ATHEIST SHOES ARE...

• designed in Berlin, inspired by the minimalist aesthetic of the Bauhaus
• handmade by artisanal shoemakers in Porto
• really quite RIDICULOUSLY comfortable

Hello, and thank you for stopping by our website!

Perhaps we should begin by telling you something about us... 

We're a team of 8 people - 3 in Berlin (Nana, Katrin & David) and 5 in Porto (Hugo, Artur, Manuel, Fatima & Ana) - and we've been making shoes by hand since 2012.

Over the last 8 years it has been our honour to earn loyal customers all over the world, from Stockholm to San Francisco, Tehran to Tennessee.

Our shoes are unisex, perform well in rain and snow, and are made as naturally and sustainably as possible, from European materials. That includes the finest leathers known to humanity, for example, the glove-like full calfskin lining that helps make the shoes so absurdly comfortable.

We're proud to be independent, unhindered by the conventions of the big shoe brands and able to offer seriously tip-top quality, handmade shoes, direct to end-customers, at prices much lower than a traditional wholesale market would demand.

We don’t use retailer middlemen and we don’t spend anything on marketing - so the price of our shoes is about half what you would normally pay for such quality and we’re glad this means more people get to experience our handiwork.

How did we begin?

The  first "ATHEIST Shoe" came into being as an artistic whim; we felt the world might be a better place if non-believers were more open about their godlessness, and so we carved the words "ICH BIN ATHEIST" onto a shoe sole... because what better way to voice one's heart and identity than with one's shoes?! We thought our invention might tickle our friends, but when we posted a picture of the shoe on reddit, in January 2012, the response was mind-blowing; in just a few hours we received hundreds of emails asking where to buy the shoes. And so, overnight, what began as casual whimsy became a shoe business.

In April 2012, we ran a successful Kickstarter to fund a first batch of shoes and the orders have been coming in ever since, allowing us to dedicate ourselves full-time to making shoes. It's a rare thing to be able to do what you love every day and we're deeply grateful to the diverse and wonderful patrons who keep our business growing.

We’re flattered by the feedback our shoes receive … “the most comfortable shoe in the known universe”… “like walking on hugs from baby kittens”… “the best shoes I’ve ever owned” … it’s lovely to hear and we’re grateful to everyone who takes time to feedback their thoughts. Our only ambition is to continue making shoes, to our own high standards, for a long time to come.

Enjoy exploring our site. And, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

The ATHEIST team