SWEET PEAS
STACY-LEIGH & CHÉ-LEIGH PEINKE
START-UP COSTS: ‘We took out a small loan from the bond on our house,’ says Stacy-Leigh Peinke. TURNOVER: ‘Sweet Peas is definitely growing – we now have our own factory and six staff members.’
Twin sisters Stacy-Leigh and Ché-Leigh Peinke’s love for leather sandals began on a trip to Greece. ‘We saw the most beautiful metallic leather sandals there, but they didn’t have our sizes,’ says Stacy. ‘My fiancé’s dad has been in the shoe business all his life, so he suggested we buy a sample of the shoe and he’d put us onto some people in South Africa who could make it for us.’
At the time, Ché was working as a regional manager for an alcohol brand, and Stacy for a fashion accessories company. Despite having no real knowledge of the shoe industry, the twins took a leap of faith by quitting their jobs and placing all their focus on setting up Sweet Peas. ‘We believed in our brand from the get-go,’ says Stacy. ‘We’d given up our jobs, so we had to make it work. That was the driving force behind our business.’
They began working from home and outsourced production to a local factory, and launched Sweet Peas in December 2017. ‘It was the beginning of December and lots of women wanted Christmas presents,’ says Stacy. ‘It was also summertime, so we were getting order after order.’
Sweet Peas started out with just three sandal styles; now, they have more than 30, as well as mules, boots, leather accessories and a linen clothing collection. ‘We offer slim, regular and broad fit options to cater for feet of all shapes and sizes,’ says Ché. ‘We get about 80% return business – we have repeat customers who are buying seven to eight pairs!’
Most sales happen through the website, but they also supply a few shops in Cape Town, Joburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth. ‘We don’t want to be a huge company mass-producing shoes,’ says Stacy. ‘We cherish the hand-made process and the craftsmanship that goes into each pair,’ adds Ché.
Stacy and Ché have a great working relationship. ‘She’s the calm to my storm,’ says Stacy. ‘I’m an organisation freak, so
I like to do the books, invoicing and orders, whereas Ché is more creative. She’s in charge of all our content on social media, updating our website, organising photo
shoots, things like that. We don’t always agree on everything, but we know what we want for our business.’
Like most start-ups, Stacy and Ché have faced their fair share of challenges. ‘Lots of money, time and tears were put into perfecting our styles and getting them to where we want them to be,’ says Stacy. ‘And then you’ll find that other companies come out with designs that are pretty much identical. It’s shocking how quickly and how easily people can knock off your shoes. That has probably been our biggest frustration.’
And the biggest payoff? ‘The appreciation of our customers, and being our own bosses,’ says Stacy. ‘I get to work with my sister all day, which I love. We’ve got a little Sweet Peas family now.’
Website: sweetpeas.co.za Instagram: @sweetpeas_ handmade