Susan Petersen started making baby moccasins in 2009 after becoming frustrated by the lack of well-designed baby shoes. Using her second child, Gus, as a mocc-tester, and a bag of scrap leather she picked up at a yard sale, she began experimenting. Working at her kitchen table, Susan persisted until she had created a pair of moccasins that not only looked adorable on Gus’ chubby little feet, but stayed on as well.

Money was tight at the time Susan started and in order to earn money to start her business she got resourceful. Her brother owns a window installation business and in the summer of 2009 she convinced him to let her keep the old windows that he was removing from the houses. She spent a whole summer banging the glass out of the windows because they were encased in aluminum frames. At the end of the summer she took the aluminum window frames to the scrap yard and recycled them to get money. She made $200 dollars and with that literal sweat equity, she started her business.