Louise Matson (Begley, 1982)
What has been your journey since leaving Santa Maria College?
I always say your experiences along the way will lead to the next thing in life, and mine has led me to develop my own luxury shoe brand Louise M.
Since leaving Santa Maria College, I went to a co-educational catholic school to complete Years 11 & 12. After a short time at university I became restless for travel, so working for the WA Tourism Commission as a travel consultant was a perfect fit for me. Following marriage and children in my 20s, I became a flight attendant at 30. This changed my life, it gave me some independence, enabled me to see all of Australia while working, and allowed our family to travel the world. I loved it for 17 years!Â
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However, in my 40s, I was restless for the next challenge and achievement. I returned to Curtin University to complete a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Entrepreneurship and Marketing. Knowing I wanted a shoe business that involved travel, I found a niche.
I knew all about the shoes for cabin crew and knew that corporate women would benefit from the same style and comfort. The difference with Louise M though is the shoes are very high quality, made in Italy. It does mean I travel to Italy, basing myself in Florence to visit the factory in the Tuscany region. If you are going to have a business, make sure you have some great perks to balance out the hard work.
What has been a highlight along the way?
Apart from the obvious highlight of having my beautiful family around me, creating my niche business ‘Louise M shoes’ for airline cabin crew and corporate women is a significant highlight of my life journey.
What is one of your fondest memories of your time at Santa Maria College?
My fondest memories of my time at Santa Maria College are a (very small) part in the school production Anne of Green Gables. It was definitely a highlight of my time at SMC, as was Home Economics with Ms Anne Kuzich. The wonderful thing is that I met up with Anne when our children were attending the same primary school in Mount Lawley. I consider Anne to be one of my closest friends. We also traveled together with our husbands to South America in 2017.
Louise Matson (Begley, 1982) Day student
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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