Scan Magazine | Design Profiles | Swedish Footwear Club / De Små
The man, the myth and his shoes In the shoe capital of Varberg, Sweden, a group of people have created a brand that combines Swedish innovation and Portuguese leather. Swedish Footwear Club has created gentlemen’s shoes focusing on quality and craftsmanship – and it all started with one man and his cigarillo. In a designer-dense country like Sweden, it is no surprise that some of the most experienced people in the shoe industry ended up creating a brand that oozes sophistication. What is surprising, however, is the innovative sole and the details at the bottom of the shoe. And it all started with a man in his Porsche – Mr. Hugh Wish. “We saw him on a sweltering summer day, sipping a Bloody Mary and nursing a cigarillo. He looked like an old-school British chap; more so, he embodied pure sophistication. A real gentleman. We just had to say hello,” says Jan Lanai, spokesperson for the company. “He drove off in his Porsche and we said ‘that’s our guy – Hugh Wish’, and the rest is history.” Whether it is their classic No. 001 Black or the original all-green trainer No. 007
GREEN, the brand’s best feature is one that cannot be seen but is felt: a tailored sole with a design-patented pattern that combines comfort with style. The Chesterfield sole is hand-stitched and made of antibacterial foam layered with the best Portuguese leather. The lush, green sole is a staple in all the brand’s designs.
Their detailed sole is a combination of Swedish innovation and Portuguese leather.
By Vonnie Larsson | Photos: Super Studio
“It is important to us that our shoes breathe quality and craftsmanship,” says Lanai. Each shoe is designed in Varberg, hand-sewn in Portugal using premium leather, leading to great quality but also great love for the product – everything to make the ordinary man feel like a cigarsmoking, Porsche-driving and whiskeydrinking gentleman, without actually having to smoke a cigarillo.
Web: www.swedishfootwearclub.com Instagram: @swedishfootwearclub_sfc Facebook: swedishfootwearclub YouTube: Swedish Footwear Club
Knits for your little ones, made in Norway After buying a knitting machine to make clothes for her children, mother of three Britt-Eva Knutsen found there was a lot of interest in the clothes and realised she could make a living out of her lifelong hobby. By Synne Johnsson | Photos: De små
“I don’t really remember how long I have been knitting for. I think I learned to knit when I was about six or seven years old,” Knutsen recalls. “It was my mum who taught me, so I got the hobby from her.” In 2017, Knutsen started De Små (which translates as ‘the little ones’) — an online shop selling knitted clothes for children, hand-coloured yarn and a few knitting patterns, all made by Knutsen herself in her own home. The hand-coloured yarn she sells, which is currently her main focus, is ordered in from the UK undyed and, for each hank of yarn sold, 10 NOK (about 1 GBP) is donated to a primary school in Kenya. The clothes are made of 100 per cent merino wool, and while her hope is to eventually make all the clothes
from her own yarn, for now, she uses yarn bought in Norway for her own creations. “Everything is handmade and I put a lot of love and effort into the things I make, which makes the products quite unique and special,” Knutsen says. She does not deny, however, that the business takes up a lot of time and energy. “Nothing comes for free —
that’s what I tell myself when I get caught up in the everyday life of having three kids and work and everything,” she reflects. “But I love doing what I do and knitting is such great therapy. I think everyone who knits would agree with me.” She adds: “All the stress is worth it when I hear all the positive feedback and I see that people really like my products. It’s such a great feeling.” Web: www.desmaa.com Instagram: @de_smaa
Issue 115 | August 2018 | 25