The first steps we took in creating a barefoot shoe prototype in our garage at home. 

The Problem

Nicole being an Occupational Therapist and a mom of two young toddlers began to notice how restrictive the mainstream retail shoes were. As she observed her sons balancing on the jungle gym and climbing up rocky paths, she noticed their shoes were impacting their quality of movement as well as the natural shape of their feet.

John is an engineer who specialises in mechanics, enjoys trail running and hiking and totally supported Nicole's idea of creating shoes that would be good for their sons' feet and would work well for their family adventures. The idea was to create shoes that kids would actually want to wear, knowing all too well the fight that can ensue when a kid refuses to put on shoes, just as the family is ready to head out. 

John and Nicole recognised that the general footwear widely available at the time didn't align with how the foot was naturally designed to move and they understood the detrimental effect of squeezing little feet into rigid narrow-capped shoes. John set out to solve the technical challenge of designing his own shoe - commencing training online, he began to hone his leather craft in his workshop at home, while Nicole gave insights around the biomechanical function and the aesthetic design. 

The Collaboration - finding an answer

Nicole and John continued to do market research, sourced quality materials, set out to perfect their product with countless tweaks, created their website and an online shop and Common Tread was born. 

The Testing Phase

The shoes were put to the test on their own kids as well as friends in their community. When they consistently received promising feedback, they knew they were onto something. 

Overcoming Obstacles

The entrepreneurial journey including the research and development of a brand new product was not without many challenges. To name a few - persuading South Africans to buy into the barefoot shoe benefits, funding to continue to develop and purchase materials as well as pay for marketing and suppliers, extensive training in trade and export, developing the daily operations, changing to a different production team in KZN and having to re-learn a few of the new nuts and bolts of the production process together.

Working part-time on a business while John continued in his project management engineering role and parenting two kids under 4 years old meant the couple often felt stretched. However prioritizing family and faith, keeping the main thing, the main thing certainly gave them perspective when it proved hard to keep going. 

Success and Impact

Looking back, the endless patience required, the multiple brainstorming sessions and going back to the drawing board, yet another "door" closing, the frustrated tears, the lean months and the all-consuming mental load of a small Start-up somehow all seems worth it now. 

We often say that simply knowing the product truly does make a difference on many levels is what motivates us to keep at it - that and the truth that good things take time to grow organically, in a real and meaningful way. 

Expanding to the adult shoe range was a natural progression and the couple loved the process of innovating a stylish, typically South African design that would serve men and women in their daily work and in recreational activity, while supporting the foot shape, healthy movement as well as optimal spinal and hip alignment.

They are committed to maintaining the quality construction and material-sourcing within SA, have plans to collaborate with key role-players in the education sector to support the health and wellness of learners all over SA, as well as growing their offering as a family lifestyle brand. 

The first physical Common Tread store and office will be opening in Woodstock, Cape Town at the end of February 2025. They continue to trade once monthly at their Pop-up at the popular OZCF market. Common Tread has recently launched their first range of lace-up and Velcro barefoot school shoes. 

Laced with loyalty: the family behind the shoe brand

Common Tread is a family business in more ways than one - each customer valued as part of the greater family. The customer base has grown to trust the brand as they believe the credibility lies in the founders' knowledge and understanding of biomechanics and healthy development, as well as functional design. It is the right design, created for the right reasons. The shoes they've created benefit the whole family, strengthening and nurturing feet, engineered with purpose.