Building a Custom Shoe with COMUNITYmade: Part 8 | “WE CARE” Collection for The People Concern

Chris Burns06 mins
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Before the COVID-19 quarantine was established I was in the middle of creating a custom shoe with COMUNITYmade. I was documenting the process and placing videos on my YouTube. The contrast with how I made shoes for my shoe companies was stark. As I’ve stated a number of times, my shoes were made in China. During certain times of the year when China celebrates Chinese New Year, I would have to wait to work on my shoes. I would then have to pay to have the pairs expedited. That process always turned into a 10% damage rate on my shipment. I lost so much money utilizing a supply chain that began in China and still had to be QC Checked to my standards when they arrived in the U.S.

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COMUNITYmade Women’s Traction Black

The financial loss was always going to be too much to overcome, and my brand faded away. Working with COMUNITYmade has been a revelation in footwear production. The company reached out to me yesterday, although they aren’t working out of the store, to update me and send me “The Lonely Box” e-mail.

Hi Chris,
The box for your shoes is labelled and prominently placed in our shipping station. Kind of overseeing things.
The coronavirus situation has slowed things considerably but your shoes are still coming along. Thank you so much for your patience and your support.
How are you doing? Are your friends and family safe and healthy?
Cheers,

Once the quarantine ends they would still allow me to record a video chat on how they finished the pair and continued to cut & sew through the crisis. (My lonely shipping box is pictured below – I had to cut off the label since my home address is on it)

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COMUNITYmade has made some of their classic, handmade footwear available under the We Care Campaign. I need to make this clear, this company was already working and donating to the Los Angeles community and to various charities with every pair sold.
It didn’t take a crisis for them to show support. It takes a considerable amount of thoughtfulness to build a company in this manner, especially a startup. To lose any percentage affects the growth of the business. While the donation aspect can be seen as marketing, most companies choose to spend on actual marketing as donating to the homeless isn’t exactly celebrated on sneaker sites. COMUNITYmade is an example of the supply chain that works and empowers people here in the U.S. I’m currently considering a limited run of ARCH branded COMUNITYmade sneakers because for the first time in my business career, I don’t have to worry about supply chain issues and quality control.
That is powerful.
Find information on the WE CARE Campign below and click any of the pictures in this post to visit the COMUNITYmade website.
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Traction LE
Choose from some of our favorite classic styles and colors and choose your discount to save while saving lives!  Pay what you are able, every little bit helps. We created the “We Care” collection, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, to help those most vulnerable in our community – the homeless, many of whom are aging and have underlying health conditions.  We are all being told we are “safer at home,” but what about those whose homes are on the streets?  100% of the proceeds from this collection will be donated to The People Concern for the homeless to provide urgently needed shelter and food.

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