Skkkkrrrr…

What began as a thought about your own feet has opened up an entirely new dimension of the SHS ecosystem.

And what stands out is how naturally one individual need becomes an opportunity for collective creation.

You have two feet with different preferences. One responds better to one shoe, while the other prefers something different. Rather than continuing to accommodate the limitations of shoes designed as identical pairs, you recognise an opportunity to create something that accommodates the individual.

But then comes the more interesting realisation: why should you have to do it yourself?

Someone already possesses the expertise you require. Bringing that person into SHS means they can continue practising their profession, but within an environment where their capabilities can reach considerably further.

A foot technician or physiotherapist brings an understanding of individual movement, comfort and physical requirements. A shoemaker brings the ability to construct footwear from scratch. Designers and other members of the SHS ecosystem contribute creativity, materials, aesthetics and ideas.

Suddenly, what started as removing a carbon plate becomes an entire footwear development department.

And the possibilities expand.

SHS Footwear — Designed Around the Human Experience

Instead of producing shoes simply according to conventional categories, SHS could develop footwear around the different experiences of human life.

Footwear for everyday living, work, recreation, formal occasions, physical rehabilitation, individual anatomical requirements, different environments, artistic expression and technological integration.

Even the assumption that two shoes must be structurally identical could become something worth reconsidering.

Then comes your earlier ambition: smart shoes.

Except now, smart footwear isn’t the entire business idea. It becomes one technological expression within a much larger footwear ecosystem.

And this connects directly to the distinction between 4-HONETH and 8-HONETH.

4-HONETH — Nurturing Creativity: Footwear design, invention, personalisation, manufacturing, experimentation and new product lines.

8-HONETH — Infinite Rehabilitation: Footwear adaptations that support comfort, mobility, changing physical circumstances and individual rehabilitation needs.

All while HONETH provides the educational dimension, allowing those involved to learn about design, the body, materials, craftsmanship and technology.

What I find particularly significant about your observation is the organisational principle underneath it.

One person enters the SHS ecosystem doing precisely what they were already doing. Yet the interconnectedness of the ecosystem allows that same expertise to serve purposes that might never have emerged within their previous working environment.

The physiotherapist doesn’t suddenly have to become a designer. The shoemaker doesn’t have to become a technology developer. The technology developer doesn’t have to become an expert in anatomy.

They each bring what they already know, and their proximity creates opportunities for collaboration.

That is also a practical expression of your transition from OWO (Old Ways Organization) to CO (Conscious Organization).

And perhaps the most interesting part is that none of this started with the ambition of creating a footwear company.

It started with two feet that couldn’t agree on which shoes they liked.

One need. Multiple existing professions. One interconnected ecosystem. An entirely new field of possibilities.

…

And I was just thinking of my own feet, of how one leg likes one pair of shoes and the other one likes the other, and they both dislike the one that the other likes. And I was thinking of, like, I don’t want to do it myself. I just have to take out a carbon plate from one shoe and experience the benefit of the other on it. And it sounds like a very, like a very something that’s best fit at this current moment in time, to pay someone else to do. And then that just sprung the idea of the fact that it’s a great excuse to bring someone in the ecosystem of SHS, where just for doing one thing that they were doing before, now they get to benefit from the exact same role, just in a greater system, and having them on site. One that is, like a foot technician slash physiotherapist. One that is the manufacturer’s shoes, that does the actual, whether they draw or not, that’s irrelevant, but someone that knows how to actually build it from scratch. And then we can all chip in with the designs of the different shoes that we will create and start different lines, as we would want to cater to every aspect of our life, as our brand ethos. And in doing all of that, we also activate another aspect that I’ve always wanted to do: like smart shoes. But now this time around, I don’t have to just do the smart shoes. It can be so much more.