Pitchfork   The Dissolve   Festivals: Chicago | Paris

There's a lot to love about Zuriick. The distinctive purple soles on the otherwise unbranded goods, the uniquely updated styling in the boat shoes, boots, and casual and dress shoes, the thoughtful look of everything from its website to its shoeboxes all seem to say there's passion behind the funky named gang from Salt Lake City.

With its new American-made line of boots hitting—a collaboration with Spokane, WA bootmaker Nick's Boots—it seemed a good time to check in on Zuriick and co-founder/principal designer Mike McCaleb.

What did you do before you started Zuriick? Where does the name come from? Where are you based?

Before Zuriick, I tried a lot of things from being a baker to building fences to selling clothes at a department store. The name Zuriick actually came from my original business partner, Clark Butterfield.  It was his twist on his family’s origin.  We're based in Salt Lake City, UT – after six years of solely online business, we opened our first store in Salt Lake a little over a year ago.  

Were you always into style and aesthetics? What led you to shoe design?

I remember being concerned with what I wore to school at a very young age. My socks had to match what I was wearing, bleaching my 501s, and picking out the perfect pair of sneakers.

In 2004 I started a clothing company with some friends and we were selling our stuff, t-shirts mainly, to other friends locally. I was at my day job hustling over-priced denim when I was approached by Clark, the brother of a customer I sold my own shit to. Clark had been fiddling with shoe design and asked if I was interested in helping him design some new shoes. That's when Zuriick began to take shape, really.

Your first shoe, back in 2005, was a boater. What were you looking for that you couldn't find?

Yes, the Ake was our first shoe - a nice, low-profile slip on in eight bright color-ways. At the time, it was impossible to find a men’s shoe beyond black, brown and bulky.

What's your definition of a great shoe?  

For me personally, a great shoe is comfortable, functional, and simple – and looks good with my jeans. For Zuriick and as a designer, a great shoe is something that speaks to someone style-wise. Our shoes have the added benefits of being comfortable and functional, but I design with aesthetic and different styles in mind and not just around my own preferences.  That was the whole point of Zuriick, something for everyone - our newest line is a great example of that. 

Your original signature was a purple sole. Where did that come from?

We didn't want to brand our shoes with a logo or our name badged on a seam. We came up with the idea of making the sole purple to set it apart from other shoes without having to shove it in a customer’s face.

Where do the shoe names come from?

For the first few years the names came from a Swedish list I kept on hand. The last while, I've been naming them after family and friends.      

Which is your most popular shoe?

Shüg is definitely the most popular right now.

How did the collaboration with Nick's Boots come about?

We've been interested in finding a factory in the U.S. to make shoes for a couple of years, but it turned out to be harder than we thought to find a domestic company willing to make small runs. I knew about Nick’s because my brother was a firefighter and wore their boots. I gave them a call and they asked if we'd fly out to talk about the possibility of collaboration. After explaining who we were and what we were trying to do, they were on board to make boots with us.

What makes the American Made artisan boots special?

I think people are starting to realize that the way we create and consume low quality goods because they’re cheap, is counterproductive and in the end costs more with more waste. At Zuriick, we’ve always insisted on high quality leather and materials—with this line, we’ve gone a step further. These boots are handmade in America using traditional craftsmanship. They can be rebuilt, so they're not a boot that you'll throw away once the sole is worn or the leather tears. They are a lifetime boot. The US boots are an investment.

Zuriick