She combines PRECIOSA Seed Beads and luxury shoes
Successful entrepreneur and philanthropist from Cape Verde. She loves nature and has been doing business in the Czech Republic for 8 years.
In 2017, she established the Mónica Sofia brand, where she designs original, handmade shoes, handbags and other ladies’ accessories.
Mónica, customers regularly purchase beautiful leather pumps, sandals and handbags from you. This year, however, you have brought out a completely new and imaginative collection with yellow women’s shoes sewn with colorful beads. Could you tell us something about them? How did you come upon the idea of combining footwear and traditional Czech beads?
The hand-made slippers are this year’s hit. Just like the other types of shoes that I design, they are very comfortable and fit perfectly. It was my intention to increase the collection’s attractiveness and to give women an opportunity to let their hair down. And this has been achieved thanks to the appliques with sewn glass seed beads from the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads™ brand.
Your brand promotes high-quality handmade production. Isn’t that right?
Yes, all the shoes in my collection are hand sewn in Spain and Portugal. We use high-quality leather so that the products are durable and fit well. These slippers specifically are made from a combination of leather and cotton. The seed bead appliques on the shoes have been prepared by experienced designers from the Czech Republic.
2021 Summer Collection under the Mónica Sofia brand adorned by colorful glass seed beads from PRECIOSA.
Learn more about Mónica Sofia
Are you planning to add seed bead appliques to any other shoe models?
Definitely. We are preparing luxurious MS Praia Pumps sewn with seed beads, which will create interesting patterns, for next year.
A new Bridal collection decorated with luminous seed beads is also being planned. The sparkling shoes will go superbly with a bride’s wedding gown, but also with any woman’s party outfit or even an evening gown at a ball. Customers have something to look forward to.
You have already cooperated with Preciosa Ornela a number of times. Two beautiful photographs were taken for 2017 calendar. One is in a bath full of technical glass beads. The second depicts a facemask made of microbeads. What are your memories of this experience?
I was surprised at the photographs that had been planned. It was a very unconventional and mainly interesting experience that gave rise to two wonderful pages in the calendar.
I also like to remember the photography session for traditional African jewelry made from Preciosa seed beads. (Note: The Preciosa Ornela 2020 Calendar). That year, you were presenting the way seed beads are used by traditional nations all around the world and I wore multihued sewn jewelry from Africa.
You currently live in Prague, but before that you lived in Liberec. While living in the costume jewelry region, you also came into contact with the Made in Jablonec fashion show that takes place in January every year. As a model, you have worn models by a number of costume jewelry companies during a number of its iterations.
What do you think of the Czech costume jewelry made by the local companies and designers? And of Czech beads and seed beads that are sold, for example, on every corner in Jablonec nad Nisou?
I have been absolutely exhilarated by all the designs that I have worn at the fashion show over the years. I particularly remember a wonderful set of white underwear decorated with sparkling cut crystals. It was absolutely fantastic!
Czech seed beads are of a very high quality and their quality is apparent at a glance in finished pieces of jewelry. That is why glass seed beads from the Czech Republic are also so popular in Africa and why they are easily recognisable.
Mónica, you come from Cape Verde. This is a territory of 10 islands in the Atlantic near the western coast of Africa. African women typically adorn themselves with traditional, handmade jewelry. What is the situation in Cape Verde? What is typical for the local women?
The basic difference in comparison with Czech women is the color pallet. We suit distinctive colors and that is why we use the basic color range – yellow, red, orange, green, blue, etc. What’s more, we believe that every color contains a specific hidden meaning and so every piece of worn jewelry has great meaning to us. For example, yellow symbolises love, happiness, beauty and wealth. Purple represents strength, success and assertiveness. On the other hand, black represents sorrow, disquiet and isolation. That is why colored seed beads are so important and precious to us.
We not only use them as jewelry, but also to decorate shoes and handbags. It is also common to combine them with decorative items, vases and so on.
We also use seed beads to make souvenirs for foreign tourists, because Cape Verde is a popular exotic destination. Handwork with seed beads is very important for the local women, because it represents an essential source of income for them and the lives of their families.
Mónica, customers regularly purchase beautiful leather pumps, sandals and handbags from you. This year, however, you have brought out a completely new and imaginative collection with yellow women’s shoes sewn with colorful beads. Could you tell us something about them? How did you come upon the idea of combining footwear and traditional Czech beads?
The hand-made slippers are this year’s hit. Just like the other types of shoes that I design, they are very comfortable and fit perfectly. It was my intention to increase the collection’s attractiveness and to give women an opportunity to let their hair down. And this has been achieved thanks to the appliques with sewn glass seed beads from the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads™ brand.
Your brand promotes high-quality handmade production. Isn’t that right?
Yes, all the shoes in my collection are hand sewn in Spain and Portugal. We use high-quality leather so that the products are durable and fit well. These slippers specifically are made from a combination of leather and cotton. The seed bead appliques on the shoes have been prepared by experienced designers from the Czech Republic.
Are you planning to add seed bead appliques to any other shoe models?
Definitely. We are preparing luxurious MS Praia Pumps sewn with seed beads, which will create interesting patterns, for next year.
A new Bridal collection decorated with luminous seed beads is also being planned. The sparkling shoes will go superbly with a bride’s wedding gown, but also with any woman’s party outfit or even an evening gown at a ball. Customers have something to look forward to.
You have already cooperated with Preciosa Ornela a number of times. Two beautiful photographs were taken for 2017 calendar. One is in a bath full of technical glass beads. The second depicts a facemask made of microbeads. What are your memories of this experience?
I was surprised at the photographs that had been planned. It was a very unconventional and mainly interesting experience that gave rise to two wonderful pages in the calendar.
I also like to remember the photography session for traditional African jewelry made from Preciosa seed beads. (Note: The Preciosa Ornela 2020 Calendar). That year, you were presenting the way seed beads are used by traditional nations all around the world and I wore multihued sewn jewelry from Africa.
You currently live in Prague, but before that you lived in Liberec. While living in the costume jewelry region, you also came into contact with the Made in Jablonec fashion show that takes place in January every year. As a model, you have worn models by a number of costume jewelry companies during a number of its iterations. What do you think of the Czech costume jewelry made by the local companies and designers? And of Czech beads and seed beads that are sold, for example, on every corner in Jablonec nad Nisou?
I have been absolutely exhilarated by all the designs that I have worn at the fashion show over the years. I particularly remember a wonderful set of white underwear decorated with sparkling cut stones. It was absolutely fantastic!
Czech seed beads are of a very high quality and their quality is apparent at a glance in finished pieces of jewelry. That is why glass seed beads from the Czech Republic are also so popular in Africa and why they are easily recognisable.
Mónica, you come from Cape Verde. This is a territory of 10 islands in the Atlantic near the western coast of Africa. African women typically adorn themselves with traditional, handmade jewelry. What is the situation in Cape Verde? What is typical for the local women?
The basic difference in comparison with Czech women is the color pallet. We suit distinctive colors and that is why we use the basic color range – yellow, red, orange, green, blue, etc. What’s more, we believe that every color contains a specific hidden meaning and so every piece of worn jewelry has great meaning to us. For example, yellow symbolises love, happiness, beauty and wealth. Purple represents strength, success and assertiveness. On the other hand, black represents sorrow, disquiet and isolation. That is why colored seed beads are so important and precious to us.
We not only use them as jewelry, but also to decorate shoes and handbags. It is also common to combine them with decorative items, vases and so on.
We also use seed beads to make souvenirs for foreign tourists, because Cape Verde is a popular exotic destination. Handwork with seed beads is very important for the local women, because it represents an essential source of income for them and the lives of their families.
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