San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Guide Book
santa venetia Goods gives clogs a fashion makeover.
Not all clogs are created equal. Santa Venetia Goods, the newest addition to San Francisco’s evolving shoe scene, isn’t satisfied with the sensible, albeit fashionforward, supporting role the clog has been allocated in the wardrobe.
“Instead of being made of leather and serving as a staple, our clogs are the show — the statement piece,” says co-founder Raquel Bedard. Santa Venetia’s clogs are leather-lined, but their embroidered, bold applique makes them stand out. They offer four intricate designs and a number of color combinations, Bedard, who was born and raised in San Jose, was always fascinated with shoe making.
“My mother is a seamstress and my grandma was a tailor, so I have that background; it’s just that I never liked to sew fabric myself,” she says. Bedard spent 6 years at Anthony’s Shoe Service, the longtime Financial District institution, after being hired on the spot. To make ends meet, she also worked bartending shifts at the Hemlock Tavern.
There, she met Gemma Greenhill, who moved to the city from London in 2005 to pursue a master’s degree in fashion design at the Academy of Art University. The women became friends.
“We attended a party together and saw a friend wearing these unique vintage clogs,” Greenhill says. “They could’ve been made by a grandma. We got curious and started thinking that this shoe could be modernized. We feel like a clog is a neutral shoe lots of people can agree upon, a universal style many ladies wear.”
The duo saw an opportunity to improve both the silhouette and the fashion appeal of the clog, drawing on Bedard’s cobbling background and Greenhill’s experience in fashion production and building strategy for brands.
“Taking apart shoes over and over again, I felt like there are areas of the shoe that generally could be improved,” says Bedard, who worked on giving the shoe’s upper the right shape. While the traditional wooden soles are imported from Sweden, the uppers, made of Italian leather and Spanish nubuck, are sourced from a local business. The embroidery is done in Los Angeles, and the clogs are assembled at a small factory in San Francisco.
Santa Venetia offers styles combining marigold, turquoise and dusty pink, or navy and deep reds, among others. The $399 clogs are custom-made upon order, and customers can choose from a slimmer or chunkier fit. The brand recently launched a limited shearling-lined clog, as well as a clear PVC clog and an on-trend belt bag, with the same colorful embroidery the original clogs feature.
“We’re in the age of minimal dressing, but we definitely think people are ready for a bolder shoe,” says Greenhill.
“We feel like a clog is a neutral shoe lots of people can agree upon, a universal style many ladies wear.” Gemma Greenhill, Santa Venetia Goods co-founder