Kohlenberg, president and CEO of Umi shoes, recognized the shoes immediately. "Those are my shoes," he said.

Jovovich isn’t the only celebrity mom outfitting her child in the Umi brand. Jennifer Garner, Kelly Ripa, Jessica Alba and dads like David Letterman are Umi fans. Tori Spelling’s children appeared with mom and dad in baby couture magazine’s summer anniversary issue wearing Umi. The celebrity following is a bonus for the Grafton-based company, Kohlenberg says, but not its driving force. "Many people look to celebrities for style, so it shows that we are leading and not following," he says.

Umi’s target is moms 25 to 45 with children from newborn to age 8. "We’re trying to appeal to a mother that doesn’t want to overpay for styling that lasts only a month or two and then it’s on to something else," Kohlenberg says. "We offer a touch of style that is different from the mainstream in the market."

That’s a result of lots of careful planning and extensive product development. "So many of the kids shoe brands out there right now are all doing variations of the same thing in a given season," Kohlenberg says. "We are aware of those trends, but try to be pure to ourselves from a style perspective. You’re not getting a copycat version of something in women’s or tweens."

Working with designers in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Umi produces 150 to 160 style and color combinations for boys and girls each season. The company introduced new categories last year including its Pram booties and Primero line for toddlers. It has also put more emphasis on its boys line. "Boys is kind of the forgotten gender," Kohlenberg says.

Prices range from $30 to about $100, with most of its children’s shoes in the $55-$65 range. The line is strategically priced between the Stride Rite label and most of the European brands. It’s the old adage "you get what you pay for," Kohlenberg says. "Consumers recognize that quality plays a much more important role in footwear and are willing to pay for it," he says of European buyers. "If I was a new parent I wouldn’t object to spending 50 cents a day on my baby’s feet."

Much time and money is spent on quality, comfort and fit. "Most people think the upper of the shoe is where we spend our time," Kohlenberg says. "That’s not true at all. The most important part of the shoe is the outsole."

The autumn-winter ’09 collection features Umi’s signature pebble leather, patent leather stylings and trendy metallic leathers and whitewashed outsoles for girls. Trends in the boys line are less definable, Kohlenberg says. Look for new outsoles and fun aggressive materials in that line.

Umi shoes are available at a host of online sites such as Zappos, Amazon and at umishoes.com, and at Stride Rite at Mayfair Mall and Brookfield Square Mall, Sydney b. in Mequon and at Bark River Kids, Delafield.

Umi Bio:

» Founded 2004

» Mark Kohlenberg, president and CEO; former president of Elefanten USA for 14 years, a European children’s shoe line

» Infant, toddler and children’s shoes, ranging in price from $30-$130

» Manufactured in Brazil and Asia

» About $10 million a year in wholesale sales