At eight years old, Lucean Slater crafted her first pair of sandals from cardboard. Now the self-taught artisan uses leather, vegan leather, woven fabrics and colourful cords to create designs that are a seamless balance of aesthetics and comfort.

“Making sandals has always been a dream of mine… as I got older, the dream almost died but was reignited when I was about 25. It was not until my 29th birthday when I finally… brought my dreams to fruition,” she recently told All Woman Fashion (AWF).

In 2015, the inability to conform to corporate rules propelled Slater’s entrepreneurial dreams into high gear. “I am a free spirit and I am very creative; I like to look different, and to invent and to reinvent. Trying to fit in with traditional work culture was always a struggle,” she shared. With the need to work on her terms, Slater revisited her childhood passion and launched Lucy Sandals Jamaica with only two styles: the Ethnic Bohemian and the Side Cut sandals.

Now Slater handcrafts over 20 styles that are chic and ultra-feminine, and in the age of mass production, her made-to-order options have garnered notice. Whether you want to slip your feet into the barely-there styles of the Half-Naked, Nola, Sharii and the Naasha or get strapped into the Tassel Bohemian or the Zuri, Lucy Sandals has a style for every occasion.

Slater says her cosmopolitan customer base — which sees buyers in countries as far as Japan, Dubai and Sweden — is proof that her base is expanding. A recent 30-day hiatus to revamp the business, worldwide shipping, and a creative mind that keeps churning out new styles and ideas all assure that Lucy Sandals Ja will keep kicking down doors in fine style.