Our second act with Laines Paysannes
A few seasons ago, we began working with Laines Paysannes - a team of wool specialists based at the foot of the French Pyrenees, built around a simple conviction that the wool produced by the shepherds of this region deserves to be used, traced, and valued rather than absorbed into an anonymous supply chain. They source locally, sort by hand, and work with a level of material knowledge that comes from decades of proximity to the land and the people who work it.
That first collaboration produced the Peaks Wooler. What came out of it was more than a sneaker. It was a working proof that Pyrenean wool belongs in footwear. When it was time to think about summer, we went back.
The Izard Sandal - A second collaboration, a different season
The brief we brought to Laines Paysannes was straightforward: take the same wool and open it up for the season. Wool is not just a winter material. Its fiber structure wicks moisture and allows continuous airflow, properties that perform as well in heat as they do in cold. The question was simply how to design around those properties for a sandal.
The answer is an open weave strap that holds the foot without synthetic materials, without friction, and without the surface heat that most warm-weather footwear accepts as unavoidable.
The footbed
Most cork footbeds sold on the market are a thin layer of cork pressed over a rigid plastic base. The Izard uses a genuine cork footbed sourced from Portuguese cork oak in the same region where the sandal is made.
Cork is lightweight and sustainable. More importantly, it responds to weight and warmth over time. The footbed gradually takes on the specific contour of your foot, meaning the longer you wear them, the more precisely they support you.
Over that cork sits a layer of REACH-certified suede. Soft, moisture-wicking, and free from harmful chemicals. It keeps the foot anchored and dry without any of the slipping or surface heat that synthetic linings produce.
Made in Portugal
The Izard Sandal is produced in the Portuguese workshop responsible for the rest of the Baabuk sneaker range. Cork pressing, suede laying, and structural stitching are carried out by a team that has been working in comfort footwear for generations. The construction is built to outlast a single season.
