Footwear Fables

Fablefootworks is a Footwear, accessories Design and Thought Leadership agency promoting more sustainable and inclusive practises in the creative process.

For the first edition of the second season of Footwear fables we have a discussion with Niek Pulles (@heyniek ) a contemporary artist and a member of Nike ISPA catalyst creation team. Like most I have really enjoyed the output coming out of the Nike ISPA team @_team_team_team_team_team_team, If you have one of these Nike pieces your lucky as the number of shoes produced were quite limited.

This was scheduled to be part of series of short vignettes more off the cuff conversation which was just going to be shared across different platforms. However this conversation was effortlessly engaging, linking general chit chat, sustainability / circularity, future design, Cars, Basketweaving, Jazz and 90’s hiphop it had to be put out on a podcast. 

Please do Let us know if there are other guests you’d like to hear from, And don’t forget to share Footwear fables with your friends and colleagues. 

If you’d like to know more about our Fable footworks practice, go to fablefootworks.com

Thanks for listening

I hope you enjoy !!!

Signing off for the Year ....I wanted to finish off the last in the season footwear fable I will be talking to Co-founders of Common Ace Sophia Chang ( @esymai ) and Romy Samuel ( @romromyyy ) to discuss what motivated them to build there awesome female-focused sneaker e-commerce platform.

Shopping for sneakers has not always been the easiest for women, given that the streetwear industry although it has become more and more inclusive in recent years has been historically male-dominated. Having gone through years of scouring online for the right sizes or being let down repeatedly that exciting new releases come in men’s sizing only, footwear fanatics Romy Samuel and Sophia Chang have teamed up to build a new female-focused e-commerce platform Common Ace. 

In this extraordinary time it was great speaking with Sophia and Romy two agile and creative minds thinking outside of the box building a very important journey not only for the culture, but for all of us as individuals

Loved the energy for this last episode of season 1 . Wishing everybody a very Happy Christmas and spreading positive power to all in 2021.

For this Footwear Fable I will be talking to Solene Roure a creative force within the footwear industry who has a list of extraordinary list of achievements. she will be sharing her thoughts about unlocking creativity, the Industry today, personal insights, the positive power of self belief and creativity. 

There are some very fascinating facts about Solene's career she became the first international footwear design intern at Nike hired by the infamous Aaron cooper. Also She became the first sneaker designer at Louis Vuitton, a 2 year freelance contract launched her independent career. She then went on to collaborate with global brands focusing on the juxtaposition between fashion and sport clients included McQueen, GoldenGoose,Hummel, Clarks Originals , Solene also spent sometime championing creativity as the artistic director of Italian luxury sneaker brand Hogan (owned by Tods)

Following that she was Partner and designer at Primury, an independent unisex sneaker brand. Solene introduced the concepts of responsible design and created some exciting concepts during her time there. Around the same time Solene joined Timberland construct, which was an incredible experience and re-inspired her to open up the collaborative aspect of design. She is also a contributor of renown @conceptkicks collective.

Quite recently she has decided to only work with brands and people who share her values. Solene operates out of London as a design consultant, and her current highlight is being Creative Director of @circle_sportswear, a circular running and yoga start up for men and woman. Only available in France right now. A very exciting venture Working more in innovation and collaboration. Her role as creative lead is to tell the story from product to brand not only satisfied with predicting the future but trying to invent it.

Footwear Fables W/ Stephanie Howard

For this footwear fable I will be talking with @stephanie_howandwhy a super creative and a legend in the sneaker community who is doing amazing things to be a vanguard pushing innovation and level the playing field when it comes to inequality within the sports-tech industry.

With over 25 years of experience including a Design Director role at Nike Inc, Lead Designer at New Balance, and Innovation Director at Seventh Generation, founder Stephanie Howard formed HOW AND WHY in 2010 to guide Product Design, Innovation Strategy, and Creative Direction for leading mission-driven brands. Prior to this, she laid the foundation for advanced innovation strategy at Seventh Generation – voted in the Top 10 of Fast Company magazine’s Most Innovative Consumer Products Companies, and a leader in Sustainability. At Nike, she led the Women’s Running footwear initiative, and then as Design Director of both Bauer and Nike Hockey brands, built a creative vision unique to each brand. In the sneaker world, she’s most well known for designing the New Balance 850, a radical shift in design approach for the brand, which was re-released in 2019.

Sports brands she's worked with include Nike, Reebok, New Balance, Converse, The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Bauer, Titleist, Tracksmith, Smartwool, XTRATUF, as well as Sports Tech startups.

Stephanie recently joined the board of directors of Women in Sports Tech, an organization with the mission to drive growth opportunities for women throughout the sports tech landscape.  

There are some serious realities in the fight for equality in sneaker companies and I have the upmost respect for individuals using their platform to stand up and be counted. New role models will definitely push the industry to think in a more cohesive way.

For this footwear fable, I will be talking to @suzanne.oudehengel a very talented knitted textile researcher, programmer and footwear innovator based in Arnhem The Netherlands. Her focus is on researching and developing functionalities in footwear through knitted techniques. 

Suzanne graduated from ArtEZ University in Arnhem in 2015 with a degree in Product Design. 

During an exchange to Aalto University in Finland, she had the opportunity to learn basic knitting skills. Now she works on a variety of machines including the latest flatbed and circular knitting machines from both Stoll and Santoni. 

The technical aspect of knitting intrigues her to think further and bigger, but to also try to push boundaries of both the materials and the machines. 

Her aim is to reform and rethink the manufacturing process and the production of shoes, that is why she uses techniques in an unconventional way.

For this footwear fable I will be speaking with Darren Campbell who has over 20 years’ experience in the branded goods sector. Starting in retail back in 1997, his leadership career spans Retail, Wholesale Sales, Merchandising and Brand Management. He has worked in senior roles at Dr. Martens for 6 years, and in April 2018, took the position of Chief Product & Marketing Officer. In his role as DM’s CPMO, he oversees all the brand’s ‘concept to consumer’ activities: Design & Development, Category Management, Brand Marketing and Direct to Consumer look and feel.

Prior to Dr. Martens, Darren held senior leadership roles with brands such as Asics, Lacoste and Nike. He feels honoured to have worked with such fantastic brands, all of which put consumers at the epicentre of everything they do.

For this footwear fable I will be talking to renowned design agency and materials library “Material Driven” 

MaterialDriven is based in London, UK and Dallas, Texas, led by partners Purva Chawla and Adele Orcajada. Their expertise lies in locating and sourcing innovative materials, as well as understanding their applications, and impact across industries. 

With a curated range of 300+ materials, there growing collection serves as the basis for strategic projects and connections that enable– between the developers of new materials, at all scales, and those seeking to learn about and apply them.

I would like to introduce My first footwear fable who is founder of Feit - Tull price an all round visionary in my eyes as he lead his brand through quality and sustainability since 2004. 

Its my belief that people love hearing great stories and that creativity is all about solving problems. So through my journey I discovered I I like solving problems and sharing familiar stories with other creatives. 

I hope this provides inspiration and insights ✌🏾