Oh Sole: Handmade with a machine finish – and no stinting on components

Conrad Kalp…Hands on means hands on – literally.

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – Yes, they’re both arty, but there’s almost no connection between cutting hair and cutting patterns. So for Conrad Kalp, who started his working life as a hair stylist, fashion, specifically fashion footwear, was a strong enough calling to start studying all over again to enter an entirely new career.
Now he and business partner Donavan Pelser – who handles the money and the sales while Conrad does the designing and the manufacturing – have a small footwear business and a business plan which they hope will allow them to grow steadily.
He started his footwear career in 2012 by studying basic shoemaking and design online.
Then he, Donavan and 2 friends started making shoes, entirely by hand, to sell online or wherever they could.
They called themselves ‘Shoe Boys’, but when a customer, trying on a pair, said: “Oh my soul, these shoes are so soft”, “one thought led to another,” he said, “and we became Oh Sole.”

“For 5 years, we did everything by hand,” he said. “Mostly we were supplying women and girls for weddings and matric dances.
“We also supplied a few retailers with shoes, and 2 years ago, that side began to grow. We couldn’t cope, so we looked for a manufacturing partner.”
For now, Conrad makes a sample of each new design – “mostly size 7, for costing purposes” – and the partner makes the ‘bulk’ although they’re still modest quantities.
“Now it’s time to reinvent ourselves again,” he said. “Oure partner’s quality and service are excellent, but transport is an extra cost which can be crucial, especially for the wholesale side, where we need to be in complete control of the costs.
“We’re looking at setting up our own factory again to handle some of the production. I’d like to have about 10 people, including me. When you’re that hands on, you can minimise waste and mistakes.”

All Oh Sole’s sandals and sneakers have leather uppers and cushioned leather footbeds on TR soles. Some are leather lined, some include shank board, some of the leather is imported. – these are not cheap shoes
The sandals range from strippy to open-toe vamps. The designs aren’t unusual for hand-intensive footwear, but the attention to detail is.
The shoes are sneakers, and surprising for that.

On the wholesale side, “clients want unique products,” he said, “perhaps 50 pairs every couple of months. We’re supplying some retailers under their own brands, and we see this as a potential growth market.”
Retail customers are a handful of boutiques in SA and Namibia.

Leather sneakers differentiate Oh Sole from most artisanal footwear manufacturers. Attention to detail lifts Oh Sole’s sandal range.