July/August Newsletter

Our mascot, Jack, is celebrating the 4^th of July!  And Beech Sandal Co. is also celebrating by donating 15% of all product purchases to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.  We are directing our donation to the outreach program for homeless women veterans and their children.  Check out what this wonderful organization does at http://www.nchv.org/.

Auburn University in Alabama has been studying flip-flops and their effect on a person’s body.  No surprise that use of an unsupportive flip-flop creates foot, ankle, knee and hip pain!  Read the News Release from Auburn at http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/news/359.    We believe Yoga Sandals® support the stability of the foot through the toe separators, keep joints flexible, and provide arch support through supporting the heel bone, allowing all the muscles of the feet to exercise naturally.   So, whatever you choose, please leave those floppy flip-flops behind this summer and protect your feet and body.

Beech Sandal Co. is going to Japan!  This is a country that has many styles of what they call “4 Finger” sandals and shoes, and we have been contacted by several distributors that want Yoga Sandals® there as well.  They tell us  our California designed sandals provide better support, and better toe separation than what they have on the market. 

It seems that the interest in our sandals is growing, both in articles and blogs, and interest from around the world.  We believe in our motto “Sandal Evolution®” and know that single thong sandals must be replaced by multi-thong sandals for the health of the foot.

We also want to let you know about Yoga Month in September.  This is a nationally recognized month, much like October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, and this is its second year.  The organizers of Yoga Month asked us to pass this message on to you:

ONE WEEK OF FREE YOGA DURING NATIONAL YOGA MONTH SEPTEMBER  

Throughout the month of September, people across the country will have access to an entire week of free yoga classes by visiting www.yogamonth.org. The offer is part of the National Yoga Month campaign which is designed to educate, inspire and generate awareness of the positive impact of yoga on health

Please check out their website for more information!

Please enjoy the remainder of your summer by doing the things you love both small and large.

May Newsletter

We are gearing up for National Flip-Flop Day June 19^th with The Better Flip-Flop® and our new Pedicurz™ colors.  National Flip-Flop Day was started by Tropical Smoothie, and on that day they offer free smoothies for the first 500 customers, so check out their website, www.tropicalsmoothiecafe.com .

Our sandals were dubbed The Better Flip-Flop by Prevention Magazine in July, 2007.  One reason all our models beat out a single thong sandal is the stability they provide for the foot.  No flip to that flop!  So this summer we want to be sure everyone gets a chance to try them out. 

So once again, we circled Times Square with our new model, Yoga Sandals® Originals² 

                                      Times Square Pic

These sandals have adjustable spreaders to fit your unique foot’s needs, as well as 5 color accents that can suit your day’s style.  It is like having 5 healthy sandals in one.  Great for the budget!

Then we introduced Pedicurz™, a fun little summer flip-flop for the beach, pool, travel, and of course, pedicures.

We sold our Fusion model on a fitness show on QVC, and they sold out of them in 4 minutes, a record for that TV Shopping Network!

Not content with that exposure, we put Jack to work, asking you to help us spread the word on a sandal that exercises the foot and keeps joints flexible.

See his offer below:

Get a FREE pair of Yoga Sandals®

Jack has a special promotion for our retail customers!  How many times have you asked yourselves, “Why doesn’t my spa/salon/yoga studio carry these sandals?”  What a great offering for their retail sales, a great gift of health and beauty for their clients/students.  Now you can help us reach out to them.  With their permission, share with us a contact person and a phone number where we can reach them.  We’ll do the work of letting them know about this great product, and if they order the minimum (12, and sales guaranteed), you will get a free pair of Yoga Sandals® Footwear, any model, any price.  So help us reach out to your local spa/salon/ yoga studio/fitness studio by getting us a name and number to call!  You can e-mail us at: customerservice@yogasandals.com or call us toll free at 1-877-771-TOES!  Thanks so much for supporting Yoga Sandals® Footwear!  And be ready for National Flip-Flop Day on June 19^th with The Better Flip-Flop®. . .Yoga Sandals®!  Jack says “Hi”!

A Parting Message for May, and the beginning of Summer:

Be sure to let your friends know about Yoga Sandals Footwear® and what they can do for joint flexibility, balance and alignment.  Let them know it might take a few minutes to get used to the spreaders between each toe, and to give them time to do their work.  As your toes are adjusting you will feel the relief in your tired, overly cramped feet.  And remember the key to most sports is balance and these sandals help train your feet for that crucial element.

March, 2009

Our new mascot, Jack,  has been busy at the office making sure all orders get out promptly!  Of course, Desiree and Val have something to with that as well.

Jack has also been helping Sandi, our media relations expert, make sure all the spring/summer magazines and “ezines” understand that The Better Flip-Flop® has arrived and the consumers need to know they have a choice between a stable, functional, healthy sandal or flip-flops that are known for their ill effects on the feet.

We do have some editorial spots coming out in Yoga Magazine and Pilates Style, and a Pilates expert is going to present our sandals on QVC March 4^th.  We are looking forward to the exposure, as more consumers need to know about sandals that exercise the muscles of the feet, align the bones of the feet, and help the whole body find balance and alignment.

We are a hit in England and been featured in several magazines in the British Isles.  Take a look at this link!  http://www.beechsandals.co.uk/latest_press.asp

The UK has focused on Yoga Sandals® Originals, and people are loving them over there.  What they don’t have as of yet is our newest spring/summer lines, which have even softer, hygienic spreaders, a yielding surface on the footbed for comfort and support, and classy looks created by our designers.  Check the website for our Fusion and Evolution models. 

We at Beech Sandal Co., LLC believe Spring is a time for renewal.  The longer days of healthful sunlight, the sprouting of seeds into trees, plants and flowers, the much needed re-energizing of ourselves and our country are all things to look forward to in this season of re-birth.  We wish you balance in all areas of your life (beginning with your feet)!

“Cajun Sunrise” Rose

Newsletter—Volume 5

January, 2009

It’s the New Year at Beech Sandal Co!

We have an exciting year ahead of us!  Our new models are already getting media attention, and have received an enthusiastic response by our customers!  These new fashion designer models are the “Comfys”, our slipper model, the “Fusion” slide, and the “bling” thin-thong “Evolution.”  Our Comfys were seen around Times Square over the holidays.   Take a look at this picture:

The biggest New Year news is we have a new mascot, Jack!  Jack is a Celtic Jack Russell Terrier with all the energy of the breed in a smaller package.  We have been trying to get him to try Yoga Sandals® Comfys, but it seems they appeal to his mouth more than his feet! (LOL)L)

A close look at his toes shows that natural spread that gives him stability and balance, even being a puppy!

Jack keeps us laughing, so we can keep perspective with all the challenges of a developing business.

Back to our sandals, it looks like our unique and health conscious sandals will be featured on television in February.  We will let you know more details as they develop.  Our design team is working hard to keep improving the sandal.  Our goal is to have Yoga Sandals® Footwear replace every flip-flop on the market.  Why?  Because our sandals are stable, and promote exercising the foot muscles while keeping the bones of the feet flexible by spreading the toes and  providing heel bone support.  Why wear an ordinary flip-flop, when you can wear a sandal that helps your feet and body?  So we will continue to work on our goal and improve our product.  Keep checking back on our site for new information.

Here’s the “special” specials for Valentine’s day, which is right around the corner.  Remember yourself as a loved one, as well as others!

$19.95

$29.95

Holiday Photo Contest!

Our Holiday Photo Contest had a late start, but with our mailing it is now underway!  We are sending out a bumper sticker, and ask your help in spreading the word about Yoga Sandals®.  Put that sticker on your car, or anywhere legal, take a picture of the sticker and your feet in Yoga Sandals® and e-mail it to customerservice@yogasandals.com.  We will post the pictures on our website until December 25^th, then take your vote on the best picture until January lst, 2009.  Whoever wins this contest, will win a spa package to their local Day Spa worth $250.00.  What a way to see in the New Year!  So check your mail for your sticker, your Holiday coupon, and the new brochure, or call us or e-mail us, and we will get one out to you.

November, A Time of Thanksgiving

Every day in life is a time to be thankful, and November is the time we really allow ourselves to focus on what is good in our lives.  We have two great announcements:

1)  We were awarded the Seal of Approval by the National Health and Wellness Club!  150 independent testers wore our sandals, and rated them in terms of comfort and positive effects on their bodies.  We received an 88% approval rating!  Details of the testing will be in the January/February, 2009 issue of Today’s Health & Wellness.

                                                                                                                         2) WE MOVED!  We moved to a much larger warehouse, and we now have the space to store our new lines of Yoga Sandals® Footwear.   These new lines were designed by shoe designers who incorporated the health aspects of our toe-separating sandals and heel support with fashion and dash!  If you haven’t seen them, go to our front page and click on the link that says (new winter slippers) to view these .  Also, watch your mail for our Holiday letter and the new brochure from Beech.  There is a coupon good for all sandals, and a bumper sticker with which you can enter our Holiday contest.  Read on for contest details! 

Holiday Photo Contest!

Our Holiday Photo Contest had a late start, but with our mailing it is now underway!  We are sending out a bumper sticker, and ask your help in spreading the word about Yoga Sandals®.  Put that sticker on your car, or anywhere legal, take a picture of the sticker and your feet in Yoga Sandals® and e-mail it to customerservice@yogasandals.com.  We will post the pictures on our website until December 25^th, then take your vote on the best picture until January lst, 2009.  Whoever wins this contest, will win a spa package to their local Day Spa worth $250.00.  What a way to see in the New Year!  So check your mail for your sticker, your Holiday coupon, and the new brochure, or call us or e-mail us, and we will get one out to you.

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Don’t have your pair of Yoga Sandals handy? Just take a picture of your feet spreading those toes and working those muscles next to the sticker, and we will enter your picture.  Remember this is a vote for the most creative photo, and we are thankful for the support in spreading the word about Yoga Sandals® Footwear!

Focus on Feet:

The BEST Foot Exercise!

If you have only one exercise you can do for your feet, make it walking on soft sand for 10 minutes a day!  That movement exercises all the muscles of the feet, and eases many of the foot pains people experience.  Notice how walking on soft sand helps your toes to spread, and feel what that does to those arch muscles!  This simple exercise is recommended to many athletes who use their feet in their sport such as soccer or running.  Try it out on your next trip to a beach or park.

Special of the Month

Check out our election special!  Wear the sandals that are the color of your party (blue or red), and count on the white stripes if you are independent!  These sandals have never been offered at such a low price, so take advantage of them now.  Use them on those Indian Summer days, that winter vacation, or just to hang around the house.

October is Here!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Halloween,

Fun Holiday Contests and More!

October is full of events, both life changing and fun, and our staff has been preparing some special experiences.

Life changing events are centered around the national Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign.  With companies across the nation, we are contributing some of our proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation.  This foundation promotes breast cancer outreach, education, screening and treatment programs.  25% of the net proceeds go directly to support the Komen Foundation’s Research Program.  The founder, Nancy Brinker states “I truly believe that within five years, breast cancer will no longer be a killing disease, but a manageable one.”  The major partner in Beech Sandal Co. believes that prediction as she is a breast cancer survivor.  See her story under “Blogging with Dr. Trenberth.”  For more information on Breast Cancer diagnosis, treatment, education and research, try this website: http://www.nbcam.org

The fun events include Halloween and our Holiday Photo Contest.  Halloween is a time to play with your children and grandchildren, encouraging their imagination.  We have some special Halloween charms to put on your Yoga Sandals®, and get into the “spirit” of that spook filled night.

We did our own fun photo shoot on Yoga Sandals®http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciaszIH5y_0, and realized what a great contest a photo shoot would make, so here’s the idea:                           

Holiday Photo Contest!

Our Holiday Photo Contest begins October 15^th.  We are sending out a bumper sticker, and ask your help in spreading the word about Yoga Sandals®.  Put that sticker on your car, or anywhere legal, take a picture of the sticker and your feet in Yoga Sandals® and e-mail it to customerservice@yogasandals.com.  We will post the pictures on our website until December 25^th, then take your vote on the best picture until January lst, 2009.  Whoever wins this contest, will win a spa package to their local Day Spa worth $250.00.  What a way to see in the New Year!  So check your mail for your sticker, and one more special surprise, or call us or e-mail us, and we will get one out to you.

Focus on Feet:

Foot Function and Foot Pain

Quote from Sandra Sammartino, who has taught yoga for over 35 years, and trained yoga teachers for over 20 years:

“There are 26 bones in each foot, so we can move over all types of terrain.  Encased in shoes all day, the feet lose their range of motion, causing problems such as bunions, hammertoes, flat feet, corns and “plantar fasciitis” which, in my opinion, is a term used for different types of foot problems.”

“Most foot problems are caused by the tightness and imbalance of muscles, originating off the bones of the lower leg that insert into the bones of the foot.  If the foot is restricted in its movement, the leg is as wee, and if the leg gets light, so does the foot!”

Her solution is to increase the circulation and movement of each toe joint, work on spreading the weight evenly across the foot, create more space between the bones of the foot, and wake up the connections that move through the body via never pathways (through aids like yoga, foot exercise,  Yoga Sandals®, and Foot Wakers™).

See her video on our website for more insight about foot function!

Special of the Month

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we are putting our pink sandals on sale for $24.95, and our ribbon charms at 50% off.  A portion of these proceeds will be donated to The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  While you are looking at our store, check out the Halloween charms for your sandals.  Celebrate the life changing events and the fun events this October with our Yoga Sandals®, the sandal for health and beauty!

A Better Idea

At Complexions Day Spa

It was 1998.  I was sitting in a pedicure chair at Complexions Day Spa in between psychotherapy appointments.  At the end of a very relaxing foot massage, with my nail tech just about ready to polish my toe nails, I realized I only had closed toe shoes with me.  I could use the disposable slipper and cotton rope they provided or walk away barefoot to my next appointment, and either way, it wasn’t going to be very comfortable for the rest of my day at work.  With visions of my next client wanting to talk about my fresh, bare feet, I thought, “There has got to be a better way.”  Really.  Long before that line became a buzz line for a TV program.  There, at Complexions, I dreamed of a sandal that would spread the toes for a smudge free polish, and let me go about my day in a good looking piece of footwear.  There, at Complexions, Yoga Sandals® were invented.   I believe the mind needs to relax to allow invention to flourish, and treating my self to a pedicure in a quiet, nourishing space provided just the right environment. That night, I used a single thong sandal, cut some rubber tubing I had, and sewed in separators for the rest of the toes.  My husband and I went to the library, looked through the Thomas Register to find sandal factories around the world and faxed about 30 of them a picture of the new sandal.  One factory in Indonesia responded, and was willing to work with a small order.  I sold an RV that I owned, and began Beech Sandal Co.  More research led to a patent on my invention.  It was very exciting!  I went to my first spa trade show to show off my idea, and met with enthusiastic response, press coverage, orders, and came home to hear my little Indonesian factory had burned down!  The buzz began that we were out of business before we even started.  But the factory owners worked with us to get that first order made in another facility, and we were on our way.   Now, in 2008, with a mention in “O” Magazine as a great pedicure sandal, and a mention in Prevention Magazine, as the “Better Flip-Flop” for the way the sandal promotes balance and stability, Yoga Sandals® is spreading out through the spa, yoga, health and medical communities.  It actually was, and is, a better idea!

Focus On Feet

Topic:  Hammertoes

A hammer toe is a toes that is contracted at the middle joint of the toe (the PIP joint), and can affect all toes except the big toe.  This condition is a result of muscle imbalance which causes ligaments and tendons in the foot to become unnaturally tight.  This tightening of ligaments and tendons cause the toe’s joint to curl downwards.  Hammertoe can be very painful causing foot movement to become restricted, and leading to extra stress on the ball of the foot.  To work on a hammertoe condition, you need to work to stretch and lengthen the ligaments and tendons, and increase the foot’s mobility and stability.  You can ask your podiatrist, movement analyst, yoga or other exercise instructor for specific exercises for your body and feet.  And consider wearing toe separating products that allow your toes to re-align, and work on helping the bones, muscles and ligaments of the feet restore balance as you walk.

September is National

Yoga Month!

http://www.yogamonth.com        

Yoga Month is underway!  The office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion designated September as National Yoga Month, dedicated to spreading national awareness of healthy lifestyles.  To celebrate, a ten city Yoga Festival Tour began in Denver August 25^th, and will continue in Miami, Boston, Chicago, Austin, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Vancouver.  There will be information, music, demonstrations of healthy lifestyle choices, food and fun!  Join Yoga Sandals® at the LA Event, Sept. 20^th & 21^st, Booth 27, and check out yogamonth.org for more information!

Yoga Month Specials!

In honor of the very first Yoga Month, we are offering our white/black Yoga Sandals® at $24.95, over a 10% savings, and a pair of Yoga Charms to put on your sandals for $2.50, a 50% savings!  So celebrate Yoga Month by giving your feet the gift of balance and body alignment!