This was a limited edition sneaker Scott Milden, Coleman Horn and I did in 2005 with Dwell Magazine. They sold out immediately. Our company was called Medium Design Group. We also did collab’s with Adobe and House Industries (a font company). I loved the concept of Medium… but we were a tad too design elite. The Creative Class as a target audience was a unique demographic though… and the concept still has merit. Medium was sold to Pentland group in 2006. They did not move forward with it though.
Scott and Coleman had worked with me at Simple. Medium was primarily their baby.
unlicensed architect, ex-skateboarder, planning commissioner, shoe designer, all around dork
themovement.com 
I loved the medium alchemist shoes and am looking for a pair. really sad to hear the brand is now defunct. Do you know of any place that still selling them from inventory?
Scott, Sorry don’t know of any backstock anywhere… maybe try ebay?
funny, i was just searching to see if medium shoes still existed, as i had a pair of the alchemist (those were the ones with the argyle on the side, right?) and was looking for another pair.
the only info i could find was this post, saying they are now defunct.
i also didnt realize you (the medium guys) were part of simple shoes! back in the 90s, when i was a little skateboarding punk, i had a few pairs of those! i even had this dope simple shirt that had some dude with an afro and said “im cooler than you”. i wore that shirt every other day, it was awesome.
sad to hear neither of those companies are still around. hopefully you make more cool shit because ill buy it!
Adam…thanks for the props. yes… I owned Simple… and was a partner in Medium. Before all that I was the creative director for Vision Street Wear… a skate specific company. A couple of my designers from Simple were my partners in Medium… Scott Milden and Coleman Horn. Both are still in the shoe business… Scott runs the marketing of Chippewa Boots… and Coleman is a freelance designer. Both of them deserve 95% percent of the credit for Medium. I just drew some shoes and financed… but didn’t run it or the marketing etc. Another fellow from our Medium days is Derek Galkin. He is a partner in “Seavees” sneakers now. you might like them!
Best, Eric
for the past 5 years whenever I find a pair I snatch em up … here’s a place that has a handful on clearence:
http://www.shoebacca.com/finder/store/default,outlet/taxonomy/3_Shoes_Casual_Sneaker/brand/medium
Man I wish I could find some new expressionist in my size. I have a pair that I wear all of the time and I love them beyond belief. They are so simple and comfy. I also have 2 pairs of minimalist (1 new in the box). I love that I can slip the expressionist on though.
I think it’s time to start up a new shoe brand born from the idea behind simple and medium. There are many fans of both brands that are heart broken with the lose of both.
Dawn… thanks for the props. As to starting a new shoe company… my wife says “just lay down until the feeling passes” ! Eric
I really miss Medium Footwear and would pay way too much money for one last pair. Cool to read an inside perspective and finally get some insight on why my favorite shoe company fell off the map.
I had a pair of Mediums about 10 years ago. They were black with white toe caps. I loved them so much and I wore them until they eventually fell apart. Footwear has never made me so happy before or since. It was like they were made especially for my feet. I have constantly searched for another pair, it’s sad to hear that my feet will never be that happy again. I too would pay an unbelievable amount of cash for more Mediums.
Lorna, They occasionally pop up for sale on Ebay.
I found 4 pairs of Medium for sale in Copenhagen in an outlet store this week(October 1, 2014) and I was very surprised
Once and a while, when time permitting, I’ll start surfing the net to look for my most favorite sneaker – Medium. Wishful thinking and hoping to find new old stock that I can purchase and add to my small collection of only three.
When I first encountered this unique and creative shoe, I mediumdiately fell in love with it. I went online and bought a pair of minimalist and when they arrived, wore it and really fell in love with it – one of the most comfortable shoes that I’ve ever worn in my life. I went online again and bought two other pairs (one of which is an all leather minimalist). All of these minimalist were bought close to ten years ago, and the leather minimalist, which I kept in my closet and forgot about it, only to be discovered again this past September 2014, was like seeing your old best friend! I was amazed how it held up and with it’s original box, it smelled like new! The other two minimalist was barely used too, as I only used them on special occasions. From the very beginning, the compliments about the shoes were non-stop. I’ve been offered $$$ for my two canvas/leather combo and when I showed my friends recently my leather ones, original and never used, the bidding went skyrocket! I was almost tempted to part with it, but I slept over it and made a realization the next day that I may never find another pair for the rest of my life – so, I respectfully and graciously declined the offers – explained to them my position and everyone understood.
And today, I search the net once again to look for this shoe and saw this article link – It made me smile, and after reading all the comments, felt a little validation about my decision to keep my shoes with me. Although I’m saddened that this brand may never come back again, I’m glad to learn that the founders, creative team are doing well and continuing their craft. You should realize that you have touch many lives and inspired us, at least, it’s true for me, to be more creative and enjoy the art – these are truly works of art!
Kudos!
My experience with Medium Design Group was with the shearling boots. THE most comfortable things I’ve ever worn. I have a black pair and a brown pair. Though I need to find a skilled cobbler to put suitable new soles on them and recondition the uppers.
In the meantime, maybe you could tell me who made the insoles you used in the boots so I can find something comparable to increase the comfort level of the lesser quality footwear I have to wear until I get your boots back in wearable condition. ?
Anyway, thanks for pursuing a dream and creating some cool stuff.
I would suggest though, that, if you ever go back into apparel, make the brand name something that isn’t also a size designation. Makes searching your creations second hand a bit of a pain since some people use only “Medium” as the brand and searches return a ton of irrelevant links. (; >
Bobby, Medium was an artists collective… so the term medium was used mostly because the brand was the “medium” of expression for the group. Yes… that is a bit nerdy artsy! And yes… it caused a certain amount of trouble. The fact that we spelled it with a backwards E (“M3DIUM’) didn’t help either! Such is life dealing with designers. The “insoles” were made from water injection molded Ethyl Vinyl Acetate (EVA) and were quite expensive as insoles go in footwear… but they were one of the reasons the shoes were so comfy. There are lots of these available… usually as some sort of orthotic meant to correct a foot alignment problem. Ours were custom molded so finding some exactly like them isn’t going to happen. Most serious shoe stores sell a variety though. That Cobbler you are looking for will have them too I predict. Thanks for your thoughts. Eric
Eric,
Please make more Medium Shoes!! this shoes are way to special and dear for a selected group of people that will pay for these… I really love your shoes and years are passing and still look up for them … Please, do what you do best and give me my shoes again! This is a social request Thanks
i fell in love with my pair of M3dium shoes. Constantly looking for another one in my size. End of mine is coming soon so i would be very happy to find a new one. Maybe some stock hidden somewhere? 😀
I wish we had a secret stash… My two pair are totally scruffy now. Thanks for the compliments. My Partners Scott Milden and Coleman Horn really pulled out the stops with that Dwell Collaboration shoe.
It seems sort of crazy now, but I am still rocking a pair of Modernists. When I found out the brand was defunct in late 2011(?) I found what stock I could, because the modernist was the best shoe I ever found to fit my feet.
I jumped on shoebacca, and bought 3 pairs. I am now at end of life on that third pair. If I knew how I would make new soles, I would make more shoes.
I don’t know if I will ever find something so perfectly tailored to my feet again, but I just wanted to thank you for making it happen Eric.
Evan… thanks. Was a fun run. Several of the group are still deep in the shoe business. Scott Milden has “Milden Manufacturing Company” ( https://milden.com ) making beautiful boots. His wife has a brand called “the office of Angela Scott” ( https://theofficeofangelascott.com ). Coleman Horn is still developing beautiful shoes for several brands ( https://www.sportswear-international.com/news/portrait/Personality-You-want-to-know-everything-about-footwear-Then-listen-to-Coleman-Horn.–13951 ) . As for me… I’ve been designing and restoring homes for the past few years (a hobby not a business!) . Check Ebay or Etsy… new old stock shoes occasionally pop up there. Eric