Barefoot, Bambalapitiya

The business at this location was originally started by that erstwhile gem merchant from the south, Ahamed Salih, under the name of Ahmed Salie & brothers, where he carried on his lucrative gem business catering to both tourists and locals up to the early seventies.

The store has since changed ownership and has been transformed into a general tourist store offering a variety of Sri Lankan produce and also a wonderful collection of valuable books and publications by Barbara Sansoni, who is an artist, writer and designer who has exhibited her drawings and woven panels across Asia, Europe and North America. She founded Barefoot in the mid Seventies and has been the designer of rural fabrics and handwoven products of Sri Lanka. Her work is characterized by its colors and simple rectilinear forms.

The Gallery, within Barefoot, is an extension of the company that is popularly patronized for its music, drama, poetry and visual art. Some may claim that Barefoot resides in Kollupitiya since it stands smack bang on the border between the two towns. However, it is included here for all what its worth as an insrinsic part of the Bamba heritage.

A Gallery cafe has been opened in recent times which is patronized by lovers of arts and literature to share and exchange under a canopy of natural environment behind the main store.

http://www.barefoot.lk/home.htm