How Earth Sole Meets Australia

Starting a brand is a bit like getting a child. You first teach it to crawl, then walk, and at one stage, let it run and form its own identity. For me, this birthing process has been quite intense. I had no experience with leather, shoes, or even doing business. I just jumped on the roller‑coaster and learned as I went. In those first two years, a lot of magic and synchronicities happened. Those crazy moments became less over time, but this summer it was there, as big and bright as it could have been, and it was impossible to miss.

But let's go back to the very start. Three years ago, one cold winter night in Cape Town sitting by the fire, I started playing with words. I was looking for a suitable name for our natural grounding shoes. I wanted something with Earth in it, and liked the wordplay with Sole and Soul. Although it had taken months, it clicked: Earth Sole was born. Then it was time for a logo. I had known from the start of the shoes that I wanted a logo on the back loop. Something a tribal, with some lines and dots, and something in length to fit nicely at the back of this loop. Since my visit to Australia back in 2019, I've always wanted to go back. And feeling inspired by the Aboriginal culture, I started looking into Aboriginal signs for my new logo. It didn’t take long before one caught my eye: Resting Place. It was perfect. The circle would become the O of “Sole.” It was beautiful, and in connection with the country I have always felt drawn to go back to, Australia.

With our new name and logo, we continued in the years to follow to grow the brand. With our amazing team we produce our the shoes by hand, I worked hard to get every shoe size perfectly fitted, kept improving the quality, and made small design changes to make them last longer. Finally and only at the start of summer, we got to emboss our gold and silver logo on the back loop. I love how it gives the shoe that final touch!

By July 2024, I felt it was time for me to move countries and continents again. My heart still held Australia close, but Portugal seemed like a good next step — closer to The Netherlands, and easier visa‑wise. After a year in Portugal — with a break of three months in South Africa to improve quality and shoot new brand content — I returned to the Netherlands for a while, with the plan to continue to Australia after. And if I had any doubt I was on the right track, something special happened on my way there...

Rainbow Magic

While moving with my campervan from Portugal to the Netherlands, I passed through Belgium, where a big social gathering called the Rainbow Gathering was held. A meet up where open-minded people come together for weeks in nature, cooking, singing, sharing, and living simply, without electricity. One day, I had the feeling—or a sort of “it would be good” vibe—to support in the kitchen and help prep for dinner. I started chopping veggies, keeping mostly to myself, as I can sometimes get a bit socially overwhelmed at gatherings like this.

When I asked where to leave my veggies, the friendly guy chopping his leek next to me looked up and asked, “Where are you from?” It’s a pretty common question among travelers, but usually people ask your name first—he skipped that entirely, just like that 😉

I answered, “I’m from the Netherlands.” He seemed a bit surprised and said, “Ah, okay, I thought I heard something Australian.” Though I only lived there for one year, 10 years ago, some of my words still sound a little Australian.

He was from Australia himself, here on a work-holiday visa, together with his friend Jonno, who is of Aboriginal descent. I shared how I’d visited Australia long ago, and it’s been my dream and intention to go back ever since. After a nice, long chat about our shared love for the country and its native cultures, I took a break, said goodbye, and continued my day.

The Sign

Sometime between sunset and 10 pm, people started calling and repeating “Food Circle Now!” all over the land - so everyone knows it’s dinner time- and just like that, about 600 people gathered around the sacred fire.

I wandered around, hoping to spot someone I’d know and found my new Rainbow friend Pierre, sitting right next to Kain and Jonno—the same new friends from the kitchen. What a coincidence! (Don't worry, this wasn’t the big synchronicity yet 😉)

As I’ve shared before, Australia’s always been there in my future vision. It’s a huge country, about two-thirds the size of Europe, and for some reason I had always been drawn back to Broome - a town between Perth and Darwin, two of the most isolated cities in the world. I’d only spent a few days there, but loved it. It’s by the ocean, no crocodiles, decent surf, and a relaxed vibe. I also knew there were many Aboriginal communities around Broome—and, as it turned out, Jonno was born and raised right there.

We chatted for a while, and then I realized: our Earth Sole logo comes from the Aboriginal sign language. I told them the story and Kain asked, “Which one?” I said it’s called Journey of a Resting Place, and described the lines and dots in the design. He turned to Jonno and said, “Hey Jonno, isn’t that tattooed on your leg?”

There it was. Out of all the tattoo's, out of all the sign language, out of all the people out there and in the world - our Earth Sole logo was tattooed on Jonno-from-Broome’s leg.

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With warm greetings, Anouk – Founder of Earth Sole