Here’s why they are so comfy:

And here’s the history.

Founded in the Black Forest region of Southern Germany in 1874, Rieker originally produced shoes for the affluent citizens of Northern Italy.

The company soon gained a reputation for quality and has built itself into a household name in Central Europe. The company has been family owned for 5 generations and its commitment to uality and style has ensured continuous growth for 30 years.

At the beginning of the 1970′s new headquarters were set up in Switzerland and production moved away from Europe. Today Rieker employs approximately 12,000 people worldwide in 5 production units, 3 design units and 15 wholesales units.

We provide Rieker shoes and accessories to around 7,500 independent retailers, mainly in Europe.

Rieker antistress footwear is unique. To maintain the integrity of its special constructions, together with the flexibility to respond quickly to fashion trends, virtually everything Rieker sells is made by Rieker.

I have just discovered the most wonderful and inspiring blog at domesticsluttery.com.

I know, I know it isn’t really related to shoes but I’m thinking if you guys are in love with stylish shoes, you’ll love the style that oozes off these pages.

Even the description gives me goosebumps (but that could just be because I need to get out more).

Domestic Sluttery is a new way of life. Written by women who cook, decorate and design (usually with a glass of wine close to hand) without giving up our lives.

We want to make your home your own, without doing very much at all.

So you can get on with the rest of your life.

Here’s a tip for anyone out there who has managed to ignore the consumerist bombardment about Valentine’s Day and are likely to get in trouble if they don’t come up with a gift to demonstrate their love. In a recent Brandon Neilson poll 98% of women said that they’d rather receive shoes than flowers. (Okay I made that up but I bet I’d be close.)

Aetrex were founded in 1946. It is a family-owned corporation that have long been recognized as the global leader in pedorthic footwear and foot orthotics. According to people who know such things, they are now starting to create a buzz with “fashion-forward sports and comfort footwear.”

I know, I know, the last couple of blogs have been a bit deep. Seriously though, couldn’t we all do with some more balance in our lives?

Just wanted to share another fabulous Brisbane company that is doing their thang and doing it well. Mary Ryan is fast becoming a Brisbane institution and I love them!

Great coffee, great books, great staff. What’s not to like?

And just for the record, I reckon books are one of the best presents you can give. Personalised, beautiful …….and that smell………

Now take that body and add a pair of traditional high heels. Move all the weight forward, throw the spine out of line and squash up the diaphragm. How does that sound now? Poorly fitting and poorly designed shoes can change the entire balance of the body.

Balance is a bit like breathing. Seems kind of dumb to even talk about breathing. Everyone knows how to do it, right? You just breathe in, then you breathe out. Nothing to it.  Except that now, most people agree that breathing is the basis of our whole wellbeing. It is one of the most fundamental building blocks to our health.

Balance is the same because, everyone assumes that as long as you are not falling down all the time, you have your balance sorted. If you can stand upright, you must be balanced.

Except there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that the way you are positioned on the earth can affect everything about your body, from your breathing to your bones.

Our feet are precision instruments, with each one made up of 52 bones, 66 joints, 19 muscles and a complex network of ligaments, muscles and nerves. Conventional science has identified that the hands, feet and lips have more nerve endings than the rest of the whole body put together.

Many eastern traditions have long acknowledged the power of posture to improve health and wellbeing. Disciplines like Yoga and chi gong regularly focus on centering and grounding exercises designed to reconnect the body with the earth’s energy flow.

And yet every day, people buy – sometimes at enormous cost- shoes that are literally making them unhealthy. Some studies indicate that more almost 9 out of 10 women wear shoes that don’t fit. Fashion can be a culprit as can be buying a pair you love even though they aren’t really your size. But often it comes down to a lack of knowledge about feet, how they are different and how looking after them can be one of the most powerful things you can do for your health.

As a podiatrist of more than fifteen years, I saw the effect of poorly designed and poorly fitted footwear on hundreds of clients. I saw corns, calluses, structural damage and other disabling foot problems. But I also started to notice that poorly designed and poorly fitted shoes can also affect overall health and happiness..

Next time you are in bare feet walk, out onto the grass, close your eyes for a moment and think about how you feel. We are creatures of the earth and from the earth comes much our energy.

Over the last fifteen years, the health movement has undergone enormous growth and change. No longer is it good enough for us to get sick and then wait for the system to fix it.

And increasingly it is no longer good enough to ignore our connection with the ground and imagine it doesn’t matter.

And if you are reading this thinking “yes, but, I don’t want to look like someone’s Nana…..” think again. The days where you could have comfort or style but not both have long gone.

Companies like Earth, Think! And Birkenstock know how important shoes are to your overall wellbeing. They know a person has more nerve endings in their hands, feet and lips than in the rest of the body combined. And they knew that shoes that are designed right and fit right, can help your posture, your breathing, your balance and even your sense of grounding.

And they look fantastic.

In stillness, be like the pine

In movement be like clouds and water

Now I’d like to see anyone doing that in dodgy high heels!

Brisbane needs a museum like this for sure.

Welcome to the Bata Shoe Museum

Discover the treasures of North America’s charming and surprising shoe museum. Hundreds of shoes (from a collection numbering over 10,000) are on exhibit in architect Raymond Moriyama’s award-winning four-storey structure.

The Museum celebrates the style and function of footwear in four impressive galleries. Footwear on display ranges from Chinese bound foot shoes and ancient Egyptian sandals to chestnut-crushing clogs and glamourous platforms. Over 4,500 years of history and a collection of 20th-century celebrity shoes are reflected in the semi-permanent exhibition, All About Shoes. Three other galleries feature changing exhibitions, so there’s always something new to see.

Blogging blows my mind. My first temptation is to run away fast with my hands over my ears murmuring the words “blah, blah, blah”. But I won’t.

And you know why I wont? Not because it would be childish (that’s never stopped me before but because Sally who owns and is the heartbeat of the store (have I mentioned Sally yet?) really has something to say.

Something that we should all be listening to…..

(How’s that for a cliffhanger? Can’t you tell I’m also a novelist in my spare time). Back soon.

Here’s another photo so you can get another fix.