Issue 115 | August 2018 | 25Scan Magazine | Design Profiles | Swedish Footwear Club / De SmåWeb: http://www.swedishfootwearclub.com
Instagram: @swedishfootwearclub_sfc
Facebook: swedishfootwearclub
YouTube: Swedish Footwear ClubIn the shoe capital of Varberg, Sweden, a group of people have created a brand that
combines Swedish innovation and Portuguese leather. Swedish Footwear Club has
created gentlemen’s shoes focusing on quality and craftsmanship – and it all started
with one man and his cigarillo.
By Vonnie Larsson | Photos: Super StudioIn a designer-dense country like Sweden,
it is no surprise that some of the most
experienced people in the shoe industry
ended up creating a brand that oozes so-
phistication. What is surprising, however,
is the innovative sole and the details at the
bottom of the shoe. And it all started with a
man in his Porsche – Mr. Hugh Wish.
“We saw him on a sweltering summer
day, sipping a Bloody Mary and nursing
a cigarillo. He looked like an old-school
British chap; more so, he embodied pure
sophistication. A real gentleman. We just
had to say hello,” says Jan Lanai, spokes-
person for the company. “He drove off in
his Porsche and we said ‘that’s our guy –
Hugh Wish’, and the rest is history.”
Whether it is their classic No. 001 Black
or the original all-green trainer No. 007
The man, the myth and his shoes
GREEN, the brand’s best feature is one that
cannot be seen but is felt: a tailored sole
with a design-patented pattern that com-
bines comfort with style. The Chesterfield
sole is hand-stitched and made of antibac-
terial foam layered with the best Portuguese
leather. The lush, green sole is a staple in all
the brand’s designs.“It is important to us that our shoes
breathe quality and craftsmanship,” says
Lanai. Each shoe is designed in Varberg,
hand-sewn in Portugal using premium
leather, leading to great quality but also
great love for the product – everything to
make the ordinary man feel like a cigar-
smoking, Porsche-driving and whiskey-
drinking gentleman, without actually hav-
ing to smoke a cigarillo.Web: http://www.desmaa.com
Instagram: @de_smaaAfter buying a knitting machine to make clothes for her children, mother of three
Britt-Eva Knutsen found there was a lot of interest in the clothes and realised she
could make a living out of her lifelong hobby.
By Synne Johnsson | Photos: De små“I don’t really remember how long I have
been knitting for. I think I learned to knit
when I was about six or seven years old,”
Knutsen recalls. “It was my mum who taught
me, so I got the hobby from her.”
In 2017, Knutsen started De Små (which
translates as ‘the little ones’) — an online
shop selling knitted clothes for children,
hand-coloured yarn and a few knitting pat-
terns, all made by Knutsen herself in her
own home.
The hand-coloured yarn she sells, which
is currently her main focus, is ordered in
from the UK undyed and, for each hank of
yarn sold, 10 NOK (about 1 GBP) is donated
to a primary school in Kenya. The clothes are
made of 100 per cent merino wool, and while
her hope is to eventually make all the clothesKnits for your little ones, made in Norway
from her own yarn, for now, she uses yarn
bought in Norway for her own creations.
“Everything is handmade and I put a lot
of love and effort into the things I make,
which makes the products quite unique and
special,” Knutsen says. She does not deny,
however, that the business takes up a lot of
time and energy. “Nothing comes for free —that’s what I tell myself when I get caught
up in the everyday life of having three kids
and work and everything,” she reflects. “But
I love doing what I do and knitting is such
great therapy. I think everyone who knits
would agree with me.”
She adds: “All the stress is worth it when
I hear all the positive feedback and I see that
people really like my products. It’s such a
great feeling.”Their detailed sole is a combination of Swedish inno-
vation and Portuguese leather.