My name is Tanya and I am the founder of Cleverstein – the world’s first sustainable convertible shoe brand for women.
Before starting Cleverstein, I spent countless hours on the road in a corporate role. Running around cities meeting clients and of course socialising at the end of a long day. All these events require different outfits and shoes. So, I ended up taking 3 pairs for a 2-day business trip.
Eventually, after 12 years working in the sustainable energy industry, I found myself with around 60 pairs of footwear, half of which I didn’t wear and the other half I would wear once a month or so. It felt like a lot of clutter and waste. And surely not very environmentally sustainable. It was a wake-up call to optimise closet and review the environmental credentials of my wardrobe. When I interviewed 500 women in London about their footwear habits, I learned that I wasn’t alone in the search for a better shoe solution.
I decided to tackle this problem. After quite a few sleepless nights I came up with a convertible shoe solution… “convertible solution” to be more precise. It would allow someone to considerably reduce their number of shoes without compromising on variety and comfort.
And so, Cleverstein was born! I left my job and focused on building up this new shoe ownership concept. Our mission is quite simple: provide the world with the footwear solution for better comfort and environment, which takes less space.
We are working on more styles of shoes, so watch this space.