How are women supposed to feel confident when they have to squeeze into footwear and apparel which does not fit properly?” asks Veronica Ljubicic, founder of Divna: Fashionable footwear for women’s sizes 10-13, in Etobicoke, Ont.
With Veronica’s background in fashion and retail, the question had been nagging for some time by late 2005 as she looked for a new job. “Young girls and women told me over and over how frustrated they were with the selection of clothing and footwear in the plus and tall sizes,” says Veronica. It was a sentiment echoed by family, friends, and by Veronica herself, who wears a size 11 shoe.
Instead of taking a job, she made her own. “I came across a Service Canada program that mentors, funds, and prepares entrepreneurs for their first year in business. I decided to apply and see what happened. They embraced my idea and I started my entrepreneurial journey.”
Two years later, she’s learned quite a bit about multitasking, crazy workloads, and the stress of managing the finances of a small operation, but a belief in Divna’s promotion of positive self-image, and its steady growth are reassuring. “My next goal is to open up a store in Toronto and to design my own collection of footwear.”
Toronto-born Veronica found the perfect name for it all in her Croatian heritage: “Divna in Croatian means beautiful, inner and outer beauty, someone who has it all,” she says. “And what woman doesn’t want that?”
Divna footwear can be found at www.divna.ca. For more profiles, visit womenspost.ca.
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