With research as her guide, local designer Tamia Carey took note of an increased demand among women for fashionable, comfortable, and durable footwear, and so decided to take of step of faith in designing sandals.

On November 24, Carey — who designed clothing for the last 11 years — marked the addition of sandals to her brand with the official opening a boutique store dedicated to the commodity. Located on Ardenne Road in the Corporate Area, the store features women sandals made of leather upper or straps, rubber gripped heels, and leather insoles. Shoe sizes start at six and go up to 12.

With prices ranging from $7,500 up to $16,500, the designer tells Jamaica Observer, “I think we are among the lowest cost in the market, but we are aiming to have the highest quality shoe. We have spared no expense in machinery or material quality as we only use A-grade raw materials.”

She adds: “We sourced our equipment and leather from the finest producers and tanneries in Colombia and hired expert shoemaking consultants from overseas to refine the process. We now have a fully trained local workforce to have a uniquely Jamaican product.”

Carey now employs a staff complement of 12 that includes female seamstresses who have been cross-trained in the making of clothes, shoes and bags.

But just three years ago the designer and trained architect was contemplating her future in shoe design. With some encouragement from her mother-in-law, Pat Francis, Carey embarked on a study of the shoemaking market in the Caribbean and saw signs of promise. She also sought the advice of fashion designer Robert Hall of Jamaica Business Development Corporation and some of her mentors before venturing into sandals design.

While admitting that the transition from designing clothes to shoes was no walk in the park, Carey shares, “Making shoes is a whole new beast and the learning curve was steep. It took our team over nine months to get to the level of quality and finish I was looking for.

“When you mess up a shoe it’s not editable. You have to just throw it away and start again; it’s a very costly R&D [research and development] process. Also, the pre-measuring and creating a shoe for a uniquely Jamaican feel took many prototypes,” she continues, while highlighting that the costs stand apart from “investing millions in equipment”, the import duties, and other input costs.

As part of quality control and product testing for each style of sandals, Carey gave away shoe samples of varying sizes and weights for women to wear for 60 days minimum, at least four days a week.

Her product line now complete, Carey’s main sales outlets are her boutique and website. She also depends on social media, specifically Instagram and Facebook, to promote her creations. Again, she points out that marketing sandals require a “new digital footprint and brand awareness”, but she’s optimistic that select retailers will carry her line and already she’s caught the eyes of a few.

“About three months ago we were approached by a vendor who buys resort wear from us in Jamaican and Rasta-centric colour clothing. She loved our shoe prototypes and we created a few dozen pairs for her and she became our first third-party retailer. We are expanding our line of Jamaican and Rasta-centric clothing, bags and shoes as we seek to fulfil the demand of the tourist market and returning residents who want to buy a piece of our culture in clothing, handbags or shoes,” Carey states.

She adds that purchasers from various hotels have also contacted her and requested customised sandals since the Observer covered the opening of the boutique last month.

At the time of this publication’s visit, Carey was promoting her matching bags as part of a discounted package. She admits that this forms part of the company’s strategy to differentiate itself in a competitive shoe market.

“We have a completely different business model, as we will be using my clothing store as the lead…” she says, adding that her products are handmade.