The Two Charlottes Behind Every Pair: The Kitchen Table Story
In 2016, Charlotte watched her grandmother Marguerite give up the sandals she loved because no one made them for feet like hers anymore. She promised her grandmother she'd fix that. It took her ten years to keep that promise.
A Grandmother Who Never Complained
For most of her life, Marguerite was the woman who never sat down. She ran a bakery counter for thirty years, raised four children, and was still on her feet twelve hours a day well into her sixties.
She never complained about her feet. Not once. But Charlotte noticed the wincing when she thought no one was looking, the shoes lined up by the door that she'd stopped wearing, the quiet way she started saying no to walks she used to love.
The Question That Started Everything
One evening in 2016, seventeen-year-old Charlotte sat across from her grandmother at the kitchen table and asked her directly: "Grand-maman, why do you stop wearing sandals you like?"
Marguerite was quiet for a long moment. Then she said something Charlotte never forgot: "They make sandals for young feet that look good in photographs. Nobody makes them for feet that have actually worked."
Charlotte didn't know how to sew, pattern, or last a shoe. But she knew she wanted to fix that sentence. "Give me time," she told her grandmother. "I'll make you a pair that doesn't hurt."
Ten Years, More Failures Than She'll Admit
Charlotte apprenticed under a shoemaker in Quebec City for three years, learning last-shaping, strap tension, and sole construction from the ground up. She tested every prototype on her grandmother first, because if it didn't work for Marguerite's feet, it wasn't finished.
Adjustable straps instead of rigid buckles. Wider platforms that spread weight evenly. Cushioned footbeds that hold their shape after months of wear, not weeks. Every design choice traced back to one conversation at a kitchen table.
"Now This One, We Keep"
In 2024, Charlotte handed her grandmother a finished pair and asked her to walk to the mailbox and back. Marguerite did — twice, then a third time just to be sure. She looked at her granddaughter and said, "Now this one, we keep."
That sandal became the foundation of the collection we're bringing to By Charlottes Canada — the same adjustable comfort, the same forgiving soles, the same obsession with feet that have actually worked a full day.
We're closing out this run at a steep discount to make room for next season. If you've been putting off replacing the pair falling apart in your closet, this is the moment Charlotte would want you to take it.
More Than Just Customers. They Became Part of Her Story.
"I bought a pair 8 months ago and they're still my favourite. It's more than a sandal. It feels like a piece of someone's care."
— Danielle T., Ontario
✓ Verified Customer
"When I opened the box, I went quiet. It reminded me of my own grandmother's feet after a long day. This collection means so much."
— Marie-Claude S., Quebec
✓ Verified Customer
"These were my first real gift to myself after my knee surgery. I still wear them every week. Thank you, Charlotte, for everything you've made."
— Susan G., Alberta
✓ Verified Customer
"It's not just the leather. It's the life in it. I've never felt more connected to the story behind something I bought."
— Amélie R., British Columbia
✓ Verified Customer
Marguerite's Personal Collection
Is Now Available
"I bought a pair of the Maevis sandals after reading Charlotte's story, and I can't explain how it felt when I put them on. You can feel the years, the patience, the quiet care in every stitch. It's more than a sandal. It's like wearing someone's promise."
— Danielle
Verified Customer
Customer Favorites (limited stock)
SHIPPING & RETURNS: Free shipping on orders over $100. 30-day return policy on unused items in original packaging, for a full refund or exchange, as stated on bycharlottes.ca at time of publication.