Uzurii Luxury Footwear

BRAZILIAN DREAM BECOMES REALITY Shieglee Ferreira dos Santos would have never believed that all her dreams would actually come true. Until she was five years old, Shieglee was raised in the Amazon rain forest. She then moved with her mother, sister and grandma to the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Shieglee: ‘Because clothing and footwear were handed down from one child to another, I decorated them with everything I could find on the street just to make them a bit nicer.’’ When she was 13 years old and moved with her mother to the Netherlands. Determined and ambitious, she obtained her high school diploma in the pre-university track and raced through various fashion courses. Years later, she met her husband and started to build her life with him. Until 9 years ago, when Shieglee and her husband were strolling through the market in Rio de Janeiro and she started to relate the stories of her youth. Her dreams became more alive than ever! “In the market I came across a woman behind a stand selling flip flops that she decorated herself. I stood there glued to the ground and saw my entire childhood on that table. It was as if I was seeing myself as a child, plucked from the jungle, sitting with a needle and thread making my worn-out flip flops nicer.” That evening she began writing her business plan for designing flip flops in the Netherlands. The next day Uzurri was Born!

In 2011, Uzurii Luxury Footwear was officially launched and made its way into the world of high fashion. All the designs were made by hand and demanded a special technique. For more than a year, Shieglee flew all over the world to train more than 100 women. These women do not work in a studio, but from home. That way, they can work in their own environment and also take care of their children. Each pair of Uzurii that we receive is pure craftsmanship.” Nowadays, the luxury footwear is sold in the higher segment of shoes and fashion stores in more than 1,400 stores spread over 46 countries. Every year the collection is expanded with a higher segment of Uzuriis and a wider collection of bags. Wholesale NL : info@uzurii.com BE: Jo@hooijergroep.nl T +32 499775740 Photo credit: Uzurii