I was lucky to grow up around conservation with my family managing a local nature reserve and I spent a lot of time in nature. The complexity of nature and its ability to inspire and restore us was ever present in my childhood.
My other passion was design. My dad was an architect and I was always encouraged to pursue creative projects, so becoming a shoe designer felt natural to me. Finding the balance between the right materials, design and craftsmanship has always fascinated me.
During my 15 years working in footwear I've always tried to make the best shoes possible. However, working in the shoe industry, I always felt there was the chance to do things better. That’s why I decided to create aspect climate projects, as a way to combine my passions for the environment and design, and to look to make meaningful change within the industry
aspect climate projects required a reset, a reexamination of how everything was done. And how it could be improved. The process was challenging and there were many opportunities to take easier routes, but by following a vision to do things better my eyes were truly opened to the complexity of the supply chains, the trade-offs in material selections and the global implications of components that often only weighed a matter of grams.
The brand will always be a work in progress - it should be - but I’m proud of the shoe we’ve created and even more proud to share the backstory and things we’ve learnt along the way. I hope it’ll help people understand the impact of their shoes on the planet and feel positive about the changes we can make.
Alex