“There is a central quality which is the root criterion of life and spirit in a man, a town a building, or a wilderness. This quality is objective and precise, but it cannot be named.” Christopher Alexander (quote taken from “the Timeless Way of Building”)
This “quality without a name” is something that I have constantly been in awe of. You can see it now and then… not often enough unfortunately. It is basically pure and good design. Design that makes you happy.
The header shot is of the Tutukaka coastline on the east coast of the north island of New Zealand. This is a place that will make most anyone pretty happy. Average home size in NZ is about 1200 sq. ft. Toyota Camry’s are considered luxury cars there.
My history… has been as a clothing and footwear designer. I ran the design and creative of a clothing and shoe company called Vision Street Wear in the 1980’s. After that I had a brief stint designing clothing for MTV (Music Television)… in 1991 my wife and I started a shoe Company called Simple Shoes. We sold Simple in the mid 1990’s and kind of decided to practice what we had been preaching about simplicity… and have been restoring old houses… and building new ones ever since. I have also built and sold a few other small brands with friends. The largest of these was called Medium Design Group… a brand aimed at the creative class (people who’s jobs are creating things)… and sold to Pentland group in 2006. In 2008 I was appointed as a planning commissioner for the City of San Luis Obispo California… and then in 2012 I left that position when I was appointed as Planning Commissioner for the county of San Luis Obispo.
I suppose this site is a design blog. Someday I want to build another brand around the subject of design and people who are designers… but in all honesty I am a tad burned out on consumerism and so it is just hard to motivate. “Lay down until the feeling passes” Cynthia says. So instead of brand building… I content myself with posting photos, yammering on about things, watering my garden, building interesting houses, riding old bicycles, working on old cars and helping our county’s citizens figure out what they want our county to look like in the future.
unlicensed architect, ex-skateboarder, planning commissioner, shoe designer, all around dork
themovement.com 
Great blog….especially love the staircase made of bookshelves!
Hello Eric,
Good to see you’re following your passion(s)! I’m still practicing here in Silicon Valley, just waiting for the next “big” thing….
I’m currently working on a 1972 Empi GTV for display at the 2011 EBI #4.
Take care and keep in touch…
David O.
I ran across your website while searching around for local contractors. I like the rain gutters. Nice art too.
Brian,
Send me your logo and I’ll post a link to your SLO Green Goods website.
Eric
Hey Eric,
I’m a big fan of Simple Shoes and interested in hearing more about your journey of pursuing your passions. I have a blog that I’d love to interview you for.
http://www.lemonadeandorigami.com
If your interested send me an email: Lola.Catero@gmail.com
Cheers and Happy Holidays!
Lola
Good on ya Eric. Great blog, really enjoy reading it.
Stumbled upon you while looking for places to let people know about a Native American powwow coming up in July. And then I started reading a bit here and there…very cool site. I’m the founder of a Native American and environmental non profit group, Redbird. Redbird just acquired a vintage 1963 one room schoolhouse in the Angeles National Forest, thirty miles from anything. For right now I don’t want to do anything to it…it is exactly as it was walked away from in or about 1970, books, records and all. Then I see some of the things you’ve posted and…well, wow, the possibilities…
it will tell you what it wants to be… Just stare at it long enough. Check out “A Pattern Language” by Christopher Alexander for ideas on how to build/add on etc.
E
I studied abroad in Dunedin, New Zealand for a year in 2007, graduated, and came back to SLO (my hometown) to get a job and join the working class. After a few years at the grindstone, it felt somehow like something was empty or missing. I started a small tech start-up. But now I subconsciously feel lost again. It’s not the “how to make more money” kind of lost, but more of the “how is this truly meaningful” lost.
I’m not totally sure, but I guess deep, deep down I think I disagree with the capitalist monetary system? And, although I want do make a positive dent in the world, I guess I feel guilty for doing it through a system that I fundamentally haven’t accepted yet? I’m not sure how to pin it down with words, exactly, but I think that’s in the ballpark.
I think this sounds a little hokey, but it’s true… when I was in a kid (early teens?) my parents bought me a pair of Simple shoes. They made me feel exactly like me, unfiltered. Recently, I read a few articles about you on the web (mostly interviews about how you started Simple Shoes). I feel like maybe, just maybe you might have been in my shoe before and understand my little dilemma at more than just a surface level?
Thanks 🙂
Adopting two cats is a semi cure to this. 😉
Finding charities you like and helping them in some way is good.
That and not taking your possessions too seriously.
Hi Eric, cool to see someone that’s interested in so many different fields, I made it through most of A Pattern Language and have spent a lot of time thinking about city planning ever since. Do you have any suggestions/advice for someone looking to get involved in that area? Do they let people under 30 on the planning commission?
Rock on
Thanks Connor,
There is a book I am reading right now… called “for the love of cities” by Peter Kageyama that you might enjoy… and that would add to your “ammo” when thinking about place making and what makes a cool city.
Anyone can apply to be a planning commissioner… any age… it is typically an appointed position and you are interviewed by a couple of city councilmembers and or existing planning commissioners to see if you are a fit. The idea being that a city doesn’t want a planning commissioner with a hard bias in any given direction. Your job is to try and best represent the opinion of the residents of your city… along with some smidge of your own personal opinion.
Many of the decisions you make as a planning commissioner are a situation where both sides have merit… and neither is wrong… but somebody still has to make a decision about which way to go. These are the most difficult decisions usually… and why we need balanced and empathetic people on the planning commission that can listen and make educated decisions based on all sides of a given discussion. We need this just as much as we need experienced planning types. Good Luck!
Awesome, thanks for the insight and book recommendation Eric, keep up the good work.
Dear Eric,
I understand after tracking you down how moving on from consumerism and such is great, I’ve done the same thing in my life regarding my spirituality…but please please get someone to make those shoes again. I’ve searched the entire globe for some my size. They are just “me”, I love my shoes and they are so worn out. cathystratton@gmail.com
Hi Eric, thanks for the heads up about the Future Fair on Saturday, that was a lot of fun. You made my case for converting the Mission Plaza to grass better than I did. Looking forward to the next one.
Hi, Eric. Please contact me if you have any interest in selling your domain name. I was searching to see if it was available. Having taken a quick look, it seems as though you haven’t posted for a while.
Heather, I’ve been really busy on other things… so no posting lately. Thanks for your offer for the domain… I have received literally hundreds of offers… one even in the six figure range… all of which have been refused. It is so hard to find a decent domain name these days (as you must know!) … I am just going to stick with this one that I have had for over a decade. Sorry… It is absolutely not for sale. Check out all the new domains… like .guru etc that were just released. I am sure there must be something there you could use. Best luck.
Hello Eric. I was doing a search for Medium shoes and found your site. I can’t seem to find any pictures of the shoe line. I had one pair of canvas Mediums and loved them but could not find them when looking to buy a new pair. Loved the design. Do you know of anywhere I could find photos or adverts? Just for inspiration. Who’s shoe design do you like now a days? Thank you.
Not much available to find on Medium… sorry. Probably easiest just to do an image search online and sift through the results. I haven’t seen any footwear that really turns me on lately. It’s a bit of a desert out there. I like Trippen for girls shoes… they are a bit extreme but so interesting from a design/material usage aesthetic. Wish I had more to tell you… Eric
Hello Eric,
I am a member of the Kiwanis Club of SLO. I’ve been looking for someone who could come and maybe do a power point presentation on the overall bike path from SLO to Avila. I’m personally interested because biking is part of my exercise plan, but I get concerned about biking in the bike lanes on busy streets. Our Kiwanis Club meets at Upper Crust Restaurant on Thursdays at noon. If you can do this, I’d love to schedule you as our speaker for a meeting. If not you, do you have any recommendations for who could do this? Thanks.
I’m not up to date on the bob jones trail lately. I suggest calling Bike SLO County (formerly the bicycle coalition). They have a new great executive director that has lots more knowledge than I. I forget his name but I imagine you can find it on bikeslocounty.org
Roger, I found the perfect person for you. Email me at frenchbicycles@gmail.com and I’ll forward their info.
Am enjoying your blog. I posted on the Sears bikes. I ride mine every Sunday. Another pastime is the care and feeding of our 1973 MGB which we’ve had sine 1974. I also do a blog for the Houston MG Car Club. http://houstonmgcc.com
Cheers.
Dwight Dawson
I was looking for Santa Barb rentals (I’m in NJ) and ran across a guest house in Montecito that looked nice, but wondered if my creative, down to earth ness and my search for truth would fit in there. Yanno, would I be the shunned poor relative. (I have never felt poor until now, trying to move to CA!) This doesn’t matter so much because the logistics of finding, seeing, and securing from the other coast is an expensive nightmare. I ran across your blog and have to say I just love your voice and look forward to hearing more of your words. All the best 🙂
my post is over a decade old now… and we’re no longer in Montecito… so I really can’t speak to current conditions. It is a lovely town aesthetically! Thanks for your compliment!
Thanks for your reply. All the best.