I have bunions and I like to wear flip flops. My feet aren’t beautiful and I’m self-conscious about showing my feet. I thought there ought to be a way to add bling to any flip flops to cover what I think is ugly. So I created a bow wide enough to go from side-to-side of my foot, covering both the bunion on my big toe and the little tailor’s bunionette next to my little pinky toe. I’m not a crafty person, but I do have a vintage Singer sewing machine and can sew a straight stitch. After several trips to Hobby Lobby and lots of tries, I got it right. I created a beautiful Zebra bow with red vinyl band and sparkling rhinestones. Then something magical happened. I wore my flip flops out in public with my Zebra bow and women stopped me, asking, “Where’d you get your flip flops?” That was a light-bulb moment: Women want their feet to look pretty and they want pretty flip flops, whether or not they have bunions. They want something different and special. Thus, Flipping Bling® was born.
Interchangeable Bling Designs
It took me two years to figure out a patent-pending way to make the bling interchangeable as well as soft and comfortable on flip flops. Another two years to figure out how to get the bling manufactured. Now we have 22 SKUS with colorful bejeweled bows, bling and ornamentation so you can embellish most flip flops to match any outfit or occasion. Now one pair of flip flops can go from casual to business to dressy. And no more cluttered closet floor.
Recently we had a vendor booth at our first outdoor festival, and we discovered Flipping Bling isn’t just for flip flops. The market spoke. At the March 5, 2022 “Rumba on the Lumber” in Lumberton, N.C., women and little girls wanted it on their sneakers, sandals and even their boots.
Little girls swooned over the butterflies, especially pink, blue and purple. Grown women adorned their laced tennis shoes, sneakers and boot straps with butterflies and jeweled bees.
And one woman came to our booth who said she doesn’t wear flip flops in public because she’s embarrassed by her bunions. She tried Hula-ta-Love from our Tassel My Fancy Collection, putting it on one of our sample flip flops. Voila! It hid her bunions. She bought it, saying she can now feel confident in her flip flops. That’s the very reason I created Flipping Bling, so I could wear my flip flops and cover my bunions. I figured I wasn’t the only woman who felt self-conscious about showing her feet. It really made me happy to see someone else find a way to make her feet look pretty and feel good in her flip flops. Made my day!
While Flipping Bling was created for flip flops, the folks in Lumberton opened our eyes to lots of opportunities to embellish other footwear. As long as there are straps or laces, you can flip some bling onto your footwear with Flipping Bling.
What a great discovery and fun day! And best of all, there’s now one more woman besides me who can strut her stuff in her flip flops, cover her bunions and feel good about her feet and how she looks.