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Netizens

Kumph shoes (New Zealand) are selling well in the States.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3682713a13,00.html

Cameron

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Cameron Kippen, Podologist and Shoe Historian




Cameron Kippen

I give students bonus brownie points in clinical exams if they can tell what country they are made in if the patient has a pair

It is good news given competition from Asian manufacturers that a manufacturer in a small country can compete on the world market. The NZ footwear market was one of the most protected in the world with tarrifs that made manufacturers so inefficent as they had a protected market and no competition -- the result being, expensive products for the consumer --- until the late 80's/early 90's when the whole economy was hit by the govt hell bent on competition - only the efficient survived and Kumfs are a result of the poilcy. .... many might argue that the cost to society was not worth the upheaval it caused.

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Craig Payne
Department of Podiatry
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________
God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not that of La Trobe University
This is where I am, where are you?

Craig

There was a podiatry connection , was the founder of the company not a podiatrist?

I seem to recall a documentary from NZ on foot fetishism where father and son appear and talk about shoe comfort. I am sure it was the same doco that Murray (?) featured.

Cameron

__________________

Cameron Kippen, Podologist and Shoe Historian




Cameron Kippen

The founder of the company (Adams & Robertson) was Podiatrist. If I recall correctly (and apolgies if I get this wrong), he passed away about 10 years ago. The company is still run by the family. The podiatry influence is strong still, esp the 'orthotic friendly' range of footwear.

__________________
Craig Payne
Department of Podiatry
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________
God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not that of La Trobe University
This is where I am, where are you?

Wow... I never fail to be amazed by you guys...a finger on every pulse!! As a 2nd yr student I sometimes forget my name! however I confess to knowing where kumfs are made.... if only it was going to be in our exam... :)

I am a nurse/massage therapist in Melbourne, Florida, specializing in Hoshino Therapy® which uses a special manual technique and specific exercises to rejuvenate the soft tissues in order to restore normal bio-mechanical function. I provide many of my clients with customized hard orthotics made by an old friend of Prof. Hoshino in Argentina and I make sure before they get these orthotics that they are willing to wear shoes that meet specific criteria. These include: a wide toe box, lace-up styling or strap with buckle or velcro over the instep, and a separate heel.
Right now there are 3 Kumfs styles (available from Footsmart) that are among the very few shoes I highly recommend to my clients, because I have found that having a real, separate heel, not contoured, does make a difference in how the foot is used, and increases the benefit from these orthotics which have a good metatarsal component. This was definitely my experience as a nurse who worked 23 years in hospital med./surg. care.
There is such an amazing dearth of nice-looking, quality shoes for women who need orthotics, I am not at all surprised that Kumfs is doing well. About 5 yrs ago I ordered a pair of women's navy Drew oxford wingtips, and it took 13 months to get them (made in China).
I could go on and on about this subject...My view is that feet are not innately bad! but that the circumstances they have to deal with ARE!!! We in the so-called civilized world spend most of our time on unnaturally hard surfaces, and many of us add to this shoes that promote wrong bio-mechanical foot function. Then we wonder why we are suffering from knee, hip, low back, right-on-up-the-spine problems.

Re-reading the end of my last message, I realize I am sort of preaching to the choir.
However, the fact remains that there are too many American women who wear terrible shoes. I am one of lots of women who would love to have a great variety of healthy, GOOD-LOOKING shoes to choose from. Being an artist and interested in fashion as I am, and also passionate about helping people with many kinds of bio-mechanical problems, I am very motivated to start a U.S. company similar to Kumf's, only better. Anybody interested?