Chelsea Jones

Putting Her Best Foot Forward

At the end of a long day, Chelsea Jones came home to see her running shoes sitting at the front door and something clicked. Chelsea thought to herself, “Why can’t my high heels feel as comfortable as those?” With that single thought, Chelsea’s journey began as she set out to create women’s shoes that not only look great, but feel great.

Chelsea is the CEO and Founder of Chelsea Jones Shoe Studio, a company dedicated to creating athletic-inspired dress shoes for women. She is also an Algonquin Alumna, having graduated from the Business Administration Marketing program in 2006.

Chelsea Jones Shoe Studio is the second business she’s created. Chelsea admits she’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and that’s what led her to start her own public relations and investor relations company, Ciel Communications in 2010.

It was during her time at Ciel Communications that she began to have the idea for a women’s shoe business. After two years of research and developing a business plan, she closed her communications business and officially launched her shoe company.

Originally launched as an online company in Canada, Chelsea Jones’ Shoe Studio now has a retail location in Chicago, Illinois. Chelsea designs all of the shoes herself and her designs have been featured in Shoe Retailing Today, Momentum Magazine, the Ottawa Citizen, and Women’s Wear Daily: Footwear New, where they won the People’s Pick for Comfort.

Now living fulltime in Chicago, Chelsea fondly remembers her time in Ottawa and at Algonquin College. She admits the business program set her up for success. “With all the courses you take, it really helps when you start a business because you have to wear so many hats,” says Chelsea. “In my program, we did presentations almost weekly which gave me confidence in public speaking and now allows me to negotiate with international business partners with ease.”

The professors at Algonquin also left a lasting impression.

“The further we went into the program, the more we got to know our professors and could go to them with any question,” says Chelsea. “They were committed to our success and you could feel their support behind you.”

Chelsea also has some advice for new grads: “Get out there and try everything, see what works for you and don’t get funneled into one way of thinking,” she says. “Meet as many people as you can and try as many things as you can.”