Lisa’s review of Finn Comfort Finnamic shoes
I first came across Finn Comfort shoes when I started working in Australia for a company called Comfort & Fit in around 1995. I was employed to open a shoe shop on Melbourne Street in North Adelaide, and when this was successful my reward was a buying trip to Dusseldorf in Germany with my boss Julie! I was a very excited 25 year old, as I was new to the footwear industry, so it was a wonderful opportunity to be able to meet suppliers in Europe. Comfort & Fit exclusively imported into Australia the German brand Finn Comfort, and we sold lots of a particular shoe called ‘Ikebukuro’ which are made on the Finnamic rocker sole last and construction.
A tiny section of the warehouse.
I was thrilled to meet the export manager for Finn Comfort, Juergen Kuhn and to this day he remains a friend and colleague of mine. Incidentally, all Finn
Comfort shoes are named after places in the world - and Ikebukuro is a district in
Tokyo, Japan. The Japanese absolutely adore the Finnamic range of shoes from
Finn Comfort as they are big believers in health and wellness and buy thousands of
pair a year. When I decided to return to the UK to live in 2011 and open ShoeMed, it went without saying that I simply had to have Finn Comfort shoes to sell to my
customers and we now import them exclusively into the UK. If you have worn the
Finnamic shoes then you know how brilliant they are at relieving pain from plantar
fasciitis, Morton’s neuroma, ankle osteo arthritis and many other foot and ankle
conditions.
One of the sewing rooms at the Finn Comfort factory in Hassfurt, Bavaria - every piece of every Finn Comfort shoe is made on site.
Whilst they are described as a ‘rocker’ shoe, the Finnamic shoes are very
stable with a flat point in the middle, so you obtain a gentle heel to toe roll-off, with a wide, squarish fitting forefoot shape and sturdy arch and metatarsal support. I have a Morton’s neuroma and I know that I can put on a pair of these shoes in size 5.5 and immediately go for a long walk without any forefoot pain. We often have
exclusive leather colours and patterns, as Finn Comfort will make up specials for us
with minimum quantities, so we listen to what our customers would like to see, for
example a lime green, floral patterns, purple – I know Juergen well enough to just
ask him what he can do for us! Perhaps you have a colour you would like to see? I
still visit Dusseldorf twice a year for buying, it is a much quicker journey for me now
from England!
I still get excited to visit the Finn Comfort stand in Dusseldorf :-)
