Thursday, March 25, 2010

Founder of Barefoot Books


 Nancy Traversy

Owner, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer

Living Barefoot for me is creating beautiful, magical and authentic stories and art and bringing these to a grassroots, global community of people who care about how our next generation of children is raised. 

I was born in Canada into a family with a bit of an artistic bent. Though I love all aspects of colour, design, and illustration, I also kind of like numbers and somehow ended up with a business degree and a job in the banking division of Price Waterhouse in London after graduating. I really didn’t quite fit the mould there, so soon left to work in a more artistic environment in a London design house. I stayed in the design industry for many years, where I got to travel often to the Far East and learned lots about all aspects of running an entrepreneurial creative company. 

When I met Tessa in 1992, my eldest daughter was three weeks old and I had just started my own management consulting firm advising small creative start-ups. As a new mum and an avid explorer of world cultures, I was immediately captivated by the idea of publishing books for children that celebrated diversity and imagination. I didn’t really know much about the publishing industry back then and, in hindsight, that was probably lucky as Barefoot has always strived to be more of a pioneer than a follower.  

Over the next eight years, I had three more children and ran Barefoot from my home in north London. My kids were always around and actively involved in testing stories, picking artists and generally helping out. In 2001, we decided to cross the Atlantic so I could be closer to our North American business. Since then, I’ve lived in Concord, MA with my husband, four children, an ever-expanding menagerie of animals and lots of colour

The Animal Boogie Children's Song Book


9 comments:

  1. Nancy, you traveled a long path. Really I admire you. This blog is really nice giving importance to kids. Keep it up. But I can find only 4 post here. Post more and keep this blog updated, so that visitors like us will be happy.

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  2. Hi Nacy. I am planning to start a library soon. So I need your help and co-operation in starting my dream. I need lot of books. So can you help me. How can I contact you?

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  3. Dear Shiny,

    Welcome to our global community. It’s an exciting place where “living Barefoot” is a happy, creative journey, whether you’re a parent or child, grandparent or friend, teacher, librarian, writer, storyteller, or artist. You’ll find ways to connect with others and encourage your child to explore new worlds, while instilling a love of reading, art, and stories that will last a lifetime.

    Visit http://theanimalboogiechildrenssongbook.co.uk/

    You can become a Barefoot Book ambassador for Free.

    Becoming a Barefoot Books ambassador means getting the books at reduced price.

    Some people become Barefoot Books ambassador to raise money for their charities or schools.

    Other people simply wish to share these books with their local community.

    The website has wealth of information about become a Barefoot Book ambassador and our customer support line is fantastic.

    My contact details are on the website: http://theanimalboogiechildrenssongbook.co.uk/

    Dreams are meant to be actualized into reality.

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  4. Thanks. will do. Keep Visiting the Blog as it grows and expands like a tiny Acorn seed that one day becomes a huge Oak Tree.

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  5. Great. This reply really encouraged me and helpful for all of us. I need to be your ambassador. How much will you give for books if I purchase from you. I owe a library near to my home. Please reply

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  6. Hi Nancy, it is so great to read about you. Do you have any social networking sites account. If so can I add you there. Please add the social bookmarking widget in this blog. It will be really useful for visitors like us.

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  7. Great Nancy. You came across a long distance. I like to work with you. I am an individual looking for a job in library field. I got my degree in this field. Is there any vacancy there. I can come there with my resume.

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  8. Barefoot Books is incredible. I bought one book for them and got it in right time with beautifully covered using gift paper. Thanks Nancy.

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  9. Hi Nancy. I just read about you in feedroom.businessweek.com. It was so amazing and motivating one. Also the interview was mind blowing. You are really a hard working woman. There are no words to appreciate you.

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