Every Clog Has Its Day

Featured Designer (from the archives): Multnomah Leather Shop

ince we're coming down to the wire for you to enter the Multnomah Design Your Own Clogs Contest (the deadline is Sunday night at midnight so it's high time you turned those doodles you've been working on into something you can submit), it seems like the perfect opportunity to remind you just who the creative force behind this Portland, OR, based brand really is. I profiled owner Mark Casperson over two years ago here on ECHID, but then I had the good fortune of being able to visit his workshop and see the equipment and supplies that allow him to craft his amazing designs. If you're not familiar with this unique shoemaker, read on. And when you're done, follow the link at the end of today's post and read some more. This man is an artist! He can turn out a purely functional pair of shoes if he needs to. But give him a glimmer of inspiration, and he can make any footwear fantasy come true. Just look!

 

 

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Featured Designer:  Multnomah Leather Shop

(originally posted April 15, 2010)

 

The Columbia River begins its long journey to the sea in the far northern ranges of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Heading north, then south, then briefly east for a spell, then south again, it seems to be taking its own sweet time getting anywhere. Born in British Columbia, it gathers strength in Washington state before making its mad dash to the west and losing itself in the Pacific Ocean...defining two-thirds of the northern border of Oregon as it goes. 

Such is life. A series of random turnings and apparently contradictory changes of direction that eventually lead us to a destination that somehow looks inevitable in retrospect.

In 1907, Oscar Auestad's own journey took him from his native Norway to the United States. Wending his way toward the Pacific, too, he eventually found himself along the banks of the Columbia River struggling to carve out a life for himself in this new country. He put his hand to one job and another without finding satisfaction 'til in the midst of The Great Depression he saw an opportunity in his own backyard. As a boy in Norway he'd learned to fashion clogs for the fishermen he grew up with. They loved the shoes for the way the wood soles helped keep their feet dry. There in Oregon, Auestad stumbled upon workers in a cheese factory who would likewise find benefit in the support and protection from the damp that clogs could offer. And suddenly he'd found his niche.

And quite a niche it was. According to a short article in a 1939 edition of the San Jose Evening News, "this quiet workman and his crew are whittling out by hand more than 3000 pairs a year." And the article goes on to praise Auestad who, thanks to "fickle fashion", has found himself "in on the ground floor of a new industry."

Advertisement from the September 17, 1941 edition of the Eugene Register-Guard

Flash forward 70 years, and the clog manufacturing company that Oscar Auestad founded is still going strong today. Auestad passed the factory on to his son, Oscar, Jr., who in turn sold it to one of his employees, Rudy Casperson, in 1964, who then followed tradition and sold the business to his son, Mark Casperson, in 1989. As Mark points out on the Multnomah Leather Shop web site, "We still make the shoes the way Oscar did in Norway, nailing them by hand over wooden lasts." And thanks to "fickle fashion", the shoes are still selling after all these years.

I e-mailed a handful of questions to Mark to find out more about his company and his distinctive shoes. But instead of just firing back his answers in order, he sat down and composed the insightful article that follows.

 

There is a long history of clog-making in all European countries. It may seem that now all of them come from Sweden (and now, of course, China) but there were many people making them in Norway, England, France, etc. Apparently any farmer (like my grandfather) typically had the tools to turn a block of wood into wearable wooden shoes in an afternoon as needed. Our founder, Oscar Auestad, was trying to make a living during the Depression and turned successfully to the trade he had learned as a young man.

 

There were never many clog-making companies in this country, although my father said that during WWII several ex-employees of Oscar's tried to make a go of it. I think that the mass production of clogs was really solved by the Swedish and Nowegian clog companies. We survive because we are different: we don't mass produce them and we offer individual fitting.

After my father took over the business, he chose the name Multnomah Leather Shop to help people find his store which was in the Multnomah Hotel at that time. Many places around Portland are named after Multnomah, the Chief of a local native american tribe around 1850. I like the name and customers seem to remember it.

 Kelly clog in purple suede/purple metallic leather

 

All of us have had our own impact on the styles, however I decided to start the two-toned wingtip and other styles because I like somewhat classic looks for shoes and I thought we could make them work for the clogs. Customers have suggested ideas, too. I got an email from a dessert chef in Illinois who wondered if we ever made Saddle Shoe clogs. I told her I'd certainly try and that's why that style is named after her: Wendi J. I welcome ideas from customers, although of course not all of them are keepers. The Kelly style was worked out by my wife with some tweaking of mine, so she got her name on it. 

Thompson clog in royal blue suede/black suede 

The Thompson was named for a local customer who wondered if we could do the wingtip in a laced version. The Bertram was for a customer in California who wondered the same about our Captoe style. Do you have any clever ideas for a clog? The sole and enclosed heel look has been evolving over the years. Most all clogs had enclosed heels before the mass-produced Swedish clogs began arriving here; we feel that the enclosed heel makes a better and more secure fit. My older brother Dean helped work out the way to put the rolling point behind the ball of the foot so that it moves you forward with very little effort as you step.

The basic clog style, the "Classic", has remained nearly unchanged since 1938, with various decorative straps added. Some of the other styles that were hot in the 40's did not do well later and were dropped; we have made several sandal styles and may try them again if I get some good new style ideas for them. 

 

 

 

Multnomah clogs are still individually made, hand-nailed and constructed of leather and wood (no plastic anywhere). Our heel piece (shoe people call it the counter) is a heavy piece of leather that will shape over time to match your feet. A plastic thermo-form counter in typical clogs won't change shape unless it gets over 280 degrees. We wet-last the leather over wooden lasts (almost unheard of today), which preserves more of the feel of the leather. We can make them for unique feet: wider on one foot than the other, or shorter on one foot, or even with a thinner platform for one leg for those who need spine correction built into their shoes. 

Embroidered clog

We naturally get customers who can't buy shoes just anywhere. I recently made some for a lady in California who wrote back that apparently she had never had a shoe made narrow enough for her and was very grateful that we could. Of course, our clogs' durability is a large reason for their success; don't wait until yours wear out to get a second pair, it might be a while. We have a money-back or do-over fit guarantee, we want customers to get the right fit.

 Logging clog

I'm proud that I've been able to add to the success of this unique business and bring my own style ideas to life. I know that global manufacturing is the current trend, but I'm happy to go on treating our customers as individuals. Not everybody wears a medium and not everybody wants Black or Brown.

 

Studded clog
 

Two additional things you should know about Multnomah Leather Shop. First, the smattering of photos I've posted doesn't do justice to the range of styles and variety of leather available. And if you're interested in ordering a pair from Mark, you definitely shouldn't limit yourself to the swatches on display on the web site. Got a particular color you'd like on your clog? Ask! I've been designing a pair for myself and Mark seems able to pick up any shade of leather or suede I'd like to use. And second, the sky's the limit. Here's your chance to think outside the box and draw outside the lines. I get the idea that Mark loves to create cool shoes. (And as proof he sent me a confidential photo of a clog boot style he's hoping to make available later this year.) So if you choose to step out of the mainstream and design a pair for yourself, you'll find a willing accomplice at Multnomah Leather Shop.

 

 

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Read more about Mark Casperson and see his one-person factory on ECHID here.

And don't forget to send in your Design Your Own Clogs Contest entries by midnight Sunday!  

 

 

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[On my feet as I blog:  skinny jeans set off these Claud clog booties from the UK's Love Label brand.]

 

 

Featured Designer: BRYR

repare to put your hands together because I'm about to introduce you to a shoe designer who clearly deserves a round of applause. Isobel Schofield is living the life that many of us fantasize about. Trained as an artist and employed for years in the fashion industry, she realized that she needed to make a change. And what a change she made! She walked away from her New York job and went in search of a truer identity. Happily, she's not the only one to benefit from Isobel's journey. Her path has meant that you and I are better off as well. Because what the teen fashion scene lost, the clog world has gained. Isobel turned to Sven Clogs to help her complete her visionquest. The results of that collaboration can be seen in glimpses in today's post and in greater detail on her BRYR clogs website. 

I'm tempted to explain her story, but I'd like to let the founder of BRYR speak for herself. The best place to start, I think, is her first entry on The Creative Sabbatical, the blog that documents her move from corporate America to the wilds of the human heart. It's quite a tale. And I feel quite honored to be catching up with it as it's just beginning.

[Be sure not to miss the BRYR discount offer at the end of today's post.]

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012

Day 1:

My name is Isobel. Like many of you, I've been working hard since I graduated towards my career goals.  In my 20's it seemed so important, but as I got closer and closer to my goal, I felt less and less like me. On Friday, I gave it up in the hopes of connecting back to my path. I spent the last 3 years living in New York, working at a huge teen clothing retailer as a design director. My job was well-paid, I had amazing benefits and an awesome team. So, in a sense, what I'm doing right now isn't really rational or grown-up (I should be buying a condo and having babies right now). But the corporate life felt inauthentic.

I know I am so privileged to be able to make this leap. That our country is in the middle of a recession, that people are struggling to make ends meet, and indeed even being born in the first world is an incredible blessing. I don't take it lightly. That's part of the reason that I want to share this experience with people... to show the fear, the trepidation, the excitement, the exploration, and to hopefully show that it is possible and that it does make a sort of illogical logic.

I'm not going to be talking about money on this blog. For me, this was the biggest road block to quitting, and I gave myself so many 'grown-up' excused for why it was stupid to walk away from a well-paying job. My situation is unique to me, as yours will be to you.  I am more interested in exploring the great white canvas that is life when you take away your barriers and work out what it is you want to make, do, and be.

I hope you'll come with me on this journey.

 

ECHID:  I love how words are so important to you. On The Creative Sabbatical you define what the Hebrew roots of "sabbatical" mean. And now with BRYR you've chosen a Swedish word with its own significant meaning. (Bryr means to care in Swedish and is pronounced like the English word briar.) Tell me about your love for language.

Isobel:  Honestly, I never felt like a writer before in my life. I had always expressed myself through drawing and making things. When I left my last job, I started The Creative Sabbatical on a whim. I think it was through that process that I learned that writing doesn’t have to be grammatically perfect, it just has to speak to people. Having a way of talking my truth has been an truly amazing experience for me and pushed me on. 

ECHID:  You say you left a cushy corporate job to do "something more".  What planted the seed for this journey?  And how did you muster the courage to take the leap?

Isobel:  I was very lucky that my best friend was going through the same transition as me at the time, so I had a buddy to go through it with. We supported each other and were each others cheerleader. I don’t think I could have done it without her.

 

 

ECHID:  Why clogs?  Were you a design director for a footwear company in your previous life?  Why did you choose clogs out of all the other fashion and design options available?

Isobel:  I think super cheap imports have really skewed our view of the real cost of things, and that’s really sad because it’s hurt the US manufacturing industry and economy in general. I believe that there is a new movement happening in America where consumers are looking for well-made, long lasting domestic products. It’s akin to how the organic food movement has grown in the past 15 years, where people want transparency and to feel good about where their money is going. They want to vote with their dollars for what they believe in. 

When I discovered Sven Clogs, I was so excited to have discovered this incredible company that was doing just that: making gorgeous, well made products and supporting the local economy. As a designer, it had been a dream of mine for a long time to partner with a company like this and make an amazing product that we can all be proud of.

And, of course, I love clogs.

 

From The Creative Sabbatical:

THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2012

My first shoes designed

Oh my god, I just designed my first pair of shoes with Marie [owner of Sven Clogs]! I sketched some out last night then we looked at them together and chose which ones to make (yes, plural!!!) This is the best day ever!!!!!!!!!

 

 

ECHID:  Where did you start, once you charted a course with clogs?  It sounds like you picked out the leather you wanted to work with and then the rest of the process fell into place.

Isobel:  It started one night when Marie asked me if I wanted to ‘make some clogs’. This was way more than I expected from my apprenticeship (I was just there to learn some leather craft skills). We ended up making 3 pairs of clogs and had so much fun we were jumping up and down by the end of it. Seriously. It was like love-at-first-design. After that, I was hooked.

ECHID:  How did you get hooked up with Sven Clogs? I've been to the factory myself. What a rush! Tell me about getting them to take you under their wing.  

Isobel:  This is a crazy story. I’d always had this weird irrational desire to learn to make shoes. I was going a bunch of research on shoe-making programs in the US, but they were mostly for men’s shoes, and I couldn’t afford them on my budget. Then I randomly bought a pair of clogs in Manhattan, and noticed ‘Made by Sven’ in the label. I Googled Sven and it led me to their website. I mustered up my courage and wrote Marie an email asking if she would consider taking me on for a 2 week unpaid apprenticeship. She called me half an hour later, not only happy to take me but also offering her Volvo for the 2 weeks I was there. 

ECHID:  I was very intrigued by your paper cut art clogs. Very unique! How did that idea come about?

Isobel:  I was in a log cabin, by a lake, with no tv, no internet. Creativity has a way of creeping in during those moments quiet moments.

ECHID:  You have a sweet fantasy that someday the daughter of one of your customers will find your shoes in her mother's closet...and want to wear them herself because they're so timeless. Is that a story from your own experience?

Isobel:  I can’t even tell you how much I love this question, because it means I can talk about my mum’s fashion taste. My mum came of age in Liverpool in the 60’s with the backdrop of the Beatles playing at the local bar, mini-skirts and fake eyelashes. In photos of her from back then, she just always looked amazing; very twiggy and fun. (Someone I’d definitely want to hang out with if I met her today). I grew up with a closet full of dresses from those days. There was one dress in particular that she wore on her first date with my dad that was an Ossie Clark, that is so amazing and still makes me feel so beautiful when I wear it.

 

ECHID:  Now that your shoes have been created and the website is up, what's the next stage of your journey?

Isobel:  Designing is the bit that’s natural for me. It’s the ‘business’ part that’s going to be a massive learning curve.

ECHID:  What do you think sets your clogs apart from other clogs on the market? Brag on your line for a bit!

Isobel:  I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. I was a tom-boy growing up, and so I like to feel sexy, but in a grounded, confident and smart way. I designed my line around what made me truly happy, what truly talks to me. When I put my clogs on with a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, I honestly feel good. It’s as simple as that. Uncomplicated and honest.

 

And listen up, my fellow fans of wooden goodness. Isobel was so pleased to be featured on ECHID that she wrote to say,

I've attached photos of the new 'Annabella' clog. I'd like you guys to have an exclusive on featuring this style, so I'm going to hold releasing it on my website it until your article goes live.

 

She also wrote to say (and this is the bit that should make you "Squeeee!" with delight),

I'd also like to offer your readers a 15% off all clogs! The promotion code is everycloghasitsday15off. It's good 'til the end of the day Sunday, September, 9th.

Let me employ a timeworn technique used in radio copy writing to provide emphasis:

Did you say 15% off all clogs? 

Yes, 15% off all clogs.

Um, what was that BRYR web address again?

Oh, that's easy. Just click here.

 

 

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[On my feet as I blog: I must really love these John Fluevog lace up boots a lot! I mean, I think I've worn them five out of the past six days! And for a footwear fanatic with over 90 pairs of shoes to pick and choose from when I get dressed each morning, that's saying something! Any other crazed collectors ever have something similar happen to you?]

 

 

Featured Designer: Marie Rivers of Sven Clogs, Pt. 2

 have to say, I am honored that I got to spend some time chatting with Marie Rivers, the owner of Sven Clogs. Beyond honored, in fact. I think the proper verb to use would be "amazed". The woman literally is in non-stop motion from sun up to sundown and she even runs home to make lunch and dinner for her husband. But what I didn't make clear in Part One of this interview is that I arrived on her doorstep on the Friday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend. She was busy finishing off a clog or two in her workshop before running upstairs to oversee the final stages of moving the contents of her shoe store and gift shop to a brand new location that was going to open for business for the first time the next day. I feel like going and having a lie down just thinking  about it. And in the midst of all that whirl and churn, she took the time to sit down with me and answer a few questions. Coherently.

The woman is absolutely amazing.

But I'll let you come to your own conclusions.

 

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ECHID:  People connect with clogs as being comfortable and healthy shoes. Even orthopedic in some ways. But there's also a fun factor of wearing a wooden shoe. Can you talk about that?

Marie:  Well, they are extremely good for your feet. I stand on the cement down here [in the workshop] 12, 14 hours a day. And in my lifetime, I've never had a backache. I never, ever get a backache. And when you've got comfortable shoes, you don't think about your feet. Your body doesn't know if you have cheap clothes, but your feet know if you have cheap shoes. 

For me, I'm not a person who thinks, "Oh, is that the height of fashion?" even though we do make fashionable shoes. But I think it's a shoe that you can kind of be who you are. And we've got so many different styles, you can pick who you want to be. I mean you can be dressed up one day, you can be casual. You can go all different ways with our clogs. So even though they're always basically a healthy, comfortable shoe,…you can pick who you want to be. Where with other shoes, if you're an athletic shoe? That's what that is. If you're in flip-flops, that's what you are there. But with clogs you can be whoever you want…with healthy feet.

And then since you can make the styles you want, you can be fun. Like Cecilia (Cecilia Tidlund of Clogmasters, another brand that Sven Clogs manufactures). She's got one customer who has a lime shoe with a magenta collar and then she'll make [for the other foot] the magenta shoe with a lime collar. So people can do all that kind of stuff [with clogs] . You can't go to Macy's and get that done. (laughs)

ECHID:  Have you had a request for a crazy design?

Marie:  Have you seen Cecilia's shoes? (laughs) She has crazy, crazy designs. She'll have like a men's size 48 that are yellow patent and orange or something. It might be for a pediatrician.

ECHID:  Like Patch Adams. 

Marie:  So we do a lot of stuff like that. And you know, people just can't get that anywhere else. 

And then you know clog wearers. You get one. You get two. Then four. Then six. Then, "Don't tell my wife that this is my eighth pair." Lisa (Sven Clogs Office Manager) has gotten that where "If you ship it on this day, she won't be home on Wednesday when it comes."

ECHID:  (laughs)

Marie:  And I find it amusing that it's a man that does that. And not the women.

ECHID: She's got her own stash going!

Marie:  Yeah! "Ship mine on the next day 'cause he won't be home Thursday." (laughs)

ECHID:  Tell me about your satisfied customers. What kind of feedback has made you feel good about what you do?

Marie:  When people say, "I've never had a pair of shoes that fit me before." Whether they be very, very narrow feet or really, really wide. (turns to Lisa) Like that one guy that was a size 50. We made him a pair of clogs. And he never had a pair of shoes that really fit. That's a big shoe. A very big shoe. But it's really neat when you can make something to fit because especially if they've got really narrow feet. They just can't find anything. Or two different size feet! We can do all that. And it just makes you feel good when someone says, "I love my clogs!"

ECHID:  What are you proudest of in all these years of clog making?

Marie:  (pauses to give it some thought)  That I'm still here! (laughs) Because when Sven and I split up about 17 years ago, that's all I ever heard was: you're never going to make it! Well, I had been doing this for many years, but "how would a woman ever make it in business?", you know? So yes, I did it. And I'm doing quite well. Despite all the guys who thought I was going to drown.

ECHID:  I was going to say, you can relax now. I think you've made it. You don't have to work quite so hard!

Marie:  You know, it's been 34 years of my life that I've been doing this, and it just seems like I've fought, fought, fought, fought, fought all the time. And then I got divorced and started from zero again. And I fought my way all the way back. And now, finally,…(takes deep breath)…there's cash flow. The business is great. It just keeps getting bigger. And it's not even the money, it's the game now. It's just fun. Because now you don't have to. Now you can just enjoy it. 

It's starting this. (gestures to the Loeffler Randall platform sandal clog) Getting a client like this. And knowing that they are a very exclusive client. And they like coming to you.

And like with J. Crew, I said, "Did you want private label?" And they said, "No, we want your name."

ECHID:  Wow!

Marie:  That makes you feel like…(thumps the table, voice brims with pride)…someone thinks my baby's pretty. (laughs) And that's kind of how I feel. 'Cause it's like my child, you know. And that's just how I feel about it.

 

 

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[On my feet as I blog:  it's Storytime! I seem to be taking a tour of my closet faves lately, and this staple from BC Footwear is back on my radar. (Different pants, though.)]

 

 

Featured Designer: Marie Rivers of Sven Clogs, Pt. 1

nd the subtitle for this post should be: What I Did on My Memorial Day Vacation. Last month I featured a different Sven Clog style each day. And then as May ended, I launched the actual 30 Days of Sven Giveaway (see the graphic at the top of the blog). And somewhere in there, my partner in footwear fanaticism, Melissa K., joined me on a road trip to visit the Sven Clogs factory. Yes, it was a kid in a candy shop experience. But along with all that, I also had a chance to sit down with the owner and visionary behind Sven Clogs, Marie Rivers, and talk to her about the shoes that make our world go around. And not just her own line, but also the wood soled shoes she manufactures for other designers. It was a lively conversation frequently punctuated by her ready laugh. I left in awe of the things she has already accomplished with her company...and the things she is about to make happen. Ms. Rivers is clearly in her zone, an artist reveling in what she's able to create, driven not by the need to achieve, but the joy of doing the work.

 

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ECHID:  Why the clog business? Out of all the things you could have done, how did you end up…not just getting into it, but staying in it?

Marie:  Well, when I was young my sewer broke. And I needed a job. And I loved to sew. And when the clog factory came to town, and I knew that they needed sewers so I went there and got a job and fell in love with it. And that's how I ended up there.

ECHID:  Are you saying one clog led to another?

Marie:  (laughs) Yes! I followed in their footsteps.

ECHID:  But obviously you have a passion for footwear.

Marie:  Absolutely.

ECHID:  Why is that?

Marie:  I don't know. Well, I love to sew. I've always loved to sew. And when I first started, I was probably the best seamstress there. And then Sven [the original owner] was working with samples all the time so we started working together that way. But I just loved it. It got in my soul right away, and I never got tired of it. And it's been 34 years and I'm still not tired of it!

ECHID:  Is it the sewing? Or is it….

Marie:  It's the creating. The creating. When I can have the time to sit and design, I just love it. It's just neat. It comes out like…(cradles imaginary new shoe in her arms)…you have a beautiful baby! And my husband's like: "You're insane!" But I love it.

ECHID:  Why don't you design more?  'Cause you've got ideas….

Marie:  Why don't I design more?  (pants as if exhausted)

ECHID:  Just trying to keep up with demand?

Marie:  It's gone from…in 2009 we did 11,000 pair of clogs. In 2012 we did 26,000 pair of clogs. Do you know how hard it is to train in people and grow at that rate? It's insane! Just insane. It's just something going faster and faster and faster.

ECHID:  In the time you've been in business, how have you seen the use of clogs evolve?

Marie:  When we first started in the '70s, it was more just the fad. And then the fad kind of went away. And you always have your diehard clog wearers. And then the nursing industry became huge for us. Just huge. 

But then Crocs came along. And Dansko came along. And that pretty well killed it. 

What killed the clogs the first time is that a lot of Swedes were out of work and the Swedish government bought a clog factory, Troll Clogs, and put these people to work constantly. And they were dumping clogs over here for like $8.00 a pair when the bases cost us more than that. And they were beautiful clogs. So that really knocked us down. 

And then the Danskos came along, and that knocked us down. 

And then the Crocs came along, and that knocked us down.

But…those are all plastic. So now when clogs had a resurgence in 2008, 2009, there were like zero clog makers left. There might be 5 or 10 in Sweden and a few here or there. But this huge demand for wooden clogs came, but there's only a handful of people that make wooden bottoms. So since we were such good customers, when I buy from the company in Austria [that manufactures our wooden bottoms], they don't make for anybody else because we've been keeping them so busy, plus they make their own shoes there, and then the people in Sweden. It used to be, you know, three weeks they could turn around [an order], now it's three or four months. So you have to anticipate what you're going to buy. And all these other designers over here that would order 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, or 100,000 pair of  shoes,…they can't get wood because there's nobody making wooden clog bottoms. And it costs so much to get a factory going, that there's not someone that's going to jump into it and jump out when the fad goes. Because it's a couple millions dollars just to get machines to do the work.

ECHID:  Do you think the lack of wooden soles drives people into plastic clogs?

Marie:  Well, it could. I think at Dansko they've got an incredible marketing department. And for some people Danskos are great shoes, obviously, because they sell thousands and thousands of pairs. But the thing between their soles and ours is that the wood absorbs moisture from your feet. And it keeps your feet from burning. So a lot of these people who ran to Dansko because they are more widely advertised, are finding now that they don't feel as good as their wooden [clogs] so they're coming back.

And the fashion industry is incredible for us right now. It's just going wild. Did Lisa show you those up there? (indicates a new Loeffler Randall sandal clog that Sven Clogs has just manufactured)

ECHID:  The Loeffler Randall platform sandal clog? Yes! I was just coveting them a moment ago. 

I think you have amazing design ideas, and as a fellow creative person I want to encourage you, "Please! Please! Be creative! Find a way to give yourself one day a week to just sit and play with leather."

Marie:  But I don't have one day for anything. I haven't had a weekend off, I think, in three years. It's just solid go, go, go, go, GO!

 

Marie...creating. (Sorry. The style is still top secret.)

 

 

ECHID:  What did you think when Karl Lagerfeld introduced clogs in his Chanel line a few years back and the demand for clog exploded?

Marie:  I didn't know much about that. I just had my nose to the grindstone here.

ECHID:  Really? Did you just suddenly notice there were a lot more orders?

Marie:  My No. 6 people (Ed. note: Sven Clogs manufactures the No. 6 line, too), they're the ones that really are going faster and faster with it. I don't we even realized how big they were until one day we started seeing things all over in magazines, and I looked at Lucy [my accountant] and said, (sounding stunned) "I think this is bigger than we know!" (laughs) But we've been just trying to keep up. I don't stick my head outside for very long. I try to get home by 10:30 at night.

ECHID:  10:30!!! (gasps in disbelief)

Marie:  Well, you say give myself a day. I'd be happy with a night! (laughs)

(to be continued)

 

Marie...and Dakota, too!

 

 

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[On my feet as I blog:  "Da-da, da-da, da-da, da. Bateman! Da-da, da-da, da-da, da. Bateman!" Yes, I'm running around in my Bateman wood soled booties from Madison Harding. They're a sure fire way to make standing in line for a burrito at Chipotle so much more enjoyable!]