2010 Soles of Silk Year in Review

Mindee was a big part of 2010 on Soles of Silk.

The blog below was originally published in Soles of Silk's Column section. It was archived and then republished here in 2016.

When I worked for a newspaper a few years ago at the end of every year we'd pack our final issue with a bunch of year in review stuff. At first I hated it and thought it was a cheap way to fill space. Even though that's pretty much what it does, I also think sometimes it serves a purpose. If done correctly, they're great reflections on a year that was.

In closing out 2010 and making way for 2011 on Soles of Silk, I wanted to take a look back at all the things that stood out to me. Time to take a look at the year that was 2010.

Year Of Mindee
Perhaps no other model on the site had a year like Mindee. It seemed like when Wu posted her Power Girl & Piggies feature set on his site, Wu's Feet Links, people couldn't get enough of her. I already found her fan base to be considerable to begin with, but that feature set took her to another level. She is easily one of the most requested models these days, and I am very happy about that.

When I first asked Mindee to pose for the site, she told me she'd only do it if I really needed her to do it. I convinced her that I did really need her and right away she got good feedback on her sets. As the years went on, I could see her getting more and more comfortable with posing and having a ton of fun doing so. Shooting her is always good times and this year she showed just how many good times we had when she broke the 1,000 photo mark along with Wendy and Kimmie. Don't expect that number to sit still for long as we're already planning on more sets and even more with her cousin, Marcy, who debuted this year.

Those black socks wrapped around two of the cutest feet - Ginger's!

8 New Models, Sorta...
Even though I really appreciate my current model roster, it is always fun adding in new friends. Each of them has a special story and this year, eight models debut, before one ultimately was removed. Here is each of their stories.

Ginger - In 2010 I finally had a wish come true when Ginger decided to show off her high arched, and very pretty size 7.5 feet. We had been friends for years after working together many moons ago. We didn't stay in touch and she, at one point, had moved out of state. When she returned we managed to catch up and she told me she finally decided she was willing to pose for me. We did a handful of great sets right off the bat and then did a really kick ass Ravens themed set before the season kicked off.

Marcy - As stated above, this freshly minted 18 year old friend is also Mindee's cousin. Before she had turned 18 and when she still worked with me, Marcy would always be telling me how much longer it would be until she could pose. Knowing a bunch of other girls at work who had posed, she was eager to finally get to do it. When she did, she sure has made the most of it with some really great sets.

Marcy's Leg Show/Skipping School set was a massive hit, as was her Mud Puddle one. I've never had a girl as messy as Marcy was in a set since this site opened. Most recently I gave a lot of you a Christmas wish by getting both Marcy and Mindee together in a set. So many people had wanted it and the two girls sure put on a show in this year's Candy Cane Christmas update.

Kim T. - Kim T. isn't exactly a new model for me as I had shot her a very long time ago when I was still in college - back in the days when I dated Abby. Kim and I had lost touch over the years, only recently to have reconnected. When we did she asked if I was still doing the foot photography. I showed her this site (which I didn't run back when we shot before) and she was quite vocal about wanting to be on it. Who was I to argue? I had missed those curvy arches and pudgy toes and couldn't wait to shoot her again.

I was so happy to have Nikki and her cute little feet join the model roster.

Nikki - I was quite happy when Nikki agreed to pose for me. I've known Nikki since I was very young. She was the sister to a very close friend I had growing up. Sadly, that friend lost his life when we were only in high school. Over the years, I saw Nikki here and there, but we never really hung out or did anything. While online one night, I told her about Soles of Silk and being the open minded person that she is, said it was quite unique. She didn't agree to pose right away, but came around a little later. She wasn't aware just how cute her feet were until I began sending her all of your comments. Needless to say, I am sure she views them a little differently now than she did before.

Katie - Katie was someone I really wanted to pose for me and sadly, I think she is a one and done. Katie was another girl that wanted to pose for me and did so right after turning 18. At the time she was single and we took a trip to a local miniature golf location to do a shoot. Her size 9 feet look great and she was another one who wasn't sure how people would react to them. I also sent her your fan mail and it really made her proud, for a change, to have bigger feet. A lot of girls don't realize that to many foot guys, bigger is better.

Since Katie has posed, however, she has went back to dating and then marrying a guy who didn't quite like the idea of her posing to begin with. Not sure if you'll see her again or not.

Jamie - Another co-worker who was turning 18 and couldn't wait to pose. I couldn't tell you how many times she'd tell me that she wanted to do a beach set with shells when she finally was able to pose. Luckily for her, her birthday is in mid-summer and we made plans the day after her big day to do her set. We ended up getting in so many sets that day too - all really good ones. I haven't even posted all of them yet. Before Jamie went away for school, we were also able to get in two indoor shoots as well. One of which, the Batgirl set, was the follow up set to Mindee's feature set mentioned above.

You don't know how happy I was to finally get to shoot Carlin and her pretty feet.

Carlin - Carlin, oh Carlin. Getting Carlin on the site seriously made my year. Not to squash what any of the other girls did, but there is a little bit of a story behind Carlin and her arrival to the site.

Years ago, talking high school days here, I thought Carlin was such a cutie. She was a few grades behind me, so at that age, dating someone that young doesn't usually happen and I never made a move - not sure if it would have worked, just saying I didn't. Fast forward a few years and I find out that Carmen is good friends with Carlin. I ask Carmen to get her to pose for me, but was told due to her relationship, she wouldn't be able to. I was bummed, but understood. Back in high school I had wanted Carlin to model for me for my photography class, but it never happened. At this point, I didn't think it ever would.

Fast forward a few more years and I was talking to Carlin online and Soles of Silk came up. Carlin said she would like to pose for me and I literally had to wipe my eyes to see if I was reading it correctly. I was and we made plans to do a shoot soon thereafter. When that day came, we did three fun sets, along with some nice artistic photos as well. She was so amazing to be around and I really enjoyed those few hours of shooting.

At present time, without going into people's personal lives, Carlin and I have been talking quite a bit about some ideas we have. She's such a creative and beautiful girl. Something about her just makes me feel so artistic, carefree and inspired. I'm hoping 2011 has Carlin leaving her foot prints all over Soles of Silk. Cute little size 6.5 ones that smell like Converse shoes - right Carlin?

Aliza - Aliza is the reason for the sub-title, "8 New Models, Sorta.." that I posted above all these new models. Aliza was another girl at work who, like Jamie and the others, wanted to pose as soon as her 18th birthday came. Being born in October, she had the longest to wait. About a week after her birthday, we got to do a few sets downtown and I was very happy with the results.

Being Asian, I was so excited to have her on the site. I'm always trying to be as diverse as possible and found Aliza to just be too cute for words. But her stay on the site was short lived. Her step mother found out that she had posed for this site, informed her father and trouble ensued for Aliza. I could have been an ass and refused to take the photos down because I do cover myself with model release forms. My friendship for her, however, outweighed that and I did the right thing and took the photos down. Perhaps one day, if/when she moves out and is a little older, she can chose to come back. I'll be sure to post the photos we shot, if that is the case, and do a bunch of new ones too. Hopefully...

Charlee's feet spent a good amount of time in front of my camera this year.

Existing Models Bring It Too...
Posting a new set every week, of course the year wasn't filled with only new models. Some of the existing girls, like the previously mentioned, Mindee, made big impacts and saw their photo totals rise. Here is a look at some of those who saw that happening on a regular basis in 2010.

Charlee - Charlee might not have had one of the bigger totals of new photos this year, but she wasn't able to pose for a few months either. When she did, however, she sure as hell made the most of it. This year she did some great sets including two sets in Washington, D.C. for Fourth of July and Labor Day, and then she showed off her feet in front of numerous roller coasters in October for the first follow up set to Mindee's earlier in the year. And speaking of follow ups, she too wants to do a size teasing set like Cierra, Layla, and Kelsey have. You'll see that in 2011.

Cierra - Another year of Cierra's photo totals rising. In 2009 she sure made a huge push. Like Charlee, however, Cierra was unable to pose most of this year. Prior to that time period though, we did about five new sets - one of which was the Valentine's Day set in the hot tub. I will start posing more of the sets from that day, and once they're up, Cierra will overtake Madison for the most photos on the site.

Jordana - We don't get to shoot a lot, but when we do, we make it count. Jordana's photo totals have been on the rise a lot this year and she gets to close the year out with a +100 photo set to celebrate New Years that was just taken last week. I still have so much of her not yet published, so be on the look out for that in the months to come.

I had Kayleigh do a baseball themed set to kick off baseball season.

Kayleigh - Since her debut sets for Halloween in 2009, this girl has been a regular in front of my camera. Every time we shoot good stuff seems to happen. Just before the end of summer, we got together to do a bunch of beach sets and I've only posted one of them thus far. Be on the look out for more, including a few other ideas we have as well. Kayleigh's little feet are going to be quite noticed on this site for some time.

Layla - Layla is like Jordana in that we don't get to shoot terribly much, but when we do, it's pure awesomeness. Some of what was posted this year of Layla actually came from sets we did toward the end of 2009, but not all of them. Her White Stocking Size Tease set and two still unposted sets were done this year. We're talking about getting together again for more I am sure she won't fail to impress.

Contests With Mixed Results
This year I held two contests. It had been some time since I held the wallpaper design contest. The results were so so for the one held prior to 2010's, so I didn't know what to expect. Much to my liking, the entries came in and came in. I was very pleased with the designs and let Mindee and Charlee do the judging. For their efforts, I gave everyone at least one month's membership.

The trivia contest, which usually is a hit with everyone and heavily entered, was a bust this year. Only eight people entered. I know the bonus question to name 10 roller coasters that appeared in Mindee's and Charlee's sets might have been too tough, but I was still shocked to see only eight people try. Since I was giving away seven different prizes, I just bumped it to eight and gave the two highest scores the three month prizes as stated. Hopefully next year's will have a better turn out.

Final Words
Before closing this up, I want to thank each and every member who has paid their well earned money to be a member here. This site has been a passion of mine since day one and I try to invest as much of the money I get from this site back into it - whether that be in photo sets, props for the shoots, and general electronic needs to keep this thing going. Without you and without the girls who pose, none of this would be possible. I hope you all have a great New Year and look forward to seeing you in 2011. Please feel free to contact me at anytime about anything. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this and all the updates to come.

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