Crayons, Shoes & Shopping

General Patents  © 2011 Amy Hillenbrand

12 x 12 oil on board

 $305.00 + shipping and handling

I saw these lovely slingbacks in a store recently.  The stores were buzzing with back-to-school shoppers. It reminded me of when I was a kid and how much I loved going back-to-school shopping. My Mom made most of my clothes, so what we shopped for was new school shoes and my new box of Crayola crayons. Hmmm, shoes and art supplies, that's a kick!

I would get one new pair of shoes in the beginning of each school year. I soooooo loved that. Many times we would be visiting my Mom's home town of New Ulm, Minnesota. We would go shopping in the little downtown of this adorable German city where everyone knew my Grandpa. Grandpa Tony, as we called him, because we couldn't pronounce Steinbach, owned a shoe repair shop. So every shoe store we'd go in, they would say, "Oh, your Tony's Grand-daughter. We love your Grandpa."  It was always such a wonderful experience and a wonderful memory.

 Downtown New Ulm, Minnesota