Accessorise Your Feet | Soul Sandals

You know, we have become quite good at dealing with the winter chills this year but this recent bout of *$#@#! cold freezing weather that hit Jozi has left us longing for warmer temperatures and desperately looking forward to what the coming months will bring.

Soul Sandals – a newcomer on the South African shoe scene has helped us get even more excited for this years summer season!

I had the pleasure of visiting their first open day this past Saturday, and let me tell you – I was impressed!

Soul Sandals is a proudly South African start-up that designs and creates bespoke sandals; they are about vibrance, colour and uniqueness. Lucky and Vivi – a husband and wife team – are the masters behind the sewing machine and beading and design work, while Giavi is the creative backbone of the brand. Hermi is on the business side of things and all together, it seems like the team at Soul are a mini powerhouse rearing towards success. 

One always tends to associate accessories with the top half of our bodies; jewellery, scarves, bags – whereas these sandals ensure that your bottom half is given some necessary attention. Each pair is hand crafted with love, instilling passion and creativity into the tiniest of details.

I love the fact that you can pair them with skinny jeans and a gorgeous black blouse for the evening or a casual pair of shorts and a plain white tee for the day. 

The prices are not on the low end – but justifiably so; an intricate pair can take as long as six straight hours to craft. Not only are the sandals made of good quality leather, the tanning process of this leather is the most environmentally friendly.

Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather, which results in a more durable product which is less susceptible to decomposition.

There are three main methods of tanning in the industry – two of which are known to be extremely bad for humans and the environment around us. I wont bore you with the detail – if you are interested, click here. The third method however is know as vegetable tanning and is the most environmenttly friendly.

It is an old-world, artisanal process that takes advantage of the tannic acids naturally found in some plant species, by using the barks, branches, leaves and even fruits in some specific techniques. 

Each pair of sandals is also uniquely designed and customised (BY HAND) to ensure a bespoke product that you will not and cannot find anywhere else. The majority of materials are South African, as are the hands that craft these beauties. And we all love a locally produced product!

Shoe pom-pom’s also look set to a be a major trend for summer so a pair is not only hand crafted but also trendsetting at the same time 🙂

The creative genius behind the vibrant designs is Giavi, but if you have an idea for your own sandals, the team at Soul will gladly make up a pair to match your vision.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, let the photos do the talking:

If you are interested in Soul Sandals, you can contact them directly on [email protected]. Make sure to follow them on Instagram, for regular updates on new designs. 

Happy Friday!