The Story of Soléi

Ever dreamed of having a business with your best friends?

To introduce, Soléi Sea is Kristina Saltzman, Jami Campbell, Ali Campbell, and Andrea Motawi. Three of us live in South Florida, and Andrea in Southern California—coastal living at its very best!

And here’s exactly how it went down...

In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Ali had an idea. She said to Kristina, “let’s make flip-flops,” to which Kristina replied with an emphatic, “YES!” And just like that, Soléi Sea was born.

Well...not exactly just like that.

First, Ali and Kristina enlisted our two other partners, Jami and Andrea. Next we set out to create a line of luxury, fashionable flip-flops that are set apart by one very important thing—comfort!

Once we had the idea, we hit the ground running in flip flops—and it killed our backs! (Just kidding...sort of.)

Designing The “IT” Flip

We talked about flip-flops that already existed, since we pretty much live in them, we’ve tried them all. What we found in our research was that most stylish flip-flops are incredibly and sorely FLAT and have zero support. And nobody’s got time for that.

So we literally ripped apart multiple pairs from several well-known brands and figured out what we liked and didn’t. After that, we worked quickly and samples were made in just six weeks. Once we were totally satisfied, (and I mean totally), we kept the momentum going and got our first shipment mid-January, 2021.

Now you'll find Soléi Sea in more than 180 stores throughout South Florida, the East Coast, the Midwest, California, Mexico, and counting! We are incredibly proud of this passion project.

Another Reason Why

In addition to being women-owned and operated, Soléi Sea sandals have a purpose.

“I have had this idea, this vision—of women-owned businesses all coming together and helping each other—collaborating and supporting each other’s brands and products. That’s what I want to do with Soléi Sea,” says Kristina.

She continues, “There are so many incredible women-owned products and brands. I want to connect with them and create a community for cross-promoting, conversation, and shared experiences and insights.”

Giving back is also a big part of the Soléi Sea brand. We’ve chosen several grassroots organizations to support with proceeds from the flip-flops; including one we established, Christmas for Kids. Christmas for Kids provides 70-95 children ages 0-18 with Christmas gifts. The kids are a part of SafetyNet, an immediate intervention and prevention service for victims of domestic violence.

The environment is at the forefront of the Soléi Sea brand, too. Andrea, our SoCal Sister says, “Sustainability has always been a mantra of our business, including using eco-friendly practices as often as possible. Eco-consciousness is very important to all of us.” 

Other things to note, Soléis are crafted of vegan leather, water-resistant, and the outsoles and insoles contain recycled materials. They are packaged in eco-friendly packaging and come with a cute, reusable cotton drawstring bag secured with a ponytail holder.

We celebrated our first year in business in May, 2021 with approximately 30,000 pairs of shoes in production, 180 retail stores and counting, growing web sales and brand awareness, and many happy customers with comfortable, fashionable feet.