About us

Where the squirrel came from:

Thies Squirrel Logo

How the Squirrel came to thies ® .

It was a warm, sunny day in late summer and the first, colorful leaves of the old oak tree announced the presence of autumn.

In spite of the nostalgia at the Walter Thies factory premise, there was hustle bustle present.

The (feltpress machines??) ran at full speed and the latent hunger of the production line predicted a growing dynamic of beginning economic wonders. Somewhat exhausted Walter decided to take a break. With child-like excitement, he began to indulge in a piece of cake and Heidesand cookie, which Ingeborg had prepared for him. Delight was almost immediate, but at that very moment, the break was ended prematurely.

A colleague in the product hall needed his advice. Upon his return to the break, there were only crumbs left from his piece of cake. Baffled he glanced around himself, and in the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the shadow of a squirrel scurrying up a tree trunk. This was obviously the squirrel who had succumbed to the culinary delight, the cake, and was now eyeing him with chubby cheeks.

On the following days, Walter returned at the same time to the same bench under the same oak tree and daily brought a piece of nut cake to the little thief with the red tail. From his office window opposite the oak tree, he observed the squirrel as it began to nibble the cake.

In the coming days , as Walter sat on the wooden bench, his new friend cautiously came, but gradually more confident the squirrel began to scamper to Walter.

From this time on, Walter and the squirrel remained friends. Also the

squirrel´s oak tree, in spite of the expansion of the warehouses, was preserved.

Presently, the squirrel´s great, great grandson resides on the factory grounds and views the delivery of the latest shoe collections.


Company History:

sustainable coziness since 1856 ™
6th generation family run, thies 1856 ® and its beloved iconic squirrel ™ represent the original eco, fair, innovative footwear brand.thies cover booklet DE Kopie

Ecological Spirit & Nature

As a family company and brand, thies ® has been producing since 1856 in the 6th generation

high-quality footwear and stands for sustainable thinking, acting, designing and to produce.

We use nature and an environmentally friendly lift style as inspiration for the collections. fur

different collection themes we use new, innovative materials.

thies 1856 ® pays particular attention to different material concepts and fair, local production.

We use fabrics from post-consumer PET bottles, non-food upcycled corn,

Various models are made of GOTS® – certified organic cotton, as well as recycled

cotton or recycled polyester.

For our innovative milk felt material, fibers were obtained from excess milk and mixed with wool

combined. This resulted in the felt for our simple slippers.

Many styles are 100% vegan [ Peta ® approved ]

There is also the higly innovative t1856 ® line which shows and develops groundbreaking avantgarde slippers and disruptive designs.


TIMELINE

thies ® | Deutsche Schuhmacher in der 6ten Generation seit 1856

1856 the company „Ferdinand Fischer“ was founded with offices/factories in Germany’s region “Sachsen” by

Ferdinand Fischer (Master of Hat-Manufacturing) born in 1831. Starting with the production of felt material the factory quickly turned into a vibrant and creative shoe manufacturer.

1945 the company is lost without any remuneration to the Eastern-German government after world war II

1947 new start by Ingeborg Thies a born Fischer

1949 the company “Ferdinand Fischer KG” is re-launched in Schneverdingen, Northern Germany by Horst Fischer

1949 the company “Thies-Fischer KG” is founded

1984 the company “K&T Handels- und Unternehmensberatung GmbH” is founded in the fifth generation after Ferdinand Fischer by Ulrike Kotjan and Ursula & Matthias Thies

2006 family Thies-Fischer is celebrating 150 years developing and supplying shoes, materials and accessoires

Das Design Team und die Familie Thies wurden bereits mit vielen internationalen Auszeichnungen und Preisen geehrt. Hier einige Beispiele:

The Design Team and the Thies Family have been honoured with various awards and international Design Prizes. Here some examples: