Following Up

Last week I shared these photos with you from the No. 6 blog. This New York based clog maker was treating us to a glimpse of their forthcoming high heeled buckle clog boot, a clog boot that will soon be released in the colors you see here: string, penguin, rust, ash, mocha, and honey.

 

Reader Melissa Krebs saw these teaser photos and exclaimed, 

Want those No.6 boots in every color; I have been lusting after their aviator clog boots since last winter, visiting the images every so often just to fuel my desire---any company that labels a color "string" has gotta be represented in my closet and on my feet!

P.S. Just to show what a No.6 geek I am, I happen to know that "penguin" is their color name for pale green!

To which I had to ask rhetorically,

Can someone 'splain that to me?

And then it occurred to me, I know exactly who can offer an explanation: Karin Bereson who along with business partner Morgan Yakus launched the No. 6 brand a few years back. I wrote to tell her,

We love the name "string" for that dusky grey boot, but the question has come up:  how did the name "penquin" come to apply to that pale sage color?  

To which she replied, 

The name originally came with the color swatch and we loved it and decided not to change it. It was funny to us that it was neither black nor white and yet called penguin.

I have to agree. It's not a color I would normally think to associate with an aquatic bird of the family Spheniscidae. And though my quick Google image search turned up a multitude of avian creatures with black and white plumage, this fellow here was the lone penguin of the batch that exhibited any other shade. And even so, I'm thinking it's more a trick of the light.

 

Photo from The Murky Fringe

 

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I also received a sweet little story from a longtime ECHID reader. KD was thrilled to report,

 

After months of looking for employment, I finally got a bite. As a reward to myself I decided to take advantage of the funkis discount for Every Clog Has Its Day readers. I was so excited to be ordering a pair of unique shoes to add to my wood-soled shoe collection. I ordered the Zanitas in a size 39. After waiting two weeks, they finally arrived. I picked up the package from the post office and opened the box a little surprised. Inside were a pair of Zanitas with a natural sole, not a black sole as pictured. I contacted funkis to ask if I ordered the right pair and they said the soles should be black. I sent a picture and they apologized saying we could make an exchange. It turns out I got a pair that didn't have the soles dyed black. They checked their inventory and the pair I received was the only pair without black soles. After they looked into the shipping, they were so nice and sent me another pair with black soles gratis. I could keep the original natural-soled pair and got another pair with the black soles. So now I have two pairs! They don't look anything alike with different sole colors. The natural soles go great with lighter colored casual clothes and the black soles go great with darker colors.

 

funkis is awesome!

 

Well, you know I have to agree.

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[On my feet as I blog:  my own awesome funkis clogs.]

 

 

 

Comments

[Tea]

#1: I love love love those teaser No. 6 boots, too, and eagerly await the opportunity to purchase a pair, though it may be hard to choose which color.
#2: I love love love that you worked out a way to use the word "Spheniscidae" in a post.
#3: Wow re: Funkis. I would die with sheer enjoyment with such a stroke of luck.

[Lindsey Cochran]

#1. I share your lust. And your indecision.

#3. I did send a few waves of envy in KD's direction.

#2. I used it in a sentence, but I'm not sure I can pronounce it.  

[Melissa Krebs]

Say: sven ESS a day

Rockhopper penguins have some pretty amazing colors; the penguin you have chosen as an illustration does in fact have a white breast.

My favorite thing about penguins (and there are many things to love) is that no one knows the origin of the word, other than it first appeared in the 1580s and is most likely Dutch; those crazy lowlanders: my surname is Dutch for "heron" (my married name is Swiss-German for "crab"; so my name translates as Honeybee Heron Crab---as a park naturalist, was I born to the job or what?!)

@KD: good on you! Take those shoes and run! Were I you, I'd be wearing one of each, just because I could!

[Lindsey Cochran]

The bird from the family Spheniscidae

When referred to out of necessitay

Is simply called "penguin"
Though often the sanguine
Will attempt the Latinate complexitay.

[Melissa Krebs]

Not to hijack the blog, but that's dang impressive, Lindsey. Penguin. Sanguine. Ommph. You're good.

P.S. The pictured bird is an African penguin, not an Antarctic one; obviously it could clomp about on the beach in its clogs without worrying about cold feet. What sort of clogs would a penguin wear?

[Lindsey Cochran]

Warm ones.

[Johanna]

@Melissa: what do you mean, 'those crazy lowlanders'? I happen to be one of them... :-)
Nice to hear 'penguin' might be a Dutch word – we call them 'pinguïn' (pronounced ping-win).
And if his name is Dutch, wouldn't he wear traditional Dutch wooden shoes with warm woollen socks?

[Melissa Krebs]

@Johanna: No offense meant at all—I salute your country—could I afford it, I'd move there in a heartbeat! It is a place of great beauty, great talent, and great shoes. My dad's family immigrated here from there and I'd give almost anything to know more about them, since I am the last of my line.

[Johanna]

Hi Melissa, if you think I might be able to help you find some information, let me know. Lindsey has my emailaddress.