ATHEIST Shoes are…

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

We're a team of 7 humans - 3 in Berlin, 4 in Porto - and we've been making shoes by hand since 2012. Over the last decade, 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 all weathers, and are made as naturally and sustainably as possible, in small-batch productions. We only use European materials, which include the finest leathers known to humanity - for example, the luscious calfskin lining that helps make our shoes so deliciously comfortable.

We're proud to be independent - unhindered by the conventions of big shoe brands. For example, we don't use retailer middlemen or spend anything on advertising, preferring instead to sell direct to any customers who find their way to us organically. It means our customer base is small, and growth isn't a super priority for us. But it also means we can afford to spend more on higher quality materials than other shoe brands, whilst keeping the price of our shoes reasonable, selling for about half what you'd pay elsewhere for such tip-top, handmade quality. This is awesome because (a) our handywork is accessible to more people and (b) we don't have to spend time in salesy business meetings, and can instead just enjoy making shoes. 

How did we begin?

The  first "ATHEIST Shoe" came into being on an artistic whim; we had a hunch that the world might be a better place if non-believers were more open about their godlessness, so we embossed the words"ICH BIN ATHEIST" on a shoe sole... because what better vehicle is there for expression of one's intellectual positions than a shoe?! (ok... books, twitter, the human voice... all better vehicles for expression, but shoes can't be far behind). 

Anyhow, we made that first shoe... chiefly to tickle ourselves... not thinking much of it. But then, when we posted a picture on reddit, in January 2012, it BLEW UP, reaching "the front page of the internet" and leading to 1000s of emails asking where to buy our shoes. Overnight, what began as casual whimsy turned into a business.

In April 2012, we ran a successful Kickstarter to fund a first batch, and the orders have been coming in ever since, allowing us to dedicate ourselves full-time to work we love. We're super grateful to our diverse and wonderful patrons who make that possible.  

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 (bequeme, handgemachte, weiche, hochwertige schuhe no less), to our own high standards, for a long time to come.

We hope you enjoy exploring our site. And, if you've any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

The ATHEIST team