Walking with a Happy Feet

If you grew up in the 1970s or the 1980s, chances are you were part of the bakya crowd, the crowd that was "in" and hip and shod in Happy Feet sandals.

Since then the wooden Happy Feets have given way to mules and slides, Jimmy Choos and Manolos, Air Nikes and Sketchers.

Now Happy Feet has made a comeback and its "babies" who walked through the dark years of the Martial Law era can literally take a walk down memory lane–shod in Happy Feet sandals, of course.

Happy Feet sandals were all the rage in the ’70s and ’80s. It was so much the fashion that many Filipinos, from the high-class to the working-class, had at least one pair of Happy Feet bakya.

"Be good to your feet" was the company’s motto, proclaimed in posters in all its stores. "It’s a feat to fit the feet" indicated the care taken by sales staff in finding the pair that perfectly fit the customer’s feet. From measuring the feet to choosing colors to adjusting the straps, finding the pair that will make feet happy was practically a ritual. The process sometimes took so long that lines formed outside stores as customers waited to buy their Happy Feet.

Why the ritual? Because these sandals were more than just the hottest footwear around–they were podiatrist-recommended therapeutic sandals that "trained" the wearer’s feet to assume good posture.

The sandal "footbed"–where your foot rests–is contoured to provide your feet with support where it is needed to promote the correct foot posture and leg alignment. It is, first and foremost, an orthopedic sandal.

The sandals must be an exact fit so the wearer can enjoy the benefits it provides: Good posture, foot massage while walking and firm support for arches and heels while standing and sitting.

These sandals were designed by a German firm called Berkemann, which manufactures the famous Birkenstock sandals, mainly for people who suffered from "bad footing"–people who were knock-kneed (pike), splay-footed (sakang) or whose feet otherwise did not land evenly on the ground when they walked.

Rico Anonas, who now heads the manufacturing division of Happy Feet, says the sandal also "massages your feet as you walk".

The sandals, Rico adds, "relax your feet by stimulating the pressure points of your sole. If you look at foot reflexology, the more important part of the soles are being supported by (the sandal footbed’s) contour, so it’s really orthopedically designed."

But Rico is quick to point out that "it’s not just for people who have foot problems", adding that it works like a shiatsu massage and is for everybody. "When your body muscles are tired and they’re kind of hard, pag shiatsu, talagang pipilitin ng masahista na palambutin (the masseuse will use shiatsu techniques to force the muscles to relax). It’s that way with your feet as well."

The Happy Feet story began in the early 1970s, "when I was in Germany with my husband, Robert," relates Noli Fausto-Anonas, the proprietor of Happy Feet Inc. and mother of Rico. "My daughter Lia needed orthopedic sandals because she was pike. The doctor said all we had to do was get her a pair of Berkemann sandals."

Having purchased them in Germany, she said, "I thought that was that–but my husband was so impressed with the sandals that we talked to the owner of Berkemann. Robert wanted to bring these sandals to the Philippines."

Once Robert had obtained the franchise to be sole manufacturer and distributor of these sandals, he set up Happy Feet Inc. and began mass production of the country’s most popular bakya brand.

Stores were opened in many parts of Metro Manila–Legarda in Manila and Ayala in Makati among them, and Happy Feet was also sold by dealers in the provinces.

Though the concept for the orthopedic sandal belongs to Berkemann, Happy Feet was an all-Filipino operation. Leather was locally sourced, as were the wood and labor.

In its heyday, Happy Feet Inc. had three factories running full-time– two in Marikina and one in Cainta, Rizal–to meet the demand for its clogs and sandals.

But when the total log ban made sourcing wood for the sandals difficult, Happy Feet disappeared from the market.

Now, Happy Feet is back with the same basic footwear, but with more variations on designs for the strap and shoe height, as well as packaging.

Whereas the old designs were made either of light-colored wood or heavier, darker type, or a striped combination of the two called the "lollipop" sandal, the new generation of Happy Feet sandals are now made solely out of light, pale native hardwood like almasiga or lawaan or gemelina.

Rico says that, for the new generation of Happy Feet sandals, "we decided to make them lighter by trimming the shoe beds a bit and using lighter hardwoods."

There are now more styles to choose from as well–beginning with the original "Glide" and evolving past the traditional closed-toe clog to the graceful "Marizza," with its tapered heel and "Bobby’s" cushioned sole sandal–a design named, in memoriam, after Robert Anonas Sr., the man who brought Happy Feet and Filipinos together. There are also brightly-painted stripes and other summery designs.

Happy Feet has reopened one of its three factories, located in Cainta, Rizal, and "some of the old workers have come back." Making bakya, after all, requires a combination of expert woodworking and shoemaking skills and such workers are not easy to find.

Now that Happy Feet sandals are back, the wood supply for the footwear is still taken from locally-planted trees, albeit trees that were planted as crops, like gemelina.

Rico says Philippine hardwood is still the best kind of wood for Happy Feet sandals "because the wood is hard enough".

According to him, the things that make Philippine life exciting and exasperating–such as typhoons and long, hot dry spells–"make the wood harder, more compact".

The paucity of supply, however, made Happy Feet look at possible importation options. "We tried importing some wood from other (Southeast Asian) countries, but the hardwoods of the same species which we imported were still too soft," he says, prompting the firm to exclusively use local hardwoods for their products.

Leather and other materials for the straps are also sourced locally and made by Filipino hands for Filipino feet. Innovation in design, including the production of hand-painted sandals, using alternative materials like denim for the straps and adding ornamentation like beads and frayed edges to the straps, is also part of product development.

Rico added that, as has always been the rule at Happy Feet, the firm is "really paying a premium for quality" and does not skimp or compromise by haggling down the costs of labor and materials provided by their subcontractors and suppliers.

Rico confers with his suppliers, subcontractors and factory workers to come up with the product prices.

"I try to price (the) product according to what (they) tell me. If we need to add materials, or if they tell me that the painting would cost too much, I agree to add that to the sale price of a particular sandal design," he explains. "Because I don’t stint on the cost, I can be strict about the quality."

A pair of sandals takes three days to make–from carving the shoe bed to attaching the slip-resistant soles to making the colorful, inter-changable leather straps that are Happy Feet’s trademark.

The new, improved Happy Feet sandals are available at the main outlet on Mariano Marcos Street in San Juan, as well as in Cinderella, Beauty Bar and Shoemart. Prices start at P700 for adults’ sandals and P450 for the kids’ version.

Rico plans to have a Happy Feet line of foot-care products such as "foot powder, lotion, scrub and anything related to caring for the feet."

He would like to see Happy Feet stores mushrooming around Metro Manila again and, if possible, open outlets in other parts of the country. Happy Feet, after all, "is for everybody."

I did not have to go far to find people happy about Happy Feet. My next-door neigh bors took one look at my new Happy Feet sandals and began their reveries. A 40 something lady, with two children in tow, stopped to tell me: "You know, Happy Feet was one of the best things in my life. I was wearing Happy Feet as a student at the University Belt (in Manila) when I met my husband. He asked where I got my bakya before he asked me out."

Happy Feet sandals helped sustain Noli and Robert’s eldest son, Robert Jr., when he was a student. "He never asked me for baon. Robbie sold Happy Feet to his classmates and, whenever he exceeded his quota, he would buy ice cream for the family."

"Even (President) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has a pair of Happy Feet bakya," Noli relates. "She went to the bazaar at The Fort and the dealer there gave her a pair."

To keep your Happy Feet sandals in happy shape, Rico suggests, "wipe the footbed regularly and only wear them after washing your feet. The natural oils of your foot will take care of the sandal. For the leather straps, use saddle soap or a clean, wet rag to wipe."

Although they are sturdy, the sandals are not unbreakable. "The sandals may be hard, but they are made of wood. You have to remember that," he emphasizes. "Throwing them around will cause the wood to chip and crack."

Finally, get sandals that fit your feet exactly, walk properly and avoid dragging your feet. "The soles of the sandals will (slough) off if you drag your feet, as is the case if you get sandals that are a size (or more) too large for you. Take good care of your Happy Feet and they will take good care of your feet for a long, long time."