Had your fill of cookies, carols, and couch-surfing with the relatives? Ready to tackle those New Year's wellness resolutions, but not sure how to start? Getting active after the holidays is great, but you don't need to shell out for a gym membership when you've got the whole big, wide world as your playground! We've got […]

Softstar is proud to feature this guest essay by Jennifer Gwirtz, Mind/Body Professional, Facilitator and Teacher (Pilates, GYROKINESIS®, performance and therapeutic movement). Over her 15+ years of experience, Jennifer has delighted in exploring the relationship between mental and physical balance, particularly at the origin of stability: the foot.  Understanding Resilience: Follow the Bouncing Ball... Resilience has […]

It's the end of the year, holidays are fast approaching and our new workshop is sooooo close to completion! Utilities are up and running, the new showroom is ready to greet customers and our fancy green slide is mounted in place. We're all ready to move, but we're waiting for our holiday rush to be over […]

In our previous "Natural Learning" post, we explored the rise of outdoor schools, or "forest kindergartens," across America (and their origins abroad). Even after all that research, we still had some questions about what it's really like to opt into this alternative learning setting. We asked Soft Star's good friend and natural living inspiration, Katy Bowman, to […]

If you're not already familiar with Katy Bowman then I highly recommend looking her up, especially if you crave a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. The renowned biomechanist has published several books on natural movement and human development, and her research has been a big inspiration for our shoe designers at Softstar. We have been sharing […]

"For 99 percent of the time we've been on Earth, we were hunters and gatherers, our lives dependent on knowing the fine, small details of our world. Deep inside, we still have a longing to be reconnected with the nature that shaped our imagination, our language, our song and dance, our sense of the divine." - […]

On a chilly Oregon morning last week, moments after we opened up the shop, we received an urgent phone call. A long-awaited delivery truck had just arrived at the new workshop location and several hands were needed immediately to unload its contents. All non-essential elves rose to the challenge, left their sewing machines and hopped in carpools to […]