Growing up in a family of 14 kids, Marie Rivers didn't get to do back-to-school shopping. As Rivers entered middle school, she started sewing her own clothes and fell in love with the craft.
"When you're younger, you think it's not fair and everyone has all this stuff. But because of that, it gave me a career that I love through my life," Rivers said.
When Rivers was a young woman, she got a job as a seamstress at a clog factory in Michigan.
"Sven was from Sweden and he had one of the largest clog factories in Europe. So when clogs were really big in the 70s, he was dealing with a gentleman in Minneapolis and he would import them for JCPenney... you know, all the bigger stores," Rivers said. "Instead of him shipping all this over, they decided, 'Why don't you move over here and make clogs?' Well, for some strange and unknown reason, there was a little, teeny, tiny clog factory in Upper Michigan so they bought that."
Sven Clogs was founded in 1974. The company moved to Minnesota in 1982.
"When the company moved to Minnesota, I moved with them. And then I kind of married my boss," said Rivers, laughing. "We were together for about 11 years and then when we split up, I bought him out and I've been going ever since... I still love it till this day."
Sven Factory Outlet Store can be spotted off of Highway 8 in Chisago City. While shoppers enjoy the main level, the basement is where the magic happens.
"I love it down here. It's my happy place," Rivers said.
Sven Clogs gets its shoe bases from Austria, sheepskin from Texas and a majority of its leather from S.B. Foot Tanning Company in Red Wing.
In a separate building next to the main factory, employees take the raw bases and do all the staining, standing and sealing. As orders come in, clogs are custom made. For example, on Wednesday morning, April Marty worked on a pair for a customer in Texas.
"I love my job. I love my boss. She's the best boss," Marty said.
"I am, was, a single mom," Rivers said. "I am very strict about, if you need to go, you go. There's so many companies that you miss so many days because your child's sick. They don't care. They fire you. Not here... it's a safe place here.
As the internet became a larger part of Sven Clogs' business, Rivers even paid for an employee's schooling to help run their website.
"She was a single mom and she was working like four jobs... I told her, 'How much do you need to quit these other places?' Because she had such potential," Rivers said.
Rivers said her employees are her favorite part of the job.
"They are my family," she said.
Some of them, literally. Anne Wolf, Rivers' sister, joined the company nearly a decade ago.
"It's like arts and crafts every day. So you see a product that's finished and it's very rewarding," Wolf said.
After the material is sewn together, it gets stapled onto the base. Then the clogs get molded to their final shape.
"A lot of times they come out and it's like, 'This is so beautiful! Who's here that I can show them how nice this shoe came out?" Rivers said.
With more than four decades of experience, Rivers enjoys seeing generations of families enjoy their clogs.
"I think, gee, we had them as children, as parents, and now their grandkids are coming in here. So it makes me feel good," Rivers said.
While Rivers said her family members are not interested in one day taking over the business, her 7-year-old great-granddaughter loves visiting the factory.
"I said to my granddaughter, 'We got one more generation. Maybe we can get her to pick it up and go,'" Rivers said.
But in the meantime, Rivers has no plans on slowing down.
"Everyone wants to know, am I going to retire," Rivers said. "Why would you retire from something you love?"
Rivers went on to say, "I feel like I've had a golden job my whole life... I'm living the dream."
There will be a Sven Clogs Trunk Show to celebrate the 50th anniversary on Wednesday, July 24 from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Serge + Jane in Edina, hosted by Jerrod Scott. It is open to the public.
The event will include custom-designed clogs for Scott, as well as Serge + Jane.
You can shop Sven Clogs online or visit them at Sven Factory Outlet Store.
Sven Factory Outlet Store
10000 Lake Blvd.
Chisago City, MN 55013