“It’s in our blood you could say.” FEIT Shoes Australia

Über Umwege, wie das im Internet so ist, stießen wir vor kurzem auf die Seite der Jungs von FEIT Direct Shoes. Lautschriftlich ist es der “Fight” in jedem von uns, mit dem wir jeden Tag meistern. Hinter dem Label aus Down Under steht die Handschrift von Tuff Price, der schon hinter dem Erfolg von Royal Elastics stand. Ihre Passion ist das Schuhemachen, sie möchten über den Direktvertrieb hochwertigste, handgefertige Schuhe zu günstmöglichen Preisen anbieten. Ihr Blog liest sich wie eine kleine Schuhmacher-Lektüre und man merkt schnell, welche Leidenschaft die Jungs in das Thema hängen. Alle Schuhe werden derzeit auf Vorbestellung produziert. Nach der Bestellung informiert euch FEIT darüber, wie der aktuelle Produktionsstand ist und ihr seit live dabei, von der Fertigung bis zur Auslieferung. Derzeit das aktuelle Modell Superclean mit Vibram Sohle und KuDu-Leder macht einiges her.

Das haben wir zum Anlass genommen um FEIT etwas zu löchern. Im Interview haben wir Josh gebeten uns ein paar Fragen zu beantworten.

FEIT Store in Sydney

Hey Josh, hope your’re doing fine down under?
Thanks Mischa, I’m pretty well, just working away.

Our evergreen: What shoe you are wearing at the moment
FEIT PNTHA Boot BLK/GREY. Definitely an old favourite.

What the name FEIT stands for?
We all have our own struggles and FEITs in life. Ours is to make the highest quality sneaker out there and get it to our customers for the best possible price.
It’s basically a reaction to the things around us in the industry that we don’t like. We are FEITing against mass production, mass waste, poor quality and a lack of creativity.

As we read, FEIT is using finest materials on earth, for example KuDu-leather. For an “non-shoemaker” explain to us the advantage of this materials instead of using synthetic materials.
Synthetic or even heavily treated leathers do not breath and do not absorb sweat, therefore they suffercate your feet and smell.They dont wear nicely (they crease) and they are nowhere near as comfortable.

Natural materials absorb sweat and breath. They have evolved to cope with the environment in which they live which, for the most part, is the same enviroment we live in. We try to use materials that behave on your feet as they do in nature.

For example, Kudu. The Kudu is an African antelope. It is only hunted in limited numbers to maintain ecological balance in national parks. Living wild ensures a lean fat to muscle ratio resulting in a strong tight skin. All of this impacts on how your shoes age and cope with wear.

Our new shoe – the SUPERCLEAN – is made out of either Kangaroo or Llama leather, depnding on the colour you choose. These leathers are similar in that the are extremely strong for such a soft thin skin, they are also super pliable and breath really well.

Due to the quality of the leather, the SUPERCLEAN is made, almost entirely, out of one piece of leather. Only other material on the upper is a little bit of Calf skin used as lining under the eyelets and toe.

The Lactae Hevea sole on the superclean is also all natural. It is made from the milk of the Hevea tree.

FEIT Superclean white

FEIT Superclean Ox Hi & Low

How many classical shoemakers are working at FEIT?
We have about 20 makers who can make a shoe from start to finish, every step of the way.

You’re doing “FEIT MADE TO MEASURE” boots – for example somebody in germany, could you supply him with your boots here?
Yes of course. If someone in Germany would like to discuss a made to measure  shoe, they just need to mail us and we will contact them directly to start the process.

Following a brief chat and the taking of their measurements we can start to build their custom shoe.

"Stiching the Moc"

As we saw, you have 4 different models at the moment. Stitchdown, Moc Mid, the new Superclean low and hi. What is the heart&soul of every one of that?
The heart would be the last. This is where a shoe starts. The soul would propably be the quality of the materials. This is what allows the shoes to live.

Your well of inspiration in your company – How do you get inspired for your shoes and the silhouettes. What other non-sneaker companies do you like?
Construction leads our inspiration. Making use of simple traditional constructions with the Feit spirit added in.

Classic dress shoe companies like churches, edward green, John Lodd
New shoes and boot companies like NDC and rag & bone, and more casual stuff like vis vim.

FEIT Moc Mids aus KuDu

On an festive occasion, what your’re wearing on your own?
Something classic and basic.

What can we expect in future? Do you think, the traditional way of buying sneakers will still exist in this way or will there come a turning point?
We plan to continue to improve our products, increase the rate at which we release them and increase the value we provide to our customers. Our aim to build a small group of loyal clients who we work with to create products that they love and that last.

I think, and hope, traditional sneaker buying, and stores will still exist. However its getting uncreasingly harder for the small guy. A lot of people still want to go and try on a pair of shoes. Our Sydney store is a great place to receive the FEIT shoe experience. However, as technology evolves, buying things online is becoming  more and more user friendly and practical. I’m sure it won’t be too long until there is not much difference between buying online and buying in a store. In the meantime, we really focus on trying to provide the best of both worlds. Just because you buy online, it doesn’t mean you should not receive great customer service and a high quality product.

Thanks Josh for the interview!

Solltet ihr jetzt auch auf den Geschmack gekommen sein, dann schaut euch die aktuelle Kollektion auf FEIT [>] an. Bis zum 18. Juni 2010 kann noch die aktuelle Kollektion vorbestellt werden.

Zu guter Letzt, das FEIT Video:

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Tags für diesen Beitrag: Feit Direct Shoes

verfasst am 17. Juni 10 von mischa@sneakerized