This past April, HH Brown announced the aquisition of the brand Kork-Ease and on a recent trip to NYC I visited the showroom (courtesy of Morgan Williams) to check out the Spring 2010 collection. The great thing about the line with everything being made using the Cork tree, is that the tree does not have to die in order for it to be used. They are harvested and the materials used in the shoes are shaved off of the tree. Kork-Ease also uses, vachetta leathers, and special dyes that have less chemicals in them than standard dyes.

Since the aquisition, Tom McClaskie President of the Born shoe division has been overseeing the design of the brand have been revamped and improved but are still true to the brand identity. In my opinion, they did a great job! The brand was originally founded in 1953 and reached a level of success in the 70′s due to the popularity of their wedge. They have always had a steady following, but now that the brand is in the hands of HH Brown you should expect to see a new surge of popularity. They are very excited about the addition of this historical brand which fits nicely into their excisting portfolio, which includes Born, Sofft, Sofft Spots, B.O.C., Born Crown, Nurse Mates, Carolina, Dexter, Double H, Browning, Brunswick, Cocoran and Matterhorn.

I am looking forward to watching the growth of this cool brand and checking out the Fall collection at this winter’s tradeshows. For more information you may visit the www.hhbrown.com or www.korkease.com (still under development).