The dream behind Earth Sole

My name is Anouk Anansi, and I'm the founder of Earth Sole. My shoe journey began in December 2020 in South Africa, where I was living at the time. On a rainy day at a festival, my friend Sarah showed me some leather offcuts and said, "Let's make something." And that is where it all started.

Not long before, I had been inspired by the idea of grounding — staying connected to the earth — through the documentary The Earthing Movie. I spent much of my time barefoot while living in my caravan and surrounded by nature. But as I was moving back to the city of Cape Town, I wanted a simple shoe that would still keep me grounded. So at that festival, I decided to make my own pair of barefoot shoes.

Creafting the very first Earth Sole!

Over the following year, many people fell in love with my shoes. And even though I had no experience in business, leatherworking or shoemaking, I really liked the idea that others could also benefit from a healthy, comfortable shoe. That's why I decided to give it a go.

In May 2022, I officially began. I measured hundreds of people's feet to get a better understanding of feet and sizing. I started with the women's sizes, and for some of them I must have made around 50 versions — changing the length or shape of the heel, the front part or the sole each time. My mission was to create a fit that really feels like a second skin for every size. To be honest, if I had known how much work this would be (I ended up developing 10 sizes — 5 men's and 5 women's), I probably would have made a better plan, for instance by finding suitable barefoot lasts!

But soon I met amazing people who became part of my team. Natasha has been with me from the very beginning. She has a form of autism and had never had a regular job before. Seeing how fulfilling this work is for her brings me a lot of joy. Our stitchers also became an important part of the team. Natasha would drop the shoes off at their other jobs, and in the evenings they would do the stitching while sitting in front of the television. They told me it feels like a form of meditation, which of course, made me very happy.

So much magic has happened during the journey of building Earth Sole. Even before we officially started, I connected with several large upholstery companies in Cape Town through 'coincidence' that supplied us with their leather offcuts. Giving leather a second life has always been an important part of the journey.

But the most important part has been my customers, who have continued to be so enthusiastic and supportive of our shoes — how they feel and how they look. I often hear, "I've been looking for a shoe like this for so long!" That enthusiasm was especially valuable during the times when our sizing wasn't quite right. Just when I thought we had finally perfected a certain size, a few months later we would receive feedback that the shoes were either too loose or too tight. It always came in waves. Was it the leather? Was it because every pair is handmade? Or was it simply the unique shape of each customer's feet? But whatever it was: we had to solve it, and we always did.

And now, I'm proud of what we do and what we great. And my big dream is for every nature and barefoot lover to own a pair of Earth Soles - simply because they deserve it! With love

Anouk Anansi