5 MINUTES WITH VOSK

We caught up with Wesley Vos, the founder of Vosk Shoes, who has started a beautiful shoe label all about giving back. It should also be proudly mentioned that Vosk shoes are all locally designed and made. Find out how you can get a pair of shoes to a kid who really needs a pair and more below.

Vosk Shoes are designed and made in South Africa – where can we get our hands on a pair?

At this point in time, you can pre-order our shoes on Indiegogo. This is a crowdfunding campaign that we launched in order to get people to contribute (pre-order) so we can reach our goal to fund the setup of local manufacturing. Once our shoes are manufactured in South Africa we will start to distribute to shops across the country, sell from our own e-commerce website as well as online retailers like Zando, Spree and Superbalist.

What do you love most about a pair of Vosk shoes?

Our shoes are made of a natural rubber sole with a canvas upper. We designed it to be simple, comfortable and stylish. A shoe that will attract and suit the younger generations of our country and the rest of the world. They are locally designed and will be manufactured in South Africa. One of the biggest reasons we are manufacturing locally is so that we can contribute to our economy as well as create jobs while doing it. What’s not to love?

For every pair of Vosk Shoes bought, a pair of shoes is donated to a child in need. What inspired this new charity campaign seeing Vosk Shoes partner up with Samaritan’s Feet?

After learning of the ‘Buy one, give one’ concept I knew this was something I wanted to pursue. I mean, using for-profit business in order to help people in need was just the best idea since sliced bread for me. I then realised that in South Africa we have more than 7 million children that do not own a pair of shoes and 1.2 billion across the world. This information together with my personal love of shoes immediately led me to start Vosk Shoes. There are three other challenges that we will start to take on in due time. But, that is a story for another time.

Can the people in Cape Town get involved in the giving beyond the purchasing of a pair of Vosk shoes?

Once our new shoes are manufactured and being sold across the country, we will start doing a major ‘giving trip’ every three months. This is when we will involve our followers to join us on the fun of washing the children’s feet, spending time with them and talking to them about their hopes and dreams, and then giving them each a new pair of shoes. We will also return to each community at least once a year so we can serve these kids as they grow.

What’s the most special takeaway from going on these ‘giving trips’? 

Spending time with the children we serve is one of the most liberating and heartwarming experiences a person can have. Seeing the appreciation and a smile on the child’s face after we washed their feet and given them a new pair of shoes is a feeling that can only be experienced and not explained. In the future, we will give our followers the opportunity to join us on our giving trips so they can feel and understand why we do what we do.

Photography Courtesy