The story of Nomadic State of Mind begins in a Volkswagen van – where else? – that housed founder Chris Anderson’s pop-up shop for handmade sandals in the nineties. Slowly but surely, his business grew, never losing sight of its original social focus and its interest in Fairtrade, though. For instance, Anderson taught a small community in Nicaragua that needed a reliable income how to make sandals. Every Nomadic State of Mind employee – in 2018, the label engaged a team of 47 rope artists – is paid well. The team works its magic with partly reclaimed polypropylene cord that is super durable and colourfast.

Nomadic State of Mind has settled down by now, yet Anderson’s brain (like that of his team) keeps roaming around – a character trait that has spawned several side projects. At one point, for example, the founder decided to do something with the scraps of rope they had lying around from cutting sandals. Now these scraps are turned into new products – from rugs and bags to water bottle carriers or picnic baskets. The creation process is quite time-consuming, and no two products look the same.

Because one side project wasn’t enough to satisfy their creative urges, Nomadic State of Mind also launched a fashion line made from natural resources like organic cotton, bamboo and hemp, and from recycled materials.

If you want to know more about the brand, feel free to check out the Nomadic State of Mind blog, where the team communicates openly about its struggles, such as finding sustainable soles for their sandals.