Before we say goodnight, we've got one more story for you.

When was the first time you said out loud what you dreamed of being when you grew up?

For me, it was kindergarten.

While watching the evening news with Walter Cronkite, my grandfather said, "Buddy, you could do that one day."

And I said, "Okay grandpa, I will."

Not everyone makes their dreams come true, but producer Russ Hunsinger and videographer Max Arnall introduce us to a Concord woman who did.

(pleasant music) (gadget clacking) - I am Shoe Bee Doo.

When I have a new idea, I have a bee in my bonnet.

That's where the bee comes from.

So I use that little tagline all the time.

So I'll say bee, B-E-E, bee good to your feet.

This is bow Hide.

It's like my favorite for shoes and bags.

It's kind of thick, but it's still soft and supple.

I absolutely love leather.

I love the smell, I love the feel.

I love the softness and the texture of it.

I make all kinds of leather goods.

So I make belts and variety of bags, baby shoes, sandals.

(machine whirring) The very, very beginning when I was a young girl, I decided I wanted to make shoes 'cause as when I was like nine, mom took me shopping for new school shoes like everybody does.

But my feet were already so big, I had to wear women's shoes, and I didn't like that very much.

So I said, "Well one day I'm gonna make shoes."

So I did.

(people shouting) (pleasant music) (people faintly speaking) - Good day.

How are you?

We are at the Carolina Renaissance Festival.

It's a big inspiration for a lot of the shoes and bags that I make.

Do you have your Mary Jane on today?

- I do.

- She does.

- When I graduated high school, all my friends went off to college and I went to the local shoe repair shop and I apprenticed with him for a couple of years and eventually he taught me how to make custom made sandals.

In 2005, I needed to do something for some income for our family.

Alright.

Does that feel too tight?

Do you wanna any looser 'cause I can loosen it.

I started making little fleece things, little fleece baby shoes and mittens and hats and things.

(gentle music) Then you know, just the bug was bit and I wanted to work with leather and so my husband and also a neighbor of mine suggested, "Hey, you know, I think your things would be really good at the Renaissance Festival."

- Oh yes, I'm a president of her fan club.

It was really fun and each new thing, we'd come along and she'd go ahead and try something new.

(upbeat music) - I guess at one point I just thought, you know, it's really time to have a brick and mortar space so I can meet people and then I can have my things out all year round also, and then I can really kind of do anything.

So this is the paper pattern and I've already gone ahead and cut out the pieces.

This is gonna be a Mary Jane.

It doesn't look like it now, but it'll go like this, like this well and like that.

This is a custom Mary Jane, and really the only thing custom about this is that she chose her color.

(upbeat music) - We met at the Renaissance Festival actually probably 10, 15 years ago.

My foot issues were, I'd start out in the morning, probably a seven and a half or an eight wide.

The front part of my feet would swell so much that they'd be just scraping the inside of my shoes.

My feet are really wide at the front.

They're basically shaped like the foot of a duck.

It really did change my life because I can take the dog for a walk.

The dog and I are walk, he walks two miles and I walk his two miles and then I turn around and walk my two miles.

- Would you be wearing socks with these shoes that I'm gonna make for you today?

I learned the anatomy of the foot and all the things that cause problems when you have bad shoes and it goes from the foot to the knee, to the hip, to the back.

I never wanna make a shoe that's going to cause a problem.

- What I want to do is make a pair of like colonial shoes.

- [Cindy] Yep.

- The reason I keep coming back is because if I bring something in and tell her what I want her to do, we always seem to be able to find a way to do it.

(upbeat music) - My shoes that I make, I want them to be cute, but I want them to be functional and I want them to be long lasting.

(machine whirring) It is an unusual business I know.

(metal thuds) I love being a shoemaker.

I feel like I still have so much to learn.

You know, I've been doing it for like almost 20 years, but I feel like I've kind of barely scratched the surface.

(upbeat music)