Hey guys. I am an English as a Foreign Language instructor by training who has been living and working abroad for over 8 years. Over the years, I've worn and brought gifts home to my friends and family from all over the world, and though people were grateful for the gifts, no one was necessarily amazed by the things I was wearing or bringing for them. This changed when I left Asia for a job in Arabia and started wearing these sandals in 2015.

On my trips home, I noticed immediately that EVERYBODY wanted a pair. First it was my friends and family, then it was friends of friends and friends of family. The waitress at the restaurant. The guy at the farmer's market. People waiting in line at the movie theater. Then people started giving me money because their friends' friends' friends' wanted a pair! People were stopping me in public, and one woman even put her car in reverse across a parking lot to ask the question I've been asked so many times, "Where did you get your sandals?".

That's when I knew I needed to start importing professionally. Though I didn't come on Etsy until the end of 2017, I have been importing SandCruisers since 2015 and working markets, festivals, and music festivals.

After about a year or so I noticed there were a lot of things about these sandals that could be improved, so then I began the loooong journey of redesigning them. I redesigned the footbed to have a more symmetrical shape to one's foot, I changed the toe-ring and front strap patterns to have a tighter fit and more modern feel, and even redesigned the leather rings on the sides to have a more modern shape. I've also added several more layers of leather to the sole, so now they're about 1/4" thick! I've designed 100s of pairs since then, and probably the coolest thing I've done is create this men's traditional sandal for women!

Some times I walk the souqs looking for unique Arabian prints to design with, and sometimes I play around with embroidery thread and come up with new patterns and designs for the front straps. These sandals are traditional Arabian sandals and have been worn by the local people for centuries.

I first found them walking through the isles of spices, incense, and traditional clothing at the souq (Arabic for market). It's a genuine gift that I get the honor to bring something so special and unique home from the other side of the world to you. Happy stepping!