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We've all had problems finding shoes that fit, but when Kimberley Cody wanted a new pair of shoes, her mum would take her to the local shoe factory in Te Kuiti and get them to stretch the biggest pair they had.
“My mother would get whatever she could. As long as I didn’t wear socks, I was fine.”

Cody was 12 when her feet reached size 12 — an impossible size for women looking to buy shoes, let alone nice ones, she says. “Shoe shops just don’t stock them. And if they do, they are not a true size 12.”

The crunch came when Cody and two friends were bridesmaids. Cody had the smallest feet. To find suitable wedding shoes, the three had to travel to Auckland to a shop that, amongst various non-salubrious items, stocked drag shoes. “It was a disgusting little shop. I just thought ‘what the heck are we doing? There must be a better way.’”

From that experience Around Twelve — an online shoe store catering for the larger-footed person — was born. Cody’s sister, Naomi Smyth, co-owner of business education company Aotahi, helped find an appropriate shoe manufacturer in Thailand. Then the pair, with their father Bill Smyth, flew to a shoe fair in Las Vegas, found the Thai company and signed a deal then and there.

“Our first shipment was bloody scary. We had to buy a lot to make it worthwhile. Some of it was too safe, too boring and we’ve still got it, but they will sell.”

That was early 2007. Since then Around Twelve’s sales have doubled each season. It’s profitable, despite being a part-time venture. The best sellers are wide shoes for women, says Cody, with customers driving from as far away as Tauranga to visit Around Twelve’s collection — housed in an old sheep and pig barn (and her husband’s smokehouse) in Piopio, midway between Hamilton and New Plymouth.

In an ironic twist, many from Auckland’s drag community now seek out Around Twelve, she says, as the company stocks an impressive array of drag styles. The company even has customers in Australia and South Africa.

As for Cody’s own shoes, she says she’s now got a few nice pairs — but she still lives in steel-capped boots.