You could say Braden Parker and Kevin Reid know a thing or two about cool sustainable footwear. As the founders of the Vancouver-based Casca brand, they’ve paired advanced technology, high-performing premium materials, and a pursuit of zero waste to create a everyday shoe with street cred. The tech bit is pivotal and actually quite effective as 3D-printing technology is used to dramatically increase efficiency and reduce waste, in addition to being able to produce small, custom runs of products versus mass production. Casca‘s debut model, the Avro, features a custom FootB3D printed insole and proprietary support system to deliver a precise fit and advanced comfort. also, it’s available in waterproof leather and the Avro Knit version is constructed with a highly-breathable, seamless knit upper. Both have an orthotic system which is designed to secure the foot and provide support in all the right places.
In the past, the shoes could be customised and ordered through the Casca app, but as of late, the fanbase is also able to shop at Casca Lab, the brand’s very first retail space in Vancouver‘s Riley Park neighbourhood. The combined store and workshop occupy a 1,997 sq.ft. (186 sqm.) ground floor unit of a modern low-rise structure and the retail space features an interior design by Dublin-based designer Eponine Leahy. The aesthetic is understated and awash with clean lines, captured by simple furnishings and balanced palette of materials. A sales counter with an undulating surface and equipped with a 3D-printer sits across from a wall-mounted wooden frame with shelving, and right next to it, tiered wooden shelving, seating and a display. The setting is framed by polished concrete flooring and tiled walls, and at the back of the store, an opaque floor-to-ceiling glass wall which separates the workshop and office space.
Casca Lab
4166 Main Street
Vancouver, BC V5V 3P6
Telephone: +1 604 2090742
Wed-Sun 12-6
Publishers Note
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