Hailing from their public careers as marketing stalwarts and chief bottle washers – at the same time – best friends and business partners, Jade Kirkel and Dani Silbermann are finding their feet with the launch of their blazing new startup, JoyJoy. The interchangeable shoe brand that’s already shifting the way kids engage with their style, their choices and their feelings.
Following a ten-year tenure as Sorbet Group’s Marketing Manager, Kirkel is no stranger to building a ‘feelings-first’ brand, while Dani Silbermann grew her public presence to a 20 000-strong following with her debut-entertainment Mom Blog, Baby Jake’s Mom. While both have been pioneers in the brand and marketing space, neither of them knew a thing about shoes - other than how difficult it was to get their own kids to wear them.
When the pair started their shoe-preneur journey in 2018, Kirkel explains that “our sole mission was to build a shoe brand that would empower children to make their own styling decisions with confidence, and, ultimately, to make them feel good about themselves, and the world they play in”. Today, JoyJoy is the ‘world’s first interchangeable sneaker with feelings’ for kids, with more than 60 Velcro snap varieties to choose from.
“We’re a little snapsessed,” says Dani Silbermann, Co-founder of JoyJoy. “We wanted to think of everything for today’s children – every kind of mood they might experience, every kind of day they might be having, every kind of dream they might be building; our JoyJoy sneakers and snaps were designed with their feelings in mind. That, and also the minor fact that I love all and everything glitter!” says Silbermann.
Designed to meet young girls and boys where they’re at, all JoyJoy Snap Packs are themed to suit a day in the life of a little grown up: from The Sweet Life to Snap Dragon to Play it Cool to Princess Squad, Goal-Getters and, even, The Chill Out Snap Box – kids can’t go wrong with changing their minds, hearts or vibes in a moment.
“We wanted the business to be built around Joy. Double Joy, one for us as parents and one for our kids. Adding Joy is at the heart of everything we do, it’s our North Star” ends Kirkel.
Ready to impress, JoyJoy hits the online space with its fresh collection of shoe reverie that will affect (and improve) the carpool, the playground, the classroom, Saturday parties, extra lessons, extra - everything - and Sunday morning fights over what to wear to lunch.
For More Information
For more information and details on JoyJoy, visit their website at JoyJoy.co.za.
You can also contact them on [email protected].
Don't forget to follow them on their social media platforms – Facebook and Instagram – for the latest news, information, products and more.
About JoyJoy Sneakers
Imagine an interchangeable kid’s sneaker designed to slash the trouble and double the joy? JoyJoy is South Africa’s online sneaker store dedicated to kids between the ages of 3 and 12 – and to their parents – in honour of making shopping for shoes easy, fun and creative.
As a children’s online fashion brand, JoyJoy offers interchangeable sneakers, for the love of youthful expression. The company is spearheaded by Co-founders, Jade Kirkel and Dani Silbermann. Hailing from her ten-year tenure as the original Sorbet Group’s partner founder and Marketing Manager, Jade Kirkel grew her reputation as a ‘feelings’ forecaster and brand-building expert while Dani Silbermann’s online celeb-status sprouted a 20k-strong following on her everyday-honest and heart-pounding blog, Baby Jake’s Mom.
Today, they’re Mompreneurs with a mission to spark joy in little feet everywhere. Aligning to the world of business and motherhood, Jade and Dani embarked on a 2-year journey to bring JoyJoy to life – not just to build a brand that looked cool – but to build a brand that mattered deeply to the confidence and self-expression of young wild hearts, everywhere.
