shoes

Join us at the Softstar workshop on August 6th, 2022 for family-friendly day of fun at Grow Wild Day with Katy Bowman!

  Changes are afoot at the Softstar workshop! If you follow us regularly then you know we spent most of 2016 renovating a historic building to be the new home of Softstar Shoes (originally a roller skating rink from 1950 that shut down many years ago). As much as we loved our cozy space in […]

As December comes to a close, we find ourselves reminiscing about everything that happened this year. Between the exciting summer Olympics, a long election season and bittersweet farewells to some of our favorite celebrities, 2016 is certainly a year to remember. Don’t even get me started on my hometown Chicago Cubs winning the world series […]

Elf Katie is at it again with her creative motifs and embroidery skills. This time, she’s whipped up a special treat for anyone looking for an extra special St. Paddy’s Day… or to celebrate Irish love anytime of the year! Her latest creation is a green and white Dash RunAmoc featuring shamrock appliques on the sides […]

Our first new leather color of the year has arrived, and it’s a doozy… Introducing suede ZEBRA print! The latest edition to our decorative leather patterns, our new zebra print is just as soft and durable as our other suede leathers. And like the rest of our materials, it is tanned without formaldehyde and colored […]

We have a special treat in the workshop for this year’s Day of the Dead festivities. Local artist Diana Rose hand painted the leather pieces for a pair of our Merry Jane shoes before they were sewn together. Her artistry features two caballero skeletons outlined in white stitching and decorated with patterns inspired by the […]

Halloween is right around the corner, and that means it’s time again for our annual Halloween contest! It’s simple… have your child draw a picture of his/her costume and our fans will vote for their favorite. The winner will receive a free pair of our design-your-own shoes to match it, shipped in time for Halloween! […]