Paraíba, Brazil
…they come from a single factory, located in a little place called “Campina Grande“, in Paraíba, one of the Northeastern states of Brazil!
Currently, there are more than 40 models of Havaianas and with all the colors available, that adds up to about 350 variations. It makes for any woman’s (or man’s) wildest designing dream!
Finding Havaianas in Brazil isn’t hard – since they’re available at 150,000 points of sale in the country
(I imagine right now my mother-in-law is so jealous…)
However, not every store will have all the models, since a lot of Brazilian retail is based on small stores with a limited inventory. It’s possible to find a pair of the famous flip-flop anywhere you go; even at the most remote beach village in the country – it’s guaranteed that, in the absence of a formal “store” or “market”, somebody would be selling them out of their house! And why? It seems these flip-flops are so much loved that owing one pair, just isn’t enough! It didn’t take long for Brazilians to realize that the frugal design of Traditional Havaianas was great for creative intervention.
Women customized theirs. Surfers started a trend when they removed the straps from Havaianas and put them back on with the sole side up. Tops are currently available in 20 solid colors. They, too, are popular for customizing. Brazilians use them to make Havaianas “bordadas” (embroidered) and “silkadas”, meaning, printed with silk-screen. Images say more than words: take a look at this video!
Even super-models wear them! Luckily Brazil’s got a Brazilian supermodel to showcase the flip-flops – it goes out of the stores like water! Just to top it off, the best reason to have them in your closet: Havaianas give back to the Brazilian community (and before my husband’s visit to the factory, I had no idea about it!). They’ve done some amazing work through celebrity contributions and donations, and it feels good to buy shoes that help others…
Here are some images from the most recent visit to the Havaianas Factory, in Paraíba, May 2011. And a quick and surprising piece of information: 7 pairs of havaianas are produced per second, and the factory produces 645,000 pairs per day!! Here is where the magic happens:
And guess what my dear husband ended up forgetting to bring from his trip??
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good feedback!
Manohara
January 5, 2013 at 12:48 pm
hi, is this the only pictures u can post, i like to see more insid of this factory, this is the first time im seeing factory
3rdCultureChildren
January 5, 2013 at 12:50 pm
No, I’ve got more, from the visit… it happened several months back, so, if you’d like, i could email you the images… let me know your direction. Kind regards, R.
Manohara
January 10, 2013 at 11:13 am
Pls mail to amilamsamson@gmail.com .
This cool , actually i never through that i will be able to see inside a slipper making factory.Thanks you so much if u could send few pictures.
Bye ,
MANOHARA
3rdCultureChildren
January 10, 2013 at 7:07 pm
will do, thanks for the interest!
Manohara
January 11, 2013 at 9:40 am
Ok Thanks,
i’ll be waiting…to see..
MANOHARA
January 13, 2013 at 11:12 am
Hello, it seems u have lot of work these days , it’s ok i understand.. when u have the time send me some pictures..
Also let me know is there any way i can help u.
Rene
January 11, 2013 at 11:13 pm
I would really enjoy to see the inside of the factory as well!!! That is really cool can forward them to me as well. renesalinas@gmail.com that would be really awesome
3rdCultureChildren
January 11, 2013 at 11:32 pm
Will do, Rene… just give me a bit of time… funny enough, I’m right now in the process of responding to the kind comments form readers, due to today’s Freshly Pressed {http://3rdculturechildren.com/2013/01/11/weekly-writing-challenge-map-it-out/}, if you’re curious.. but, just be a bit patient, and I’ll be happy to get back to you! Take care, R.
Joe
June 23, 2011 at 4:35 am
I have dozens of these, I buy a few more in new colors and designs each year. These are very comfortable and fit well. They are great for use in a slightly more formal occasion when wearing nicer clothing. They are also attractive with jeans and a t-shirt. The shape makes your foot appear smaller and more shapely. The styles and colors really accentuate any outfit and add…
3rdcultchild
July 25, 2011 at 6:14 pm
good to know!
- Kasia S.
June 23, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Since I was sick of all my old flip flops from the past summers I decided to simply throw them out and only salvage anything that was not made of rubber. I have always heard how wonderful Havaianas shoes were so I decided to give them a try and ordered six pairs online and it was a good choice after all.
Now I know why all this hype surrounds this brand because they really are fantastic. I am wearing the Graphite pair today and the color is slightly metallic and really looks like the dark lead of the pencil. The rubber sole is heavenly, very cushy and comfortable and the part that goes between the toes is seamless, good thing too since my last pair of old flip flops cut and hurt my skin to the point of me wearing sneakers for a whole weak after that. The color combinations and the wild prints an patterns are endless, I am going to get few more pairs since there are always good deals online for these. I think I can find a match for just about any outfit under the sun. These also make no squeaky noise when I walk and there’s nothing worse than sounding like a duck!
Great basic flip flop, A +
- Kasia S.
3rdcultchildren
June 23, 2011 at 5:13 am
Very funny…
3rdcultchild
July 25, 2011 at 6:13 pm
I agree!
3rdculturechildren
June 14, 2011 at 6:12 am
Thanks for sharing…
Jaime
June 13, 2011 at 7:42 pm
Brilliant – I will have to put the factory on my must-visits : )
3rdculturechildren
June 13, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Thank you, Jaime! Unfortunately, you won’t be able to buy anything from the factory site, but there are countless places to get that very special gift to that very special someone…
) Cheers and luck!
Heather
May 17, 2011 at 4:19 pm
I find it hilarious that on your Havaianas post, you have an ad for Crocs showing up! SO cool that you get to visit all the cool stuff (I am afraid that we won’t have time to visit lots of cool places while we are at post!)
I know Heather! Thanks for your comments! Hopefully you’ll have a chance to visit many more places!
alemdografite
May 17, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Gostei muito do post. Adoro as Havaianas e o modo como elas “invadiram” o mundo. Além do Finos&Fofos, onde você comentou, tanho também um blog sobre sapatos – http://www.maniadesapatos.com.br. Alguns modelos de Havaianas estão por lá
Obrigada!
Que interessante, a respeito do Finos&Fofos! Boa sorte a nós todos1 E vou visitar com certeza o seu blog de sapatos – amo, amo sapatos!:) Vamos manter contacto!