How much do you know about Foot Jewelry?
What in the world IS foot jewelry you ask? Most of the people I ask have never heard of it. Others say ”sure” because they think it’s like a real sandal with a bottom and jewels on top. And still others believe they’re like what hippies used to wear made out of hemp. In all honesty, they are nothing at all like that.
Simply put, foot jewelry is a sparkling adornment for the tops of your feet. Some call them barefoot sandals, soleless sandals or bottomless sandals. Believe it or not they’ve also been called footless sandals (although you must have a foot to wear them!). They’re most often worn by females who take good care of their feet and want to make them look prettier. Brides and bridesmaids wear them for beach weddings, others just love jewelry no matter what the occasion – a day at the pool or beach to match your swimwear, with lingerie, without lingerie (oh my!) or maybe a get together with friends. Any time you’re barefoot – is the right time to wear barefoot sandals.
Jewels by Jan barefoot sandals are created by stringing a pattern of beads, crystals or pearls into 2 loops of beads joined at the middle by a lovely centerpiece. Each pair features an original, unique pattern in a variety of colors. To wear them you slip your bare foot into one loop and position it around your ankle. The 2nd loop goes across the top of your foot and is secured behind your 2nd toe. With nothing on the bottom of your feet- they’re barefoot sandals. 
Beaded foot jewelry can be created a number of ways. Some are made with one loop of pattern attached to one strand of pattern with a small loop that goes behind the 2nd toe. Our sandals are handcrafted with a double strand of pattern that features our “medallion-in-the-middle” a unique focal point that has become our “signature” trademark. If you spot a pair of sandals with a pretty medallion in the center, chances are it’s a Jewels by Jan creation.
Now that you have a better idea what foot jewelry is, visit our site to see all of our designs. I’m sure you’ll find the perfect pair just for you!
Read MoreBehind the Scenes at Jewels by Jan
Ever wonder what goes on behind the “Internet curtain” of a handcrafted, online, home jewelry business? As with any kind of business selling a product, there are lots of decisions to make, designs to discuss, materials to purchase and an occasional disagreement (that is a lways settled amicably).
My sister Pat and I have been designing and handcrafting beaded foot jewelry since 2003 and we are business partners 2,000 miles from one another. Years ago maintaining a long distance business would have been difficult – no e-mail to communicate details of a design, only snail mail and the telly. While we DO talk just about every day, being apart from each other running our business works pretty well. (Thank heaven for Verizon’s friends and family plan.)
Early on in the start-up of our business, we each decided which role we would play in the daily operation. Since I (Jan) have had years of experience with the computer, we decided I would be the one to handle all the details having to do with our web site, advertising, marketing, accounting and all orders are e-mailed to me. When you spend hours at a computer day and night our customers receive instant replies to inquiries and orders. Great service is something we take very seriously.
Pat is our expert bracelet and earring designer, in addition to handcrafting our beaded foot jewelry. Deciding which of us makes an order is sometimes determined by the customer’s location and who is the closest to that location in order to assure a faster delivery. It can also depend on the availability of components. Our business really IS a combined effort because we have each designed about half of our collection over the years.
We enjoy being a small business because we can offer individual attention to each of our prospective customers. We believe that is the hallmark of a great company – immediate response, the willingness to deliver exactly what the customer wants and doing so in our good ole Midwestern down-to-earth friendliness!
Read MoreThe use of Swarovski components in bead design
Have you ever wondered what it takes to create a complex bead design? I can tell you from six years of experience when you work with small components, it’s a very time-consuming process. The tiny little seed beads and 4mm crystals are just plain hard to pick up off the bead mat. If you use long tweezers to pick up the components like I do, they can fly across the room if you squeeze the tweezers too tight. But we have found that the smaller the bead, the more feminine and dainty the sandals will be.
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.
Read MoreMade in the U.S.A.
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
Read More4 Fun Ways to Wear Barefoot Sandals
Barefoot Sandals are not just for the beach any more, you can wear them everyday to dress up any outfit. Here are 4 beautiful and fun ways to wear barefoot sandals.
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 2. The sandals can also be worn with certain types of shoes. Flip-flops and strappy-sandals are ideal. To wear your sandals WITH shoes, hold the sandal the same way, slip your foot into the lower loop and secure around your ankle. Slip your foot into your shoe, then place the seed beads over and behind your 2nd toe. |
 3. Your sandal can also be worn as an ankle bracelet! Put both loops together, slip your foot inside and place the medallion in the front.
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| 4. And, try twisting the upper loop before securing it behind your 2nd toe. Be a trend-setter and try this for variation!
To check out and buy your favorite style Check out our shop. |
A Bit of Bead History
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.
Read MoreHOW THE BAREFOOT SANDALS ARE MADE
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
Read MoreWINDY DAYS & WEDDING VEILS
….just don’t go together. Sounds like that should be a song but it’s so true. While outdoor weddings are truly lovely, there’s nothing too pretty about your wedding veil blowing in your face. And it’s bad enough that this could happen as you say your vows, it can also happen during the picture-taking session.
Now there’s a solution to having to hold down your veil and it’s called Veil Weights. Created by Southern California Wedding Planner, Jill Watson, these beautiful pieces of magnetic jewelry can be easily attached to a bride's veil, thus keeping those veils where they were meant to be. After coordinating many weddings where windy conditions caused her brides' veil to blow here and there, disrupting the ceremony and videos, Jill decided they would be just the solution to a frequent situation at beach weddings. Jill notes that a veil will still have movement but they will keep it from blowing out of control.
The weights come in a package of 6 in four styles - Swarovski crystal in an oval or round shape or Mother of Pearl in oval or round shapes. Since they are magnetic they attach easily to the bottom of a veil. Instructions come with every set and after the wedding you can use them as magnets to hang up your beautiful wedding photos.
Jewels by Jan is excited to offer Jill's veil weights at $59.95 for a set of 6. Be prepared for the unpredictable ocean breezes and and keep in mind that anywhere the wind blows - at the beach, on an island or even in wine country, veil weights will keep veils under control.
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