FROM PASSION ABOUT CRAFTSMANSHIP TO RECONNECTING BUYERS WITH ARTISANS.
2014
Exploring Mexico
Philipp and Lukas, (old high-school friends from Düsseldorf) discovered the intricacy of Mexican shoe craftsmanship while studying there.
They fell in love with Mexico's vibrant culture, warm climate and delicious food but they were specially struck by the high quality and passion behind the handcrafted huarache.
2015
The adventure began
After coming back to Germany, still impressed by the huarache, they decided to start a journey together to create CANO and bring the huarache craft to Europe.
The search for the best partners began by travelling through central Mexico and eventually their dream started to come true when they found a family-owned workshop in Sahuayo, Michoacán.
Since then, we are joining our ideas and knowledge to create our shoes. In 2016 the first huaraches collection was exported to Germany.
2018
Going beyond the huaraches
Inspired by the iconic Mexican Charro Boots they partnered with a small workshop in León, Guanajuato to create the first boot collection.
By setting up these new supply chains in the most Earth-friendly and fair way, they encountered some challenges along the way to be transparent throughout the product journey.
And that's how they came up with retraced (a supply chain transparency tool that is impressing fair fashion advocates in Europe & Asia).
2019
The Mexican Representant
When Philipp and Lukas were being drawn with the success of their new 'baby' retraced, they needed someone else to steer the boat and continue the journey to preserving craftsmanship and this is when I adopted CANO as my own child.
Since then I’ve been proud to represent my country’s heritage and try to be the best possible connection between our artisans in Mexico and the European market.
Today, guided by Philipp & Lukas and together with Beni (our customer excellence manager) and Stefan (our sales agent) we strive to share our passion for Mexican craftsmanship and changing the fashion industry together.
- Paula (CANO's Mum)