COLOR SWATCH UPDATE

For those of you who have purchased a swatch. It's time to pull it out and check your colors! Make sure you have everything mentioned below. The easiest way to do this is to start at one end of your swatch, which will not be in the same order as my list, and check it against the colors which are in alphabetical order. If you have extra colors, take them off and toss them. Write down the color you're missing and e-mail me @ vivianb@stephenbonanno.com with the following:
Full Name
Shipping address
Phone Number
color(s) you need to complete your swatch.
























Current Colors:
Angel Blue
Aqua
Arbutus (Med. Pink)
Altic Blue
Autumn Teal
Brassica
Bois (Chocolate)
Bryony (Rust)
Bellflower (Periwinkle)
Black
Blue Bird
Chanel
Clementine
Citrus (Lilly Green)
Copperhead
Caramel
Cornthistle (Yield Yellow)
Charcole
Coral
Celery
Dromedary (Buttery)
Drupe
Emerald Blue (Turquoise)
Ermine (Khaki)
Essex Blue (Deep Navy)
Goldfinch (Lemon Yellow)
Green Velvet
Iguana
Imperial Red (True Red)
Ixia
June Blue (Robin's Egg)
Linaria (Hot Pink)
Lavender
Mohair (Tan)
Matador (Deep Burgandy)
Mauve
Nova (Royal Blue)
Nephrite
Oxid
Olivesque
Purslane (Soft Pink)
Pomme
Pate
Puma (Dark Brown)
Pearwood
Pumpkin
Perruche (Kelly Green)
Purple Ruffles
Pueblo
Regal Blue (Navy)
Roe (Washed out Nantucket Red)
Sable (Taupe)
Sagebrush (Golden Brown)
Skye Blue (Light Blue)
Shell
Tanager
Toledo
Tashmoo (Light Yellow)
Tristan (Blood Red)
Vermouth (Red Wine)
Winter Camel
Winter Taupe
White

Metallic Colors:
Silver (Metallic)
Platinum (Metallic)
Gold (Metallic)
Pewter (Metallic)

Faux Gator Skins:
Brown Gator
Black Gator
White Gator

Faux Croc Skins:
Black Croc
Brown Croc

Patent Leather Colors:
Black Patent
White Patent

If you want to purchase a color swatch:
Click below on the
Color Swatch

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Stephen Bonanno is not only a mouth full to say, but sometimes can get pretty tricky to spell. So, we've added a second link to our website that makes it so much easier ...

www.SBsandals.com

So either link:
www.stephenbonanno.com
or
www.sbsandals.com
will take you to our website.

People say the Strangest Things

Amy, a new customer from Minnesota decked in Lilly and looking adorable, stopped in our Stuart boutique Saturday to check out our sandals. She's looking at all the styles while talking with Domenick, I'm sitting with her friend Dee Dee chatting about our new space when I hear Domenick burst out, "Viv, you've gotta hear this one" ...

Hold onto your seats folks, here is another totally ridiculous story that Amy heard from a boutique owner in Minnesota who sells Jacks.

"Jack Rogers and Benny Bonanno were gay lovers, they had a falling out, and went their separate ways with the sandals."

Yikes! Who thinks up these stories?!

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

Happy Mother's Day Mom,
from me and Domenick, Stephen and Monica, Tracey and Fred, David and Su and all your grandchildren, great grandchildren and Rippy too.
XXOO, we love you.

In honor of Mother's day and upcoming Father's Day, I thought it would be nice to show the shop where I grew up, my first job as cashier and duster, and most important, where it all started with Bonanno sandals.

Below is a photo which ran in the local newspaper, The Palm Beach Post, taken of my Mom gluing the soles of the sandals before my Dad would stitch, sand and stain them. I wish I had a photo of her whipstitching the sandals or hand punching the patterns. It was such a cool process to watch, but I can't find a thing.



















Below, is my Dad and Stephen, age 16, at "Dixie Shoe Repair" on Dixie Hwy. W. Palm Beach and if you look really close, you'll see in the right hand corner of the photo, a painted sign and the actual Navajo sandals my Dad made and set on his counter for his customers to order, one pair at a time. He never thought to mass market his sandals. And I think by now you all know the rest of the story.
Click on photo to enlarge

















Oh the memories ... Dad would have bins stacked floor to ceiling with ladies heels in all shapes colors and styles. I would pull out a handful of heels and spend my weekends playing house. Heels were my dolls in the shop. The high spiked heels were the sophisticated ladies, the thick stacked heels were the Mothers and the kitten heels were the young Barbi types. I played for hours.
Quite an imagination ;)

BONANNO'S vs JACKS

A lot of people often wonder what the differences are between the Bonanno's and Jack's, so I've put together a list. I hope this helps:
Bonanno: The Original.
My father made them back in the 60's with Mr.. Luigi Pucillo, his partner. My mother cut out the leather into patterns, the long thin strips for the whipstitch as well as punched every single hole by hand. She put together all the tops of the sandals chose the colors she thought would show nice on her counter, while my father glued, stitched and sanded the soles. The Bonanno name was never stamped into the sole until my brother took over the business in the 1980s.
Jack: Imitation.
They saw a good thing, copied and mass produced them and sold them in dept stores. There is no patent on a shoe so more power to them.

Bonanno: My brother continues the tradition ... every single pair is hand-crafted in W. Palm Beach Florida USA!
Jack: I've heard parts are shipped from overseas and assembled in Miami.

Bonanno: True B width, and true half sizes.
Jack: Run narrow, do not have true half sizes. Their half sizes are really whole sizes with wider tops.

Bonanno: 100% leather
Jack: Part leather part synthetic man made materials.
Customers come into our boutique with Jacks in hand and show us the underside where it has cracked and wonder why. That's VINYL folks!

Bonanno: We use the finest kid skin leather for the uppers. The leather is dyed.
Jack: They use calf skin for their uppers. Their leather is painted.

Bonanno: Approx. 75 colors and over 5000 combos. to choose from.
Jack: Limited selection.

Bonanno: Customize your colors.
Jack: From what I've heard, you can't.

Bonanno: Custom fitting.
Jack: As far as I know, they do not.

Bonanno: Repair dept. on site in W. Palm Beach. Resole when sandals are worn out.
Jack: As far as I know, there is no one at the company you can call for repairs, forget about resoles.

Bonanno: Very comfortable.
Jack: I have heard time and time again Jacks are uncomfortable, but I've never worn them, for obvious reasons.

Bonanno: The classic was originally known as the "Navajo", but when my brother took over the business he renamed them the "Palm Beach" classic with Jackie Kennedy in mind.
Jack: Still refers to them as the Navajos but lately I've noticed on some of the sites selling JRs, they're calling them "Palm Beach." What a surprise!

Bonanno: We pride ourselves with excellent customer service. You have a problem, you talk directly to me or Rick at the factory.
Jack: I wouldn't know, but I'd be curious if you have any stories to share.

Ridiculous Stories I've heard along the way:
Jack Rogers and my dad Benny Bonanno are brothers or cousins who had a falling out and went their separate ways with the sandals.
To set the record straight:
Jack is not my uncle or my cousin. I've never met the man.

Ridiculous Stories I've heard along the way:
Jacqueline Kennedy wore only Jacks.
To set the record straight:
I'm sure she was forced to ... in a pinch. ;-)

Ridiculous Stories I've heard along the way:
It was the Jack Rogers sandals that made Oprah's top 10 O list back in 2002.
To set the record straight:
Hell no. They are Bonanno's and now her producers are ordering our sandals too!

Ridiculous Stories I've heard along the way:
Lilly Pulitzer and her daughters are wearing Jack Rogers sandals in Quest Magazine January issue 2007.
To set the record straight:
Don't even get me going ... No, they are not Jacks. The photo editor admitted later she just assumed this and went with it. March has the mini retraction if you care to check it out.
P.S. Lilly and her daughters go directly to the factory to get their sandals.

SUNFEST BEADS

Since 2004 when we opened the boutqiue we've been collecting the beads. The picture shows Sunfest beads from the past 3 years.


















This year's beads celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Sunfest.

LET THE MADNESS BEGIN

I have Lots to share ... First and foremost, if you've left me an e-mail or voice mail and I haven't gotten back to you, please contact me again on Sunday so I can get your questions answered and your orders processed. We have been so busy I am afraid I have forgotten to get back to a few of you, I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.Vivian

For instant gratification ... Stuart Boutique has a good selection of in-stock sandals at Sunfest prices! Grab and Go! We're open from Noon to 4p.m. on Sunday or call us @ 866-313-FEET (3338), we'll ship them out to you on Monday.

SPECIAL NOTE: If you want to bypass the sale and get a quicker turn around time use keywords: "bypass sale". You will be charged full price and your sandals will be in production for approx 3 weeks and then shipped out.

SUNDAY IS THE LAST DAY!!!!
Web orders use key word "sunfest"

WHAT IS THE SUNFEST SALE?
Our annual sale coinsides with the festival in W. Palm Beach.
We offer in-stock or custom ordering on all Bonanno style sandals and handbags @ $20.00 OFF each pair (no limit).

HOW CAN I ORDER?
WEB: http://www.stephenbonanno.com/ please remember, our shopping cart will not show the discount, but rest assured before your credit card is charged I will apply the sale price. Just add the keyword "sunfest" in special instructions.
PHONE: (Thursday 10 a.m.) 866-313-FEET (3338) If you get a machine, keep it brief, just leave your name and number and we will get back to you ASAP. You'll be locked in at the sale price.
Stuart Boutique: 15 SW Flagler Ave Downtown Stuart (Sunday) 772-219-8008
Sunfest in WPB: Sunday
Sunfest sale ends @ Sunday Midnight PST (on the web)

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO GET MY SANDALS?
During the sale we are inundated with orders ... so with the great savings come a longer wait time of up to 12 weeks.

Have fun!