Moira L., Barefoot Stallholder
'Living Barefoot is to me the joy of sharing books with other parents and children; seeing my own children sharing the books with other children and being extremely proud to be part of something which is down to earth and naturally good for you—and very far away from the world of technology! I love to tell people that my boys don't own game boys, iPods etc.; they don't need them in their lives, which are full enough with the natural way we live and the basic lifestyle which we lead.'

Jeanne N., Group Branding and Publicity Manager
When I live Barefoot, I imagine....
Acorns and tree forts,
starlight not streetlights,
abstract and childlike,
playing well with others.

Yoga and green tea,
Organic and crunchy,
Windswept and carefree,
Hanging off the back of the boat.

Watermelon dripping off kids' chins,
Castle-making and letting the tide win,
Staying out late and sleeping in,
All the things we try to squeeze
In the short hours of the day.

Tom B., Fujii Associates, Barefoot Trade Representative
'I think the idea of "living barefoot" means giving children, through story and art, an opportunity to see the world in a way that instills knowledge, compassion and inclusion. It's an idea where commonalities and differences are not just accepted, but embraced, and children can see the beauty in life with each turning of the page.'

Kristin S., Operations Assistant
'I've never agreed with finding an answer to the "nature vs. nurture" debate. I like to think that the answer lies somewhere in between, and my interpretation of "living barefoot" in my own life stems from this idea. I've always been a word-lover, a bookworm, whatever you want to call it; it is ingrained into who I am. But so much of how and why I have made decisions is drawn from an inspiration that is bigger than me. My values have always by a kind of balance, too much to one side, and everything spills. There is always more to see, to consider, to appreciate in the world. Balance is necessary for an organic, imaginative, free-spirited "barefoot" way of life. Also, I believe there is a consciousness that works hand-in-hand with this philosophy, a recognition of the "bigger picture" and my part within it. For me, one of the most important aspects of living "barefoot" is taking this on as a responsibility. Children's literacy that is done in a way to truly cultivate an appreciation for literature, art, and culture is my inspiration to come into work each day, as simple and obvious as it may sound. For me, it is that balance, to take in, absorb, and appreciate whatever it may be and to then do something with it for a greater benefit. That is at the heart of being "barefoot." I believe that literature has the ability to evoke and stretch ideas across all ways of thinking, and instill a sense of this balance and awareness that is so important.'

Kathyrn B., Barefoot Stallholder
'Living barefoot for me means being able to have a flexible lifestyle, taking part in and being able to share community activities, and ensuring that they continue to exist in my local community for the benefit of young and old alike. It's where everyone can come together and feels safe and valued. "Living barefoot' is being able to stand against the onslaught of big multinational corporations, think independently and encourage others to do so in a grassroots way—making a difference for everyone.'

Kim D., Editor
Living Barefoot is
living creatively.
It is wine with dinner.
Tea with milk.
It is pantone 158,
1797,
And 143, coated.
Barefoot is 9am EST,
And 2pm BST.
It is words coming to life,
Life given to words.
A million shades of color.
It is busyness,
looming deadlines,
and airtight schedules.
Living Barefoot sounds
flexible. Fun.
Carefree. Organic.
Hardworking, but laidback.
Feeling involved, and
part of a larger whole
that is then part of an even larger one.
It is community and communication,
color and design, words and images,
art and story,
collective triumphs.

Danielle T., Finance Associate
'In such complex times I think "living barefoot" means making some sort of statement. Whether walking barefoot thru the sand, the grass or the dirt, you are bound to leave behind your footprint. I think everyone wants to leave behind some sort of footprint or statement however big or small it may be!'

Katie G., Group Marketing and Production Associate
'To me, "living barefoot" would be a confident state of mind in knowing that I'm taking advantage of every day and appreciating all that I have. It would be noticing the small beauty, humor, or irony in things as we go about our day. So many people get caught up in the day-to-day life that they often don't actually stop to look around and admire it. For me, this would also include doing things that I love. Whether it is within the work day or not, I like to participate in things that I believe in, are part of a creative process, and enjoy learning more about. To truly live a life that is fulfilling and rewarding, I think that you must examine what makes you happy and do it. This is a simple concept, yet few actually put themselves above other priorities in their lives, to make this happen.'

Melisa S., US Trade Markets Manager
'To me, "living barefoot" is living a Whole life. My work, family life and interests are all integrated and overlapping. I have loved books with a passion since age four; now I find myself working for a book publisher, having input into the development and marketing of our books. For many years, I have had an interest in design; at Barefoot I am part of a very creative team of people that produces books, materials and a working environment filled with vibrant colors and great beauty. By vocation I am a sales person, and I now have the great pleasure of introducing everyone I meet to beautiful books with wonderful stories and substance. Since they were very little, my two children have been read a Barefoot book each night; I think it is great they can appreciate in such a concrete way what Mommy does during the day. Yoga, music, healthy living, and a commitment to the environment are all important to me, and I am lucky enough to find these interests expressed within my all parts of my life. Not many people I know are able to bring so many aspects themselves into their work and so many parts of their work into themselves. I feel very lucky to be living a barefoot life.'

Libby P., Group Marketing and Production Manager
'To me, that's being completely comfortable with yourself and your surroundings. Truly being at home, where you leave any expectations or preconceptions at the door, surrounded by the people you love and good memories.'

Kaitlin S., US Stallholder Markets Manager
'"Living barefoot" is an action; it's movement. It doesn't sit still or let days pass by. It's an ideal of what life would be if you stripped away all of the t.v, politics, machines and corporations that stand in the way of people connecting with each other and their environment. "Living barefoot" is each individual striving to achieve that in their day-to-day lives and exploring beyond the confines of the hum-drum. It's slowing down in a face-paced world to learn about the differences in the people who surround you, to feel the sand in your toes, to listen to (and really listen to) a great jazz album. It's about taking the time to recognize something in each day that you didn't see the day before and then sharing that with someone else!'

Jim Y., Web Developer
'To me, "living barefoot" means being conscious of what's going on around you. Whether you are at work or just out running errands, I think it's a mind set to take your surroundings into account when you act. It could be as simple as holding a door open for someone or saying excuse me or it could be much bigger such as volunteering or taking on a big project to help someone out. I think that it's an awareness that allows for better interaction with those around you and leaves a positive impression on those you come in contact with.'

Paula B., Barefoot Stallholder
'Living Barefoot means realising that people have to be free range too!'

Sarah S., International Sales & Domestic Rights Manager
'Professionally, living barefoot means working with purpose and towards the goal of spreading a notion, an idea, a quality product that fulfills a need in young and old alike, that spreads good will and cheer. For me, that's boiled down to wishing (and getting the opportunity!) to work within the children's publishing genre on a global scale. Working barefoot also means listening to the needs of the customer, understanding the cultures within which they live, and above all, assuring I can deliver to them what they need in the product I sell to the best of my ability. I'll say it to the tune of a broken record: my favorite part of my position at Barefoot is meeting with the customers face-to-face and learning about them both professionally and personally. When the job becomes a personal mission between one individual and another, that's when the crossover happens and you have a loyal customer and advocate permanently.

Personally, living barefoot means an appreciation for and immersion in the natural world around me. I've been a lover of mountains since my father backpacked me up when I was a year old and there is nothing like walking quietly in the woods to allow the sounds of its inhabitants and its history surround you. I love to garden, to take a patch of dirt and weeds, and make it into something beautiful and alive. A space that spreads joy visually, offers a place to rest, and a habitat for birds, butterflies, bees, and my cat, to live within and enjoy peacefully.

My ideal would be to see these two parts of my life joined. Where the garden, whether it's the export market for Barefoot's titles, or my work-in progress yard while requiring my individual time and care in order to thrive and grow, is also a part of something larger. It's a patch of green, of something living, that supports the other plots around it, and also relies on the balance within the community to survive.'

Matt B., Group Production Manager
'Without shoes I’ll run more slowly at first but feel the grass, the grit and the soil beneath my feet. When the soles of my feet have thickened I’ll throw my shoes away.'

Leonore L., Barefoot Stallholder
'The idea of 'living barefoot' holds special meaning for me. My philosophy has long been that your feet connect your soul to the earth. Why else do people like to feel the sand between their toes and walk barefoot through the grass? Is there a greater joy than kissing a newborn baby's toes after his bath? It simply disrupts one's balance to keep the shoes on for too long.

I have recently embarked on a career as a Stallholder for Barefoot Books, a publisher of children's literature. The home-based business allows me to keep my focus on the boys while I develop a career and make a meaningful contribution through fundraisers and community events. The Barefoot Books philosophy of providing quality literature to our children, promoting a sense of global community and protecting the environment, is harmoniously in line with everything I believe in.

George and I often ponder the legacy that we are leaving for our boys. Can Earth continue to sustain them and their children? What can we do to protect their future? We try to make small changes where we are able and find hope in all the small bits of goodness that are going on in the world. Part of our responsibility is to leave only delicate footprints...so please remove your shoes when you can and remember our beginnings.'

With Permission from Leonore Lee's Blog

Alia H., Sales Representative
'I love food. My dad was a chef, and I used to look at all his cookbooks growing up. I make the best Eggplant Parmesan, a yummy Chickpea and Sweet Pepper plate, and I can even bake a mean pie. I like to think my 'living barefoot' style has a lot to do with what I eat. Every Wednesday afternoon, I take a trip to the Davis Square Farmer's Market. Supporting local farmers by buying the freshest produce around, most of the vegetables and fruit are grown less than 10 miles away from Cambridge, is not only "living barefoot" by eating healthy and organic, but it can be fun and spontaneous as well. What's in season? Summer squash? Okay, I'll buy it. Zucchini? Sure! What does an ugly heirloom tomato taste like? Oh! Delicious! And, maybe I'll buy a bundle of blueberries for a snack. A playful dinner, dessert on my roof, inviting friends and family...food will always be a great passion of mine.'

Kim L., Foreign Rights Assistant
Simplicity
Openness
Alive
Real
Integrity
Natural
Gladness

Closeness to family, friends and surroundings and taking pride in these things, and also in one's own achievements, however large or small they may seem. Recognising the value in all things and all people and relishing life and opportunity.

Sophia J., Barefoot Parent
'What "living barefoot" means to me is being able to provide books to our children that helps them to appreciate the world around them by teaching them about other countries, religions and our planet in a creative and fun manner.'

Michelle K., Community Sales and Marketing Assistant
'When I was 15, my friend Cara and I escaped from my parents' house at 4am and went on a walk through the woods by my house. We weren't wearing shoes and the ground felt squishy and cool between our toes. We held hands, giggled, and admitted to one another that we still sort of believed in fairies. Or at least, wished we still could. Back at my house, we welcomed the morning with chocolate chip pancakes. After she'd gobbled them up, Cara admitted that she didn't really like pancakes. That morning, that seemed like the funniest thing in the world to me.

But every morning can't be like that. Some mornings I walk to the train still only half awake. I join a sea of half awake people. All of us read the same newspaper and hold the same mug of coffee. That girl and I are wearing the same shoes. An old man with a cane trips at the top of the escalator. I am right behind him, there to grab his arm and lift him to his feet. He flashes me a wide toothless smile. I smile back.

"Living barefoot" is being able to feel the dirt between your toes, taking time to lift a stranger to his feet. We can't be barefoot everyday, but we can live it.'

Amy M., US Sales and Marketing Assistant
'For me, "living barefoot" means living organically, connecting with the natural world, and appreciating the small pleasures in life. "Living barefoot" is roaming the hot sidewalk pavement in my German neighborhood, hopping through the grass in my backyard just after the sprinklers in Colorado, and gripping the cool smooth stones at the creek behind my grandparent's house in Montana. Today, it's lingering over a cup of coffee, pausing to enjoy a sunset, or throwing off my shoes and running through a fountain that reminds me of these simpler things. I try to live barefoot by enjoying the outdoors as much as possible during our (too short) Boston summers, practicing yoga, connecting with people with different interests and backgrounds, and learning new hobbies like sewing and knitting that allow me to work with my hands. For me, it's maintaining a childlike appreciation for all things and connecting with the natural and the real that makes a "barefoot life!"'

Laurie M., Barefoot Stallholder
'For me "living barefoot" has truly become a reality. The facets of my life become more connected each day by common themes in uncommon places. It began for me as the mother of a new baby who grew a true and deep fascination with a particular Barefoot Book. As my son has grown, and along with him our family, so has my experience as a mother and my relationship with Barefoot. It is uncanny how much the "Barefoot Life", the mission, morals, themes and feelings are part of so much of who we are and who we are becoming.

Recently our family has begun to implement changes in the we way we live and these changes have brought on the realization of how a "barefoot life" is vast, connected and encompassing. We are passionate recyclers, defying even our own expectations of the impact we can make. I am committed to using re-usable bags everywhere I shop, not just the grocery store. My family has taken on a commitment to cease negligent consumption and spending, which in turn has cut down on the trash we produce the gas we use and so on. We support strongly small businesses! We got rid of our car. We removed the television from the common space in our home, and now rarely watch. We abstain from licensed toys and products and are becoming better educated about the dangers of commercialization and children. We host 'no-gift' birthday parties, guests may bring something hand-made or a hand-me-down. We buy local produce when available. We pay attention, we make wise choices not those driven by impulse. We are learning to delay gratification and live with less, by choice and with conviction. All of these efforts, we find, open new opportunities. We have slowed down. We stay home more. We read more, sit more, talk more, cuddle more.

All of these efforts, and the more we uncover each day, connect us as a family who is gaining clearer direction. We push ourselves knowing that by taking control of our lives, we have impact and not only on ourselves. We want to raise children who are creative, thoughtful, imaginative, worldly, well educated and peaceful. We want our children to understand value and realize they have the power to live a productive and meaningful life. My parenting goals will not be met singularly by the books I choose to read to my children. These goals will actualize, however, if the produces we select are just a part of a connected life that is just as rich in content, thoughtfulness, caring and beauty.'

Takiyah G., US Sales Associate
'Green branches scrape skyward, stretching. They breathe, swaying forward and back, an almost imperceptible movement, like the traveling of clouds. Children underneath play hide and seek, their soles stained with earth and grass and their faces unlined and laughing. Pigtails flying. Their hearts beating out of their chests as they run, giddy from the chase.'

Stella S., Trade Credit & Collections Associate
'In my Barefoot Life, I would always have time for family and friends. I would never have to sit in traffic or shovel snow. The weather would always be sunny and 75 degrees with an occasional thunder & lightening storm just because I like them. I will always have enough energy to play with my grandson even if he wants me to swing him in the air for the thousandth time. The only mail I would find in my mailbox would be letters from people I know and none of them would say, 'Please remit payment to.'

I need to go back to collection calls now because in reality I have to wear shoes.'

Eileen D., Barefoot Stallholder Field Manager
'I think "living barefoot" is about living an integrated life, one in which the things I value on a personal level, as a mother, a wife, a friend, and a global citizen are also reflected in my professional life. We all have work to do. For me, that work is nurturing a family, growing as a person both intellectually and spiritually, and being an agent of positive change in the world.

So I live barefoot by crafting a life where I can be myself, and can move easily between each of my roles, because they are connected and in-line with each other. Many of the ways in which I choose to raise my family are informed by ideas I've been exposed to during my time with Barefoot Books, and many of the perspectives and talents I bring to my role at Barefoot are pulled directly from my experiences as a mother and a business woman. It is that interconnectedness that I find fulfilling. As elusive as achieving balance seems to be in this day and age, I think I come as close as one possibly can when I'm "living barefoot.'"

Karen J., Group Head Operations Director
Live Barefoot...imagine....
...walks on the beach...dinner at the Plum Island Grill...Eric Clapton in concert...true friends...a fire in the fireplace...a winter storm...good food...staying healthy...a summer rain...good wine...family reunions...the moon over Skaneateles Lake on a summer evening...thunderstorms...a great read...having the love and respect of my children...swimming in the ocean...walking through the woods...intellectual conversations...going for a run...winning the game...seeing the humor in life...appreciating each moment you have been given...always being there to help...never taking anything for granted...being a good mother to my children, wife to my husband and friend to my friends and they to me...breakfast at the Fish Tale Diner the best in the world...laughing whenever you can...carrying on...never accepting defeat...cooking a good meal...having goals...brothers...girlfriends...traveling the word...a comfortable home...family...friends...beginning with the end in mind...always staying true to myself...family and friends again...these are some of the things that make my life 'barefoot.'

Dianne O., Barefoot Parent
'Living barefoot is finding time to live and enjoy life and to appreciate fleeting moments that end up as our own personal storybook, e.g., the joy of turning book pages with a toddler, the wonder of sharing a story for the first time, discovering color, personality and emotion in the simplest words or pictures, celebrating innocence.'

Jan F., UK Stallholder Markets Manager
Without shoes, who would I be? A Poem
I'm 6 inches shorter and I feel kind of free
And looking down - it's just my toes I see
The earth under-foot feels warm and exciting
This is life without rules, with time for exploring!
And it's been a long time, since I've felt so wild
This must be what it's like to be a Barefoot Child

Blake H., Storyopolis, Barefoot Bookseller
'A barefoot lifestyle calls to mind art without compromise. It is beauty in its purest form; simple, yet timeless. "Living barefoot" means constant originality. With each step change occurs, but the trusted anchor remains uniquely the same.'

Claire D., UK Special Sales Manager
'Barefoot to me is something you can feel, you're nearer to the earth and so more in touch with it, more sensitive to what's around you. And while you can't run around naked these days, you can walk barefoot, not quite rebellion, but slightly unconventional, if it you do it outside your own garden at least. So I suppose "living barefoot" means being more aware of the world around me, and thinking about the impact I'm making on it, and not being totally conformist all the time. And of course you can feel barefoot, even with shoes on.

Barefoot also conjures up a feeling of a more innocent place or time, where you don't have to worry about dogsh*t and broken glass, because you're treading an easier path, Either because you're part of a society that doesn't do shoes, or a child who doesn't see the need for them.

Living barefoot makes your heels hard, but your feet smell sweeter!'

Amy Bowden, Barefoot Customer
'It is making everyday count. But it is also giving our children a sense of the vast world out there so full of possiblities, and nurturing the creative sparks that make possiblities reality. Children are the sparklers of our world, we must take care to let them sparkle as long as possible.'