Before she was designing heels, Lili Thomas was deep in the corporate world leading marketing partnerships for massive brands. Her days were filled with strategy sessions, agency briefings and CMO presentations. The work was high stakes and occasionally glamorous. However, like many corporate women, her daily routine came with a painful trade-off.

“A normal day meant commuting into the city in sneakers, then changing into heels once I got to the office,” she says. “I loved how they made me feel… but oh, how painful they were.”

The breaking point came at an industry party.

“I was wearing a well-known ‘fashion-forward’ Aussie brand pair of heels and my feet were killing me all night. I loved how I looked but honestly hated how much my feet were hurting.”

And just like that, a business idea began to form.

A sketchpad, some pencils … and a problem to solve

Initially, Lili wasn’t thinking about building a brand. She just wanted better shoes that didnt leave her in pain at teh end of the day.

“I vividly remember going to a bookstore during my lunch break… I bought a sketchpad and some colouring pencils,” she says. “I didn’t think about the actual steps of building a business. I just started by looking at what I would change.”

Yet the idea of a different type of heel persisted, and Lili knew it was an itch she needed to scratch. While she had no background in footwear design, she did have something just as valuable: marketing experience, an MBA, and a very clear understanding of her ideal customer.

“I am my own brand persona,” she says. “I knew what another woman who loves heels but hates the pain would want.”

Designing heels that don’t hate you back

So, how do you turn a sketch into a sellable product? That’s where things got real. Lili dove headfirst into research, exploring everything from materials to anatomy, construction and manufacturing. Then came the long (and expensive) road of sampling.

“I went through multiple rounds of samples… I would wear them everywhere—dinner, work, events, even just to the supermarket.”

While comfort was an essential element in the mix, the end goal was something trickier: heels that looked stunning and felt good. She didn’t want a “comfort shoe in disguise”.

“Comfort isn’t one feature, it’s the whole design working together,” she explains. “Things like heel-to-toe pitch, heel height, structure, insole materials… every detail matters.”

And she’s blunt about where the industry has missed the mark.

“Some of the most prominent high-fashion footwear brands in the world are designed by men … for fashion, but not so much for actually walking.”

Made in China, built on standards

Finding the right manufacturer was another hurdle and a critcial step in the ongoing success of the brand.

“I wanted not only quality, but an ethical manufacturer,” she says. “No child labour, fair wages, fair working hours.”

After testing multiple suppliers, she landed on a factory in China.

“I know ‘made in China’ can have a negative connotation, but they’ve spent years perfecting their craft. The quality is great, and it keeps the price more accessible.”

Still, thr process wasnt without here hiccups. Such as a batch of silk chiffon ankle straps that didn’t meet her standards, but Lili says nothing catastrophic, fortunately.

“I contacted the manufacturer and they quickly sent new straps,” she says. “I’ve heard horror stories… I was lucky.”

The cost of every step

If there’s one thing that surprised Lili, it’s just how expensive product businesses are. It’s a reality many shoppers don’t see when they look at a price tag.

“You pay upfront to start production, then the rest before they release the shoes,” she says. “Then shipping, GST… and customers expect free shipping.

“The amount of work, taxes and costs… is bigger than people would think.”

Plus there are minimum order quantities for anyone manufacturing their own products.

“My first run was 500 pairs per style. For a brand with zero awareness, that’s huge.”

Direct from the garage

In the early days, Luminous Assembly was as hands-on as it gets, with Lili handling every single order.

“I had the shoe boxes in my garage and was packing and posting every day,” she says.

That meant ribbons, beautiful packaging and handwritten notes, but also long nights.

“There were times I was in the warehouse at 10pm unpacking boxes… then packing orders.”

The grind was real, especially while juggling a full-time job and family life. Yet Lil says there were moments that made it all worth it.

“My neighbour called me after seeing someone walking home with a Luminous Assembly box,” she laughs. “That felt like a big deal.”

A slow burn to success

While people often talk of a business’s overnight success, most startups have a slow burn. Lili’s first customers came from organic social media, giveaways and word of mouth, with email quickly proving its worth.

“It took me at least two years for the business to get traction,” Lili says. “Email gives the best ROI of any channel.”

Not everything worked, though.

“I paid a couple of influencers early on and it didn’t do anything,” she says. “I probably didn’t choose the right ones.”

The real turning point?

“My first $10k month. I remember sitting on the lounge with my husband, watching the sales notifications pinging… thinking, this is going somewhere.”

Still, it was four years before Lili decided to quit heer day job.

“In retrospect, I should have left in year two,” she admits. “Revenue went down because it was a lot to juggle.”

When she finally made the leap, things shifted. “I became more focused on the numbers, strategy and planning,” she says. “That corporate discipline really helped.”

The styles women keep coming back for

Today, Luminous Assembly has a growing fanbase and a solid repeat customer rate of around 25 per cent. Some customers, Lili says, “have bought every single style.” Top sellers include the Alba Mid Heel Mules, Maya High Heel Pumps and Luna Mid Heel Boots.

And yes, the Maya pumps hold a special place.

“They were the first style I launched, and they’re named after my daughter,” Lili explains.

Customer feedback has also shaped the range, especially when it comes to colour.

“I started with only colourful heels. Customers loved them, but also wanted black and nude… so I added those.”

Playing the long game

Ask Lili about scaling, and she knows her numbers. Rather than plunge into growth her approach has been steady and deliberate.

“Cash flow is king,” she says. “You need ongoing money to grow, and you need to reinvest profits. … I don’t like overspending if I don’t see the cash in the bank or a clear ROI.”

So far, Luminous Assembly has been a direct-to-consumer business, but Lili says that’s about to change. Wholesale, boutiques and international expansion are all on the horizon.

“I’d love to see the heels in retailers across Australia and the world. I get weekly emails asking where people can try them on,” Lili says. “I’d love to see Luminous Assembly become a globally recognised fashion brand.”

Her advice for anyone with a “what if” idea:

“Do as much research as you can. Start building the brand even before you launch,” she says.

“Have some cash set aside… and work on your mindset every single day. You don’t need to know everything on day one—you just need to keep taking the next step.”

Or in other words: stop waiting for perfect. Start sketching.

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