Today we’d like to introduce you to Birgit Klett.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Birgit. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up being obsessed with Esprit (a young fashion brand in San Francisco) and ended up designing shoes for them for years. It never felt like a job; I loved feeling part of a culture and lifestyle and designing into that. That company was revolutionary at the time and set a very high bar for anything I did career-wise after that. I became involved in the southern California surf industry when Esprit was sold, designing for reef, which was all about comfort and ease, and Roxy, which was the surf-version of Esprit, as their global footwear lead… and that’s where I met and became friends with my future business partner, Kenna. She was head of marketing for Roxy, so we ended up traveling together and just clicked right away. I went to her house when her second child was born and we literally decided to start our own company over a glass of wine that day. Where did we get the guts?? Who knows… but I do know that we had a very clear idea of what we wanted to do from the very first moment. We wanted to make shoes that were all-leather, beautiful, feminine and comfortable enough to travel the world.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
HA! I wouldn’t say smooth… exciting, fun, nerve-wracking, emotional, terrifying, exhilarating- all those things. The most awful time was when someone tried to bully us into selling the company before we even started. I guess that we can now say that it was flattering, but it was horrible at the time. Then, there was a fit issue our very first season (Kenna snd I had to personally call every one of our retailers to let them know their order wasn’t coming on time)…. a few more bumps, and then COVID and navigating that. The amazing thing is, we’ve become stronger, even clearer in our purpose and closer as friends and partners with each one of those challenges.
Beek – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We started beek to fill a void in our own closets. Selfish, but true. We wanted instantly comfortable, beautiful, hand-made, all-leather sandals. The kind of sandals that we had found on past travels to Italy and Mexico- but we wanted them to fit and flex instantly and not need to be worn many times to feel good, the ones that became our go-to’s, got better with age…. and were impossible to find in the US. And we wanted them to be responsively sourced using natural vegetable-tanned leathers. AND we wanted them to have a built-in arch so that they are good for your feet, so that we could travel the world, or just through our day in comfort and style. So, that’s what we did! And thats what makes us unique. We wanted to be the first beautiful comfort shoe in the market. And now we apply those same qualities to our boots and shoes. The styles are cool, but not trendy and what we want to wear every day.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Beek for sure. I feel like everything I’ve done has lead me to this. I’m doing what I love. It feels pure and real and I’m so grateful.
Pricing:
- All-leather sandals $240-$380
- Boots and shoe $325-$425
- Rubber-soled sandals $139-179
Contact Info:
- Website: beekshop.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @beekbytwobirds
- Facebook: beek
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
