Wheeler stands next to her father’s classic 1970 Shelby Mustang, which gave her inspiration to name her new business Shelby’s Stiletto Factory.
Wheeler worked to prove to many that her love of shoemaking was more than just an expensive hobby. She said she had a coworker who heard what she was doing and called her a dreamer. “No, actually, I’m not a dreamer,” she said. “Dreams happen when you’re asleep. I’m doing this while I’m wide awake and I work
at it every single day.” Her only advice to others with big dreams would be to do it now and then talk about it later. “Because I did way too much talking early on when I first started this,” she said. “It took me a long time, but everything I said that I wanted - I wanted a building. I
wanted to be able to live upstairs. I wanted to either have a rooftop garden or some type of outdoor living space. I wanted to be able to support myself with my business. And I wanted it to be something creative and unique - and here it is.” ^
24 VINTAGEKC WINTER 2018
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