Easy Moc's Greg Cordeiro on Re-Growing the Maine Handsewn Moccasin Tradition—and Big Shoe Biz vs Niche

The Stitchdown Shoecast

Greg Cordeiro is our kind of shoe nerd. And the dude has been around.
After getting his start as an intern at Puma before shifting over to design work for Timberland, Cole Haan, Teva, and Ralph Lauren, Greg backed away from the mega-brand to co-found one of the seminal underground (now sadly defunct) footwear brands of the aughts: New England Outwear Company.
After that he plunged back into a behemoth with a senior design gig at the behemoth that is Clark's, and then Huckberry, before spending the last three years regaining total freedom with his design pen and building out his own factory in the US handsewn capital of Lewiston, Maine to create EasyMoc, a rising brand that combines time-honored handsewn moccasin construction techniques with creativity, a periodic dash of Japanese fashion, and a deep dedication to comfort.
So what's it like to work at a gigantic shoe brand vs your own small workshop? How much of a revival is the once-massive Maine shoemaking industry really seeing? We cover all of that and more, including the deepest, most detailed dive into footwear design we've ever had the pleasure of exploring on this Shoecast.
Warning! This one's a full nerd-out. And we're damn happy about it.
This episode was oh so thoughtfully sponsored by Grant Stone
Theme song: The Road by Punk Rock Opera