Quality craftsmanship. Those two words are at the core of what Lapstone & Hammer stands for. Our mission is provide our customers with the highest quality, most innovative products in a beautifully designed, upscale environment. If you have visited our store then you know the environment we created is second to none in terms of design and craftsmanship, but you may have questions about the pedigree of some the lesser known brands we carry. While names like Nike, Puma, and Timberland certainly need no introduction, there are many other brands we carry who you should be acquainted with as well. With that in mind, lets take a few minutes to get to know one of our amazing new partners: Filling Pieces.
Filling Pieces is an Amsterdam-based footwear label established in 2009 by designer Guillaume Philibert. Philibert, an architectural student at the time, was disappointed that his sneaker choices were limited to mainstream brands that everyone wore, or sneakers from couture houses like Louie Vuitton and Prada that could cost up to a few thousand dollars. He saw a gap in the market for fashionable and uniquely designed sneakers made from high quality materials that could be sold at an affordable price. "I wasn’t always able to buy designer sneakers, and I was tired of athletic footwear," Philibert said. "I looked around for brands that made shoes that would be affordable, luxe, but still kind of sporty. When I found out this wasn’t really done well, I started sketching and sampling my own product. Filling Pieces stands for ‘filling the gap between streetwear and high-end footwear’. Our goal is to provide quality products, hand-made from the finest fabrics and leathers in the market, for an affordable price."
After debuting in 2009 with a single silhouette, the "Low Top", that was made in China, Filling Pieces achieved enough success to move production to Europe after only a few seasons. Their collection now consists of a variety of unique and contemporary models handmade with great care in Portugal, using only the finest Italian leather and fabrics and based on the Italian vulcanized rubber cup sole from Margom. Philibert, who was named one of Complex magazine's "30 Designers Under 30" last year, said that he was happy to use China in the beginning but moved his operation to Portugal, "because the lines are closer for communication, culture and shipping. Everything is hand-cut and mostly hand-stitched, while in China that was different. Not to say that Chinese production is bad or less qualitative, but for us this step was very natural and good. I’m often in Portugal to design collections and work on the innovation and progression of our ranges."
With a hot young designer and founder, and the distinctive and easily recognizable look consisting of the triangular tongue and arrow-shaped silhouette, Filling Pieces is poised to bust out in a big way in 2015 and beyond. Already this year they dropped an exclusive release with esteemed online men's retailer, Mr. Porter, and have collaborations with Puma and Kith coming up. Filling Pieces is definitely a brand you need to get to know.
Lapstone & Hammer is thrilled to offer several different models from Filling Pieces for sale at our store on 1106 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia, as well as on our website.
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