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I need to be independent.
I expect it to be difficult on my own, but I can eat top ramen and eggs for a while. I can drink instant coffee and crash on couches.
If you’re looking for me, I’ll be in downtown LA making things that make me happy.
I see hopeful young people dragging luggage along Alameda from the bus station all the time, I daydream what a note to their parents or their lives left behind might say. These people remind me of our company.
Royal Elastics was founded in 1996 by a pair of teenagers in Sydney Australia. The brand concept was about using elastics to secure the shoes to the foot rather than laces. At first blush an admittedly innocuous concept, but it spoke to people all over the world. The brand found a home in better boutiques from London to Adelaide and on the feet of people attracted to the ease of being able to slip-in and out of their shoes. “Elastication” spoke of a distinctly street-styled, youthful and laid-back lifestyle. Royal Elastics had a quirky and easy-going sense of humor, it felt like the brand was really being run by young people- and they made some really great shoes.
The Royal Elastics brand was acquired by a much larger footwear company in 2002. Royal Elastics strengthened its global distribution and the quality and comfort of the product got a lot better. Royal Elastics continued to support emerging artists and musicians by sponsoring events and providing opportunities for under-represented creative people to get together. Supporting the pursuit of an inspired lifestyle and the original concept of our brand had always worked together. The brand was gaining strength under the wing of its parent company. After time, like any restless teenager, the brand needed to strike out on its own.
Last January my best friend and I put up everything we had to fund our plan to purchase the company for which I worked for nearly seven years. Luckily, we found like-minded individuals who shared the same passion and vision for the Royal Elastics brand and we created a new family dedicated to advancing elasticated living.
We understand and support the compulsion to create. Royal Elastics makes elastic footwear and apparel because if we didn’t, our heads would explode. Now that we’re independent, the sacrifices we need to maintain our ability to create have become more and more concrete. Royal Elastics has become what it has supported. We are those young people walking on Alameda from the bus station-- I don’t know that we could become custodians of this awesome brand any other way.
If you’re looking for us, we’re in downtown LA making things that make us happy.
Royal Elastics North America LLC
1820 Industrial St. 102B Los Angeles, CA 90021
E-mail: customersupport@royalelastics.com
http://www.royalelastics.com
http://store.royalelastics.com
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