April 25, 2019

Designing the Mohinders sandal – simple does not equal easy!

Last year my job as creative director stretched into new terrain: shoe design.   The Mohinders collection was not invented or designed by our company—each style is a collaborative variation on an heirloom design from Athani, India. Every pair is still made by generations of master shoemakers there ( more...

March 21, 2019

Why these three colors? Natural dyes + Mohinders leather

Two natural-dyed shades have joined the Mohinders leather shoe collection—Iron-dyed black, and Oiled leather dark brown.    A bit of backstory, below! Why’d we take so long to add colors? For six years the Mohinders lineup has been just one color: traditionally veg-tanned water buffalo leather. It’s made in small...

March 07, 2019

Well traveled Mohinders: Mychael Henry, 2 months + 2 pairs

We met Mychael Henry through our friends at Huckberry; he's a cook, traveler, photographer, and leather patina enthusiast. We never tire of following his travelougues on @cookwilltravel. Last year he spent two months in Europe, traveling through Portugal and France —he brought two pairs of Mohinders (a Woven City Slipper and the...

February 17, 2019

Northern Karnataka, India: Home region of heirloom shoemaking

As Athani-made footwear grows in recognition around the world, we set out to illustrate the fullness of our shoes' home region: Northern Karnataka, India. Our vision was a winding road trip and photo journal to shed light on the origins of our shoe collection and its longtime makers.   We began in Bombay, as many prefer...

March 01, 2018

How a pair of Mohinders is made

These shoes are handwoven by third-generation master artisans in Athani Village, India. It takes 37 steps (plus techniques that take years to master) to complete each pair.  Small batches of shoes are passed around home workshops—artisans specialize in different steps of the process.  It takes years to learn these techniques: precisely-cut shapes...

February 03, 2018

What is bag-tanned leather?

For as long as the shoemakers who work with us can remember, their families have worked with water buffalo leather. This leather is purchased from family tanners who live and work about an hour from Athani Village. They tan leather in a slow, hands-on, non-mechanized way, in a trade that’s...

October 01, 2017

Well traveled Mohinders: Christina Saboe, 5 weeks + 1 pair

image by Brian Wetzel Photography Christina Saboe is an aspirational traveler. When she set off for a solo five-week excursion to Australia, Bali, and Japan, these were her two rules: one small bag, and couch surfing only.  image by Christina Saboe   For many, living for a month out of a small backpack would...