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July 4, 2006

Viavor: Footwear That Fits

Regular readers may recall that, back in February, I road-tripped up to Vancouver in order to get my feet scanned and sized for some custom shoes. (I have long, narrow feet - skis, really - that have defied my attempts to find a pair of suitable, nice, business-class shoes that don't beat the hell out of them over the course of a day.)

Well, on Sunday I was relaxing out in Kirkland with Richard, Elaine, Tapas and Laura when Laura looked over the rim of her (double) Mojito and said, "Hey whatever happened with you and those crazy feet of yours? Did those fancy laser-scanner shoes fit?"

(Oh, yeah. I forgot to post the follow-up. Apologies.)

So, yes, the shoes are here. And, in a word, they're excellent. Comfortable, good looking, easy to wear for long periods. I took them to London and to TechEd, have worn them to work a whole bunch, and find them to be terrific. Really - couldn't be happier.

The shoes are from a company called Viavor. If you've got strange feet, I'd strongly encourage you to look at their offering. At a high level, it works like this:

• First, you need to get your feet scanned. Viavor has equipment located with their dealers (I went with Ken Rice Shoe Studio in Vancouver - 604-647-0393). They will laser-scan your foot, measuring it down to the millimeter, and then build a 3D model of your foot in the computer.
• Second, the Viavor software matches your foot model against its database of shoe sizes, to see which is an optimal fit. You try on some samples of the shoes that are the closest suspected match. If no match exists, Viavor can build a physical mold of your foot from the 3D model. (A custom mold costs extra, but it's a one-time charge.)
• Third, you choose the style of shoe you want, the color, and get to pick the type of sole (e.g., leather, rubber). For my shoes, I went with a Nelson-style, in black, and with a good, springy, walkable sole.
• Fourth, you give the dealer (Ken, in my case) your credit card to place your order.
• [Two months pass.]
• Your newly-built shoes are drop-shipped to your address.

My shoes showed up in May or so, and it took me several wearings to break them in. The stiff leather (coupled with the closeness of the fit) just bit the hell out of my feet, and I had to deal with a few blisters. Once the leather started giving and loosening up, the shoes became instantly comfortable. And it's been love ever since.

One note about Ken Rice: I can't recommend him more highly. Ken knows shoes, and has been a pleasure to work with throughout this process. Viavor, as I've said, uses dealers, and I've had no direct interaction with the company. Instead, I've worked exclusively through Ken, and he's been just terrific. If you decide to go the custom-shoe route, be sure to pick a dealer you're comfortable with, or your experience could be a bit rougher.

I do plan to get some additional shoes made in the future, varying styles and colors as I do so. It's a relief to finally be able to get something nice on my feet.

Posted by Gavin Shearer at July 4, 2006 1:54 PM. Posted to Misc.

Comments

Posted by: Cintra Pollack at July 5, 2006 10:28 AM

Posted by: ravi at July 6, 2006 10:21 PM

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