The Wildling Shoes warehouse store in Engelskirchen-Osberghausen is ready, the staff and all the visitors have settled in and “found their feet” in the new premises, and the only thing left to say now is: This just feels freakin’ fantastic. (And looks seriously amazing!)
If we had our druthers, we’d be raining down a shower of confetti on everyone involved for the next three years straight. Because that’s exactly how long (give or take a minute...) it took to finish the warehouse store. Allow us to elaborate just a bit, because this is a wonderful story.
Do not pass Go.
The year is 2018, and the then-fledgling company Wildling Shoes is facing a problem. The warehouse for the shoes is (yet again!) too small. Way too small. Somewhat taken by surprise but with a healthy dose of luck in tow, this predicament leads to the discovery of a superb opportunity on the site of a former spinning mill: A hall becomes available for rent nearby.
The friendly landlord shows up with a huge set of keys and shows us around. Yeah, that big room with the cool windows – we could rent that in addition to the warehouse. Instantly, the team starts dreaming up preliminary ideas for a Wildling Shoes concept store: a space for shopping, but more importantly, a space for interaction and togetherness. This will be a place that offers a look behind the scenes, sells Second Choice merchandise, and hosts special events.
Image: Nora Tabel/Wildling Shoes; photo shoot in the new Wildling warehouse store before the renovation.
With that underlying idea in mind, we started fine-tuning the plan, taking a big step towards making it real. After all, a lofty space like this calls for a lofty but sustainable approach to heating, plenty of light − plus the acoustics need to be factored in. And of course, there should also be room for some shoes. And fire prevention measures. Lots and lots of fire prevention measures!
Before the actual construction work started in early 2021, we did a shoot for the summer models in the space. But the period between late 2018 and early 2021 is best summed up in a brief hashtag narrative:
#ChangeOfUseApplication #authorities #lockdown #BuildingApplication #FireAuthority #repeat
Images: Jochen Schmitt-Thelen/Wildling Shoes; warehouse store renovation
Instead of wallpaper: art for the walls
How did artist Elmar Lause end up creating a mural in the warehouse store? Here, too, a huge thank you goes out to bureaucracy. We needed to paint a public wall (with permission, of course) for a Wildling Shoes photo shoot. But since the planning team just couldn’t seem to locate one where that would have been possible and permitted, we unceremoniously invited Elmar to the warehouse store, cleared a wall there, and then watched him work, enchanted.
Image: Sandra Dienemann/Wildling Shoes; Elmar Lause at work on the Wildling Shoes mural
We have a dedicated team for offline
When you think of Wildling Shoes, you think of online shopping and the fact that we are a company that operates remotely. It’s easy to forget that there are also a lot of people working here who don’t “just” sit at their laptops.
Image: Jochen Schmitt-Thelen/Wildling Shoes; final carpentry work at the warehouse store
Alongside all the staff from production, logistics, and the warehouse, we also have the ones you can “reach out and touch.” We really value the opportunity to connect with you at trade shows, events, pop-ups, showrooms and, of course, at our warehouse store. That’s where we’re able to give personal advice, share, listen, and experience togetherness firsthand.
Image: Nadine Asbach/Wildling Shoes; cozy visitors corner in the warehouse store
Cover image: Handmade model of the warehouse store by Jochen Schmitt-Thelen
