about me

As a young girl growing up in the Midwest I used to go into my Grandmother’s closet to look at all the pretty buttons she stored in her sewing basket. Little did I know that buttons would become part of a creative endeavor later in life. I knew early on that I had creative talent because loved drawing, rubber stamping, doing calligraphy and making scrapbooks but it was buttons that really became significant several years later.

In 2003 I was given a pair of barefoot sandals from someone who’d just returned from Cancun. They were made with wood beads on stretchy cord and served as a decoration for the tops of the feet. I instantly loved the concept because I was at the beach just about every weekend. I could be barefoot – yet, I could wear a very unique pair of “shoes” and still be able to walk in the sand. As I watched a beach wedding in progress one day I had an incredible idea – why not create a pair for brides with beads and crystals instead of wood? Make them feminine and add some sparkle and shine. The local bead store soon became my favorite place!

With a roll of Stretch Magic, some colored glass beads and a few crystals; I went about making my first pair. I already knew that my design would be different because of the changes I wanted to make. I wanted the portion of the sandal that would hook behind the toe to be strung with the smallest beads possible so that they couldn’t be felt. Seed beads were the answer. As my bead pattern progressed to the point where the leg meets the foot I felt it was missing something – something that would tie everything together and serve as a centerpiece. This is where the buttons came in. I knew that buttons came in all sizes and shapes and were made with a multitude of materials. It was a momentous occasion because I realized that I’d just created what would become the trademark of a Jewels-by-Jan Barefoot Sandal!

It was then that I grabbed my sister Pat Jones and together we started designing products, decided on a business name, established a business account and started selling our designs to friends and family. Jewels-by-Jan has been successful in branding our very own unique beaded foot jewelry for brides, bridesmaids and flower girls. We even have a pair for men and we also make them for casual wear. We have now expanded our site to include handcrafted bridal jewelry and Veil Weights™, a new beach wedding product that helps keep a bride’s veil under control on those windy beach days. With over 22 designs and several more in the design phase, our collection of wedding footwear features clear crystal or traditional wedding pearl footwear just for the bride and lovely pastels and eye-catching color-combinations for bridesmaids. And with buttons made of materials like Mother of Pearl, Rhinestone, Metal and Glass, the centerpiece (which we call a medallion) is the “star of the show”! Now that we have trademarked our “medallion” concept, we can continue to create new designs with a more wide range of button materials. Whatever wedding colors a bride has chosen we design sandals for her wedding attendants and flower girl to match their dresses. We work with brides to help put the finishing touch on their wedding day attire – their footwear.

Our designs are inspired by the latest trends in wedding colors featured in fashion magazines. We also take a look at what colors our collection may be missing so that we can fill that void with something new and exciting. A basic principle of every new design is to create products that embrace femininity. A woman’s foot can be very pretty and sexy and our beaded foot jewelry is meant to accent the slender lines of the foot. That’s why we always use smaller sized beads in an array of shapes – it makes the design more feminine. We want our customers to enjoy wearing our sandals, no matter what the occasion. We always welcome your comments and we’d love to hear any suggestions you’d like to see on our web site. If you have had a recent beach wedding and wore Jewels by Jan Barefoot sandals, we would love to see them. Thank you for visiting our site!