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Dini’s Los Angeles was established in 2003 by dean fortunato, an actor pursuing his craft, and waiting for his big break.
At the time you may have seen him in the movie bad boys with Sean Penn and in episodes of Seinfeld, ER, Ellen, Quantum Leap, and Hunter, to name a few. His Broadway turn was in the award winning Twilight of the Golds. He also kept busy in commercials for FedEx, McDonald’s, Dell computer, and many more.
He spent a year in Mexico City doing a daytime drama for F/X. And his favorite role was playing Jason, in the award-winning Kabuki Medea, which began in a small theater in Chicago, and culminated in a world tour, and a run at the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington DC.
Little did he know that the road to stardom would be sidetracked by a gig job to pay his rent.
Dean was intrigued by Havaianas flip-flops, a $5 Brazilian shower shoe that was accessorized, for women with Swarovski crystals and included in swag bags at the Academy Awards.
Dean thought a simple crystal jewel in the center would be perfect. Not too glitzy….. but just the right amount of ooomphf.
He started gluing jewels on Havaianas at his kitchen table. He was so excited with the look that he brought them to a trendy Hollywood arts and crafts market.
On his very first day, not only did he sell out, but he unknowingly sold a pair to the biggest accessory rep in Los Angeles. Two weeks later she called him up. She told him to stop what he was doing and come to her showroom. Yes….She was demanding. The summer market was starting the very next day and she wanted to rep his line.
Dean‘s first question….. “what’s a line?” “Dear….your shoes”….she said “your Dini’s.” When he told her he had another gig job the next day telemarketing male pattern baldness remedies she stopped him cold and told him to call in sick.
An excellent choice because by the end of the weekend she had orders for over 1000 pair.
Auditions were put on hold. Actor, Director, and writer friends were dialed up as cobblers….and Dean’s apartment below the Hollywood sign became the manufacturing hub for the first shipment of Dinis.
A star was born. It wasn’t exactly what he had planned….but that’s life…..and as they say the rest is history.
19 years later Dini’s offers hundreds of unique embellishment designs on Havaianas. They’re sold in over 1000 stores worldwide including The Ritz Carlton, Bacara Resort, The Montage Hotel, and the Sundance catalog.
Thanks for reading our story and enjoy your Dini’s!
We’d like to write about our goals of reducing climate change, stopping global warming, and Minimizing our carbon footprint.
But to be honest, our first and foremost mission, like so many other small businesses, is to keep on Truckin’,take care of our families, and provide for our children.
By hand making, one by one, the highest quality product, and by our commitment to the very best personalized customer service we can continue to please you, which will help us grow and thrive.
With our growth and longevity we look forward to contributing more and more resources to our community and to the world.
With that in mind. Our mission is to make every pair of Dini’s with a special attention to detail, and a commitment to you, to do our very best, every day, to ensure a smile when you open up your package and slip on your new favorite pair of Dini’s.