Gaynor Minden opened its doors in New York City in 1993, having outgrown its first home in John and Eliza Minden's small Manhattan apartment. We had one part-time employee and one product: the patented pointe shoe that Eliza Minden had developed over the preceding eight years - the first successful modernization of ballet's iconic footwear.

Today Gaynor Minden is a global brand, available at hundreds of dance-specialty stores nation-wide as well as through numerous overseas distributors. While still very much a family business, we have offices on three continents and at last count we ship to 85 countries and over 200 professional companies. Gaynor Mindens are used at almost every major ballet company in the world including American Ballet Theatre, England's Royal Ballet, The Paris Opera Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Mariinsky Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Dutch National Ballet, The San Francisco, Houston, and Boston Ballet...to name just a few.

The original Gaynor Mindens had stiff shanks and were available with only a few fitting choices. We now offer a greatly expanded range of options including ultra-flexible shanks and boxes, a narrow-heeled style for the sleekest possible fit, longer sizes for today's bigger feet, built-in suede tips for extra durability, and shades of brown as well as pink satin - all for stock shoes. In addition we offer extensive additional customization by special order.

Since 1993 our pointe shoes have proudly been made in the USA. Starting in 2020, they are also being produced in Europe! Just like our original Lawrence, Massachusetts factory, our new factory in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a family business that blends tradition with innovation. All Gaynor Minden pointe shoes, no matter where they are produced, use exactly the same American-made, high-tech internal components - all have our polymer shanks and boxes and our Poron Performance cushioning. And all Gaynor Minden pointe shoes are handmade by skilled shoemakers using time honored techniques.