balloons, decorated cookies, fun with Kiwi the clown, and great savings on the best toys around from Melissa & Doug.

Just wanted to give an update and a shout out to all our great supporters who came in and took advantage of our First Annual (how does that sound?) Lost Easter Egg Sale.

We started the event on the monday after Easter and everyone who came in that week selected an egg and discovered a prize…in the form of a discount for their entire purchase.  For the record, we had over 2 dozen Sandy’s faithful who drew an egg with a discount of 30% or more.  The average discount was 22% and everyone enjoyed the event.

We have decided to plan events like this throughout the year and will post them on this website as well as notify our friends via email and on our FaceBook page.  The next couple of months will feature a Birthday Party for Everyone on saturday May 8th, as well as an Ice Cream Social with FREE   Bluebell ice cream coming in June.  Both of these events will feature discounts as well as fun and prizes.

Coming in June also, will be the initial month to redeem your Bonus Bucks, so keep saving them and bring ‘em in for extra discounts in what will become our annual clearance sale for spring/summer.

Thanks again to all of you. Our customers are the greatest and we really appreciate each of you.

I grew up in a time of Easter bonnets, and brand new shiny shoes.  Easter was the day the churches were filled with pastel dresses, shiny black patent shoes (remember when you could not wear white before memorial day?), and boys with new haircuts.

Times have changed…dramatically. Today, most churches are filled with folks wearing jeans, shorts and flip flops.  On Easter you may see pressed jeans and new flip flops but it really ain’t the same.  Truth be told, I like the change.  I do not believe how we dress has any effect or reflection upon how we worship.  But as a retailer, specializing in children’s shoes, the change has impacted how we run our business.

Here in Austin, spring break officially kicks off the sandal season. Typically, our store is packed, both with brand new inventory as well as a flood of customers excited about spring and the fun that lies ahead.  This year, our inventory is better than ever. We have committed to an agressive expansion of our business and our inventory reflects that.  I believe that you will find that our store really is better than ever and I promise that this is just the beginning.

So as you prepare for spring, maybe you need a new pair of sandals to match those cool shorts your kids are going to wear on Easter. Maybe not! But either way, stop in our new location and let us know what you think. And as always, we appreciate you telling a friend or two about our new store.

31 years we spent in the old shopping center across the street. We moved around and had 5 different locations within that center over the years.

This brings up two key points.  First, that center is old. It has been around for 40+years and structurally shows its age.  It features low ceilings, poor insulation and an overall dull feel, in my opinion. Yes, we have several local friends who were neighbors of ours, Zinger Hardware, Shoe Boxes, and Terra Toys, but the opportunity to relocate into a brand new space with modern insulation that helps us conserve energy is important.  Also, the new layout has a much more modern feel, and enables us to partner with Melissa & Doug Toys to bring to Austin the largest selection of their toys anywhere on the planet.

Second, I have a history of trying new things and reinventing ourselves along the way.  Many of you do not realize how your faithfulness has impacted our local business.  Sandy’s Shoes is the largest single store distributor- in the NATION, of several of the brands we carry!  Tsukihoshi, Pedipeds, See Kai Run, and Aetrex for kids all can count Sandy’s as their largest single store retailer in America. We were the first children’s store to feature the Aetrex i-Step technology for measuring children’s feet.

Furthermore, we are the first business in Austin to partner with the YMCA, giving a portion of each and every sale to support the YMCA Partner of Youth initiative, (www.austinymca.org). The YMCA does not turn away any family or child because of inability to pay. Last year, the YMCA provided some $1.7 million dollars to allow children here in Austin to participate in life enhancing programs like Swim Lessons, After School Care, Summer Camps and more.  Because of our awesome customers, together we will provide a minimum of $12,000 dollars to bless families right here in our community and make a real difference in the lives of kids.

Finally, we have the honor to be serving a second generation of Austin area families. I am now fitting the children of those I fit in shoes years ago.  Once I got over the fact that I am old…I realized how special that is.  We want to provide these parents and their children the best- the best products- the best technology- and the best experience they could imagine.  Hopefully, we will have the honor of fitting a third generation also.

Not only are the leaders in environment friendly shoes and bags, the kids shoes are great styles with soft feeling uppers and they wash and wear great. The colors are fun and the toddler shoes are perfect for little ones moving from taking steps to out running their parental units.

I have never been very pretentious, so living in Austin suits me fine. SIMPLE resonates with the Austin vibe and lifestyle. We hope you will try them and help support a company who really is striving to do things right.