shoeboxes down from the mezzanine stockroom to the cash register where the awaiting customers can catch them. One of the doors between the Keen offices and Keen Garage is a sliding wooden door from a dilapidated barn in Corvallis. There’s a table made from an old bowling alley, complete with shoes arranged like bowling pins at the end. Customers can crank a wheel to make the shoes move up and down. Keen constructed the displays for its Utility boots out of recovered scaffolding. And there is a sock rack with handles that acts like the old Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robot game. The playground-inspired kids area incorporates swings and a shoe display like monkey bars. The shoe rotisseries from the old store feature an improved design, and the old Coquille, OR, high school bleachers also have a place in the new Garage. Many other items in the store were harvested from various places in the Northwest, which would have ended up in the landfill as well. During the renovation process, Keen Garage employees were dispatched to scrounge for discarded materials that could be used in the store. “Designing this store with these materials has been like putting together a living, breathing Keen jigsaw puzzle,” said DePoe. Two other Keen Garages are located in Tokyo and Toronto. In addition to the headquarters and retail space, Keen also operates the Keen Factory on Swan Island in North Portland, located less than five miles from the Keen headquarters and Garage. “We are deeply committed to strengthening our foothold and continuing to build our business here in Portland,” continued DePoe. “How many other companies house their headquarters, retail space and a manufacturing facility all in one city?” Founded in 2003 with the launch of the Newport sandal, known for its patented toe protection technology, Keen creates innovative and comfortable products that transition from work to play. Through its Hybrid.Care giving program, Keen supports social and environmental organizations around the world. The company recently launched the Keen Recess Revolution, encouraging adults to take 10-minute outdoor "Recess" breaks every day to re-energize at work and be healthier and happier. Named one of "America's Best Places to Work" by Outside Magazine, Keen products are available in more than 5,000 retail locations in 60 countries. ■
20 MARCH 2013