Of course it all starts with the order. Each order is a custom order based on the customer’s shoe size.   The first thing I do is pull out my women’s foot sizing chart to see how long to cut the length of Stretch Magic.   The chart is pretty handy because it shows how many inches each shoe size measures from heel to toe. Next I assemble all my parts. (I keep my beads in clear, 8-compartment plastic cases.  Each case is labeled with the  name of the design and everything I need to make that design is inside that case).  I use a handy bead mat to construct the sandals  on-it’s soft and cushy and the beads stay where you put them.

Before I actually start, I make sure I have all the parts I need and then lay them out in little piles. Since we make our sandals using tiny seed beads for the “behind the toe” portion, I add those to the cord first.  (You’d better have good eyes for this part – it’s a lot like threading a needle.)  Looking at the image of the design I’m making I follow the pattern using the parts on my mat.   Some designs take an hour, some two but the finished product is a satisfying accomplishment.  The sparkle and twinkle of those crystals make me forget that I just spent a long time stringing beads.

We receive  rush orders frequently.  In most cases, the bride has just found our site,  found a pair that she loves and HAS to have them within a day.  If it’s humanly possible – I’ll stop what I’m doing, make them and rush to Fed Ex or UPS.  I was a bride just 3 years ago so I know how important the little details are.  Making a bride happy is just what we do.

By the way, the lasagna turned out very well – maybe my best yet!

JAN

When Pat and I started our business we knew that quality materials would be the key to producing a lovely piece of jewelry.  It was important to us to find bead suppliers that offered A-quality products at a reasonable cost.  That’s why we selected Swarovski pearls and crystals to use in our barefoot sandal designs.  Everyone can identify with the name Swarovski.

Each Swarovski Crystal Pearl is created around a crystal core, hence the name Crystal Pearl. This crystal core gives the pearl its ideal weight and combined with the Swarovski Pearl coating it causes each Crystal Pearl to glow from within. The pearl coating developed by Swarovski is applied around the crystal core in pearly layers.

Swarovski (Austrian) Crystal is considered by many people to be the finest quality, full-lead crystal made today.  To cut hard materials such as crystal and gems in such a way that they have a hundred identical facets in several directions is a very complicated task: each direction of the reflected light must first be calculated by computer, then this has to be simulated in 3D, optimized and finally converted into control programs for complex machinery.  It is this machine that makes it possible to cut crystal to perfection.

When we receive an order of Swarovski crystals there’s just nothing more brilliant than opening up their careful packaging and seeing several hundred sparkling prisms of light shining back at you!  Knowing the process of how they are cut makes it even more amazing.

How important is it to YOU to buy American-made products?  American manufacturers make some of the best products in the world. This heritage is important enough to us in the crafting of our beaded foot jewelry that we wanted you to know.   Jewels by Jan has never out-sourced the process of making of our barefoot sandals to countries where the wages are well below what they should be.  Everyone deserves fair pay for equal work to support their families.  We handcraft each and every pair of our foot jewelry in San Diego, CA or Des Moines, IA – from the moment we cut the length of stringing material to the tying of the last knot!  Share your comments with us below – do YOU buy American?

JAN

Did you know beads have been made of glass for over 5,000 years? The discovery of fire was the fundamental step in glass bead making. Glass bead-making had been going on in or around Venice throughout early history.

In 1292, the glass factories were relocated to the island of Murano both to reduce risk of fire to the city, and to protect the secrets of creating glass. This secrecy was very important to the city and by 1490, glassmakers were under penalty of death for either revealing these secrets or leaving and starting business elsewhere. Some glassworkers did relocate elsewhere, and there are other areas, such as Spain, that were making beads.

However, the main production center seems to clearly have been Venice. The Venetians maintained their bead monopoly well into the 19th century, until the Bohemian region’s (Czechoslovakia and Germany) bead industry began to gain momentum.

By the early twentieth century Czechoslovakia took over the task of being the world’s most prolific bead supplier, a title they still hold today. Venice on the other hand, has also maintained its bead-making status, producing much of the worlds finest, most sought-after and recognizable designs. As one can see immediately upon arriving in Venice, the bead and glassmaking industry is alive and thriving.

The production of glass beads is a heritage that spans millennia. Different means and methods have been discovered, some to be lost again and again.

But the fact remains – beads have been and remain – an important source of creative, artistic expression. Many cultures use beads as distinctive elements of personal clothing and adornment and beaded jewelry can be seen in the pages of every upscale fashion magazine.

Each sandal is designed by first selecting bead colors that go good together. Then they are laid out in a pattern on a bead mat, making sure there are adequate spacers to help accentuate the bead colors. Usually, it is decided ahead of time whether to use gold or silver accent beads. Right now, silver is very popular. Real sterling silver is not used because it is far too expensive.

For the most part, Czech glass beads are used that have been formed into a variety of shapes, pressed, faceted, bicones, rondelles, etc., along with spacers that are either pewter or metalized plastic.

Once a few “patterns” of beads are completed, the design is evaluated and if it is not acceptable, the whole design is taken apart and started over.

The sandals are all handmade and labor intensive. They are made in sizes 5-10 with 1/2 sizes included and all of those sizes are standardized so exactly the same amount of cord is used each time.

The stringing material is called “Stretch Magic” and it is a strong size, .7mm. It is strong enough to handle repeated, gentle stretching, yet small enough to fit through the hole of the beads.

The sandals come in a matching organza drawstring bag with detailed instructions indicating the 4 ways they can be worn.

by Jan Baker, Designer and Creator of Bare Foot Sandals