Beak shoes -
A best-selling classic
Kero shoemakers have been making beak shoes since the first cobblers started working at the Kero factory in northern Sweden a hundred years ago, developing and improving their products over time. The popular Blötnäbb soft beak shoe was developed thanks to popular demand when customers came around asking for a functional soft beak shoe.
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Traditionally, people used to sew their own beak shoes, but as society developed, the skill of making your own pair of shoes faded. Kero has kept that shoemaking tradition alive, and today the Blötnäbb soft beak shoe’s one of Kero’s bestselling classics. In our range, you’ll find handmade shoes by Kero.
A sustainable conscious
choice
Beak shoes made using sustainable methods from reindeer leather tanned with natural methods.
Näbbskornas historia
– från nödvändighet till accessoar
Beak shoes have been used in northern Sweden for hundreds of years. Through this rugged landscape, people have traveled on skis through deep forests, over frozen lakes, and vast mires since time immemorial. The “beak” at the front of the shoe was a clever way of keeping the leather ski straps from slipping off the shoe when you were skiing.
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One of the first products Kero started making when they first made the transition from only tanning leather to actually making finished leather products, was the beak shoe. Kero started manufacturing Blötnäbben, one of their most popular beak shoe models, because their customers specifically asked for a soft beak shoe. Back in the day when people used to sew their own clothes and shoes, they also made their own beak shoes at home. But as time went by and the economy grew stronger, people started buying shoes instead of making them themselves, and that’s how the Blötnäbben beak shoe became a bestselling classic.
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At Kero, every shoe is made with manual precision. The soles need pressing, the leather stretching and any excess leather has to be cut off with a knife. There are many steps in the process, and each step needs to be closely supervised. The women and men working at Kero have all been trained on-site, step by step, to make sure each end product is of the highest quality. It’s also a way of keeping the traditional shoe-making craft, that’s been passed on through generations, alive. Each pair of shoes is made from naturally tanned reindeer leather. This means the leather is free from chemicals. The hides are tanned using natural tannins like birch bark, and then washed, brushed, shaved, and stretched in large barrels, making them soft and malleable. As a result, naturally tanned leather is softer and more breathable than chemically tanned leather. This makes it perfect for footwear, as your feet will sweat less and feel fresher.
Nowadays skiing isn’t the most common way of getting around anymore, and beak shoes and ski straps have been replaced with skiing boots and bindings. Even so, the beak shoe is more popular than ever. Kero’s latest model is a white beak shoe that has all the traditional traits of a classic beak shoe but with a more modern sneaker-like design. And so the beak shoe has evolved from being an everyday necessity to being a fashion statement and accessory, with its roots in the Arctic wilderness.