Kraftsty is a relatively new venture which focuses on handmade slippers, sandals, and sling-bags. What's unique about these guys are their crocheted slippers and handbags. They also dabble in tie-and-dye, but that's still at an experimental stage.
The Footwear
Whether you want something trippy, shocking pink, or earthy, Kraftsy delivers. They import their yarn from India because the quality of the thread available here isn't all that great, I was told.
Crocheting a pair of slippers takes about two hours. The duo — with the help of a few friends — can make two pairs of crocheted slippers per day, and five pairs of strappy sandals.
They also experiment with new designs everyday.
You can also get strappy sandals with a hint of crochet in it. I really liked these black sandals with multi-coloured work on it.
A Bag or Two
The stuff here are really quite affordable, given that it's handmade and one-of-a-kind. They haven't got a huge bag-game going on, given that their focus is on the slippers, but they have a couple of decent options with customizable bags if you provide a design.
'Oceanic' messenger bag. LKR 1500. #kraftsy #Handmade #bohochic #SriLankan #bohoessentials
A photo posted by Kraftsy (@kraftsylk) on
A bit of background
Kanthi — the powerhouse behind this — was self-taught, as is Crystal, her daughter. They've been doing the groundwork on these shoes for the last two years, testing out different designs and types of gum that works well with it. Crystal used to be a journalist, attached to one of the English weekend papers, and the hours of walking around associated with the job resulted in lots of broken slippers. Her mother decided to try her hand at making more long-lasting footwear, and using her skills as a crochet instructer with the Negombo non-formal education unit (where she was working at for about 25 years), she expanded crocheting to creating footwear for her daughter.
"Our shoes are gum-based, but we can assure you that they won't break. If it does, we'll replace them," Crystal said. (I think this is applicable for the first month of hard wear, only). But still, starting off at Rs. 1,500 and going no higher than Rs. 2,500, we think this is a good deal.
Add to this, they also wanted to preserve a dying art, and provide employment opportunities for women around the area. So far, they're doing pretty good and seem to be achieving their goals.
How to get your Krafties
You can check out their Instagram and Facebook pages, decide on something you like, and either message or call them up. They deliver free of charge from Negombo to Colombo.
