While for some of you seeing our 474049 mary-jane safety shoe in “Canada Red” leather may be exciting enough. However, what I really wanted to point out (if the arrow wasn’t enough of a clue) is that Mellow Walk has a new rubber brand logo that we have started to stitch to all of our shoes.

The eagle-eyed observer might say, ‘didn’t Mellow Walk have a brand logo on the shoes before?’ Well, yes but now the logo tag has a somewhat translucent quality with Mellow Walk in grey lettering. And the big change (as if you didn’t notice) is the little red maple leaf. Being the proud Canadians that we are we really wanted to emphasize right on the shoe that Mellow Walk is still made in Canada.

Andrew: So, Nelson maybe we can start with your design philosophy. How do you approach your work?

Nelson:  Democracy for everyone! Why shouldn’t safety shoes look as stylish and feel as good as other great shoes in the market?  We wear safety shoes all day long and they become a big part of our day-to-day lives, if we can’t feel good about wearing them then the design has failed.

 Andrew: Your background is athletic footwear. Any parallels between that world and safety footwear?

 Nelson: These days, most new technologies and footwear innovations come from the athletic industry,  I’m bringing that spirit of innovation with me. The functional demands and job-specific needs of different safety shoes make them no different than high-end athletic shoes. In short, good safety shoes are athletic/comfort shoes in disguise. Don’t tell anyone.

 Andrew: What is it that you like about safety shoes? (or am I putting words in your mouth?)

Nelson: You mean, what is that I “love” about safety shoes, right?!  This is where my background in Industrial Design comes into play. I enjoy the heavy research and technical demands of designing and mass-producing safety shoes. Safety shoes have more substance in that way.

Andrew: The Mellow Walk brand is, uhh, Iconic (my words not yours). How do you tailor what you do for such an awesome brand?

 Nelson: For me, a designer needs to be a good listener and fluid in their approach, tailoring to a brand’s needs should come naturally. When dealing with an “iconically inclined” brand like Mellow Walk, a brand with a very clear vision, it makes the exchange between brand and designer that much smoother.

 Andrew: I have noticed that your recent collections have really  captured what Mellow Walk is all about.  Can you describe this renewed vision for the brand?

 Nelson: Understated sophistication, that’s what I’m aiming for. To me, this captures the Canadian spirit and gets to the core of the Mellow Walk customer. The Mellow Walk customer wants smart, well-made shoes, that are properly built from the inside out; shoes that they are proud to wear.

 Andrew: Many of the new ladies patterns have what I would describe as a new design language. Can you talk about your approach?

 Nelson: I started playing a bit more with asymmetry to further emphasis our, already, slender profile and great Last.  Also, I’ve been paying a lot more attention to the details on our shoes by adding subtle contrast stitch lines and new logo treatments. It’s just the beginning.

Andrew: Coming from Athletics you seem to be really comfortable with a broad range of materials. How are you approaching this with Mellow Walk?

Nelson: Materialization is key. I am definitely looking to expand our scope of materials by exploring new texture and colour options. I’m also working on putting some technical fabrics/elements in areas of the shoe that need it most.

Andrew: What’s next?

Nelson: Tonnes of new awesome shoes! Top secret though.

So, what are some of the common questions that I get asked?

What do the different symbols mean?

The most common CSA tags found on Mellow Walk safety shoes are explained on our Certified Quality page. The tags usually indicate in words or symbols what standards the shoe has been certified to. Often the safety symbols relate to toe protection, sole protection  i.e. protection against sole penetrations or whether the sole is capable of dissipating static or protects against accidental contact with electricity.

Why aren’t the CSA tags on both shoes?

CSA only requires that the tags be attached to the right shoe.

Can I cut off the CSA tag?

Well, we can’t advise you there except to say that the tags do serve a purpose. The tags not only let you know what standards that shoe meets, but will make sure that you are compliant with any workplace regulations around the use of safety footwear.

Does a safety shoe offer the same protection as a boot?

Whether it is a shoe or boot, if it has the CSA markings it means that it has been tested to the same standard and passed.

What exactly is CSA?

Canadian Standards Association works with industry groups in various sectors, including footwear, that require a common set of standards that all groups must follow. The good news for consumers is that when a product is certified to CSA standards that is only the beginning of the story. Factories must continue with ongoing compliance testing and CSA audits on a quarterly basis to ensure that certified products continue to meet the standard.

With the release of the 2011 Census yesterday, I thought it would be a good time to release  the above photo. While the Census talks about the growth of Canada’s population, mainly through immigration – the photo talks about the growth of Mellow Walk and the flags represent the people who work here and help us make a great product.

When Mellow Walk was founded in 1993, I’m told that our work force was primarily Italian  and Portuguese. Over the years, as Toronto’s population has changed with each successive wave of immigration so has our workforce. Today, we are proud to represent over a dozen nationalities.  To celebrate, we recently hung the national flags representing the countries where our staff came from though I couldn’t capture all the flags in one photo. Mellow Walk really speaks to the multicultural fabric of Toronto (and of Canada) and of the people who buy our made in Canada safety footwear.

Nationalities represented:

1. Canada
2. Portugal
3. India
4. Vietnam
5. Ecuador
6. Chile
7. Peru
8. Serbia
9. China
10. Philippines
11. Columbia
12. Mexico
13. Italy

Of all the epic battles this may be the biggest yet. Coke vs Pepsi, Microsoft vs Apple and now Mellow Walk vs (the competition). Now, this was no mere “taste test” we were undertaking but a month long internal wear test that pitted Mellow Walk against four well know safety footwear brands.

Why did we do this? Well for one, at Mellow Walk we have long prided ourselves for making Canada’s most comfortable casual safety shoes. And with the growth in the comfort casual safety shoe segment we really wanted to find out how well Mellow Walk measures-up today.

We asked four staff members to wear the competition on the job for up to a month. While, in some cases, it created laughter amongst staff to see a competitor’s product on a co-worker’s feet, all agreed to take the test. You can see the results above (in all cases, the brand names tested have been removed).

Our goal was really to go beyond initial feel with our wear test. While the results speak for themselves, what was crucial was receiving honest responses from those participating. And from the comments it seems that the ladies shoes performed somewhat closer to our testers’ comfort expectations.

At the end of the month, our testers still felt that Mellow Walk makes the best fitting casual safety shoes. Of course we welcome your opinions as well. Feel free to email us with your impressions.

Walking around downtown Toronto over the holidays you see just how many people out there are wearing poor fitting, dare I say uncomfortable (or at least uncomfortable looking) footwear. Well, with our billboard, which was up over the holidays at Bay/Dundas we drew a line in the proverbial sand on comfort footwear. At Mellow Walk we said to ourselves “We’re not going to take it” (actually we sung it to Twisted Sister’s 80s rock anthem). If you demand good fitting, comfortable shoes that just happen to be made in Canada – we want you to give our double gore boots a rockin’ good try.

Montreal-based company wants everyone to “Buy Canadian First” this Holiday Season

 Buy Canadian First is proud to announce a Canadian first: an entire campaign dedicated to raising awareness amongst consumers about the benefits of buying Canadian-made products and supporting Canadian businesses.

And for that hard to buy family member (who insists on soft-toe walking shoes), might we recommend our new double-gore boots 446 for ladies and 590 for men. Makes a great gift.