But today, so many of those trades have vanished. The skills that once shaped whole communities are quietly disappearing.
That’s one of the reasons I do what I do.
Like many young people, I left my village after school. In my twenties and early thirties, I lived what many would call a dream life: university and career in Germany, Sweden, and the U.S.
Weekends were for the good life: dinners out, and whenever possible, an escape to Italy... the country that had held my heart since the very first visit.
During one of those trips, I stumbled across something that never left me:Â a tiny sandal shop in Positano.
An artisan shaping soft Italian leather into exquisite custom sandals — in minutes, as I watched.
I’d never seen anything like it. I remember thinking, "this is incredible" … and "one day, I’ll learn how to do this."
Of course, I had a pair made. I still have them. Timeless. Worn, but  as beautiful as ever.
And that "one day" came years later.
By then, I was married. A mother.Â
And everything had shifted.
The pace and values of the corporate world no longer fit.
So we made a bold decision: to move across the world
to Australia’s Sunshine Coast longing for a slower, more intentional life for our family.
I knew I wouldn’t return to my corporate career.Â
I wanted to be at home, present with my children, who were just two and four at the time. And still, I felt the pull to build something of my own.
Something I could grow slowly, with care and intention. From home. Alongside motherhood.
That’s when I remembered the craft I had fallen in love with years earlier on the Amalfi Coast: the art of bespoke Italian sandal making.
What followed was a two-year journey of deep immersion.
Months of research.
Multiple trips to Italy.Â
A long search for the right mentors and trusted suppliers.
Years of trial and error.Â
Eventually, I had the honour of learning from a father and son — master artisans who entrusted me with their generational knowledge.
That was in 2014.
I then spent a decade of building my own artisanal business in Australia: crafting sandals for women in my community, teaching local workshops,
and eventually mentoring women across the world.

Today, Sandal School holds all of that.
I help creative women master the craft of bespoke Italian sandal making — women who want to build something lasting, meaningful, and refined,
using the same time-honoured techniques once entrusted to me.
Together, we’re shaping a modern artisan movement: one that honours tradition and reimagines what it means to build with purpose.
In a world chasing trends that fade quickly, we’re choosing to create what’s personal and made to last.
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