From inspiration to a brand - How Earth Sole came alive

I grew up in The Netherlands. This is perhaps not the very last, but certainly not the first country where the weather allows much barefoot walking. In the summer we're lucky with three 25-degrees celsius days in a row, and in winter, walking on the paved roads with 10 degrees won't be much fun either. I only discovered how much I enjoyed not wearing shoes when I arrived in hippie village Fremantle, Australia. But being barefoot most of my days was only in the pandemic, in the South African autumn of 2020.

Me in the mountains of Riversdale

During this time I lived with my partner, with his big school bus and my boho caravan in the mountains of Riversdale, South Africa. No need to dress up for anything, as there wasn't anything much around. I wandered around our gypsy home situation often without shoes, and so I did when we went shopping in town. I did love my locally made winter boots made by Zulu Boots for the colder days and nights, but when I could, no shoes for me. Back to Cape Town And then the pandemic started to, kind of, come to an end. Although we were still asked to spray our potentially virus-carrying hands with anti-bacterial hand sanitiser at supermarkets, ah and ofcourse, we had to wear our beloved face masks, life slowly went back into its natural way of being. For me that meant, I went back to my volunteering work with homeless people in Cape Town. About 3 months before this was going to happen, I found myself at a hippie festival in Riviersonderend. It was a rainy day and I sat with my friend Sarah at a fireplace. She had some leather off-cuts, and thinking about the time ahead, being back at the office and community centre of the NGO, wearing boots with hard rubber soles was a very unattractive idea to me.

Wearing boots with hard rubber soles was a very unattractive idea to me

Around that time, I had also watched the documentary Kiss The Ground, which introduced me to the health benefits of grounding: a simple practice of connecting directly with the earth. In case you haven't heard about earthing, or grounding, be sure to check it out! After watching this documentary, I knew my new mission: being in contact with the earth as much as I could, and rubber soles didn't help with this. So, back to the festival, my friend Sarah and her leather offcuts. I thought, how could would it be to make my own shoes, with soft leather soles? I made a simple design and enjoyed wearing them, it felt like I was barefoot, but just with a bit more protection. Less scratchy for in the bushes, less hot on the pavement (or cold, depending on your climate!), and more hygienic in cities. Ah, and less weird looks too, haha!

The second pair

To my surprise, in the year following, many people kept asking about them. I had no intention ever starting a business when making my first pair - I don't have experience with leather, shoe making or running a business, but I started to realize that I wasn't the only one keen on, or perhaps, being in need of natural footwear!

So I made my second pair, for my partner this time. You can see in the image how little shoe-makers-experience I had! We went to another conscious festival, and when my partner was wearing his shoes, I was actually blown away. About every 5 minutes, someone would ask where he got his shoes from. I started to open myself to the idea of... Becoming a shoemaker.

Let's go!

About a year and a half after I had made my very first pair, I decided to give it a real try. The risk was low. I didn't have to buy a lot of tools to make it happen, as 90% is done by hand. I met the right people along the journey, I was incredibly motivated by people whom I met along the way, patient customers, and raving reviews. I measured hundreds of feet to develop the perfect fitting leather shoes and spend up till this day, now 3 years later, refining sizes and fittings.

At this point, we have a small team in Cape Town and we craft 40 - 60 shoes per month. Each pair is still (and will always) made with repurposed leather, making every shoe unique, a limited edition and sustainable. Our flexible leather soles allow for natural foot movement and grounding.

Team Photo in March '25, with my amazing team members (at least those who are not camera shy ;) )

Why?

I’m sharing my story and the story of our brand for two reasons. One, follow your heart and the signs. So what you enjoy and if it goes well, do more of it. I have stood through many challenges, and many times I considered giving it all up. If you're curious what the biggest issue was (and still is), it is getting the sizing right! But every time I checked in with myself, did it feel right to stop now? The answer was: no, it didn't. And there was a big question I read in a magazine, that helped me in continuing my journey too. The question was "If you had all the money in the world, what would you do?". Still the answer was, making sure our shoes are out there. Why? Because it helps people connect with the earth. Because it helps feet to spread naturally. Because we give amazing people a living (our team), and because we use repurposed leather, which is doing something good that otherwise would have been abandoned (recycling has always been a passion of mine!)

I have stood through many challenges, and many times I considered giving it all up

Two, because I find it important for our followers, fans, and (potential) customers to know why we do what we do. Where we are born from, and still stand for, every step on our journey - thank you for being part of it. If you got inspired by our story, our mission, our shoes and our brand, make sure to check out our current designs: check our Our Collection! And please leave a comment, it is always so great hearing from our readers, Earth Sole fans and others that are inspired. Warm regards Anouk - Founder of Earth Sole