As some of you may or may not already know, at Crown Northampton we always name our footwear after local street names linked to the town's rich shoemaking history or recognised green spaces and parks. It helps weave our products into the fabric of our town and county - Northampton, Northamptonshire and invokes civic pride for each and every pair of sneakers, shoes or boots that depart our factory.
For a bit of context on how we named our most recent addition, throughout the height of lockdown, the vast majority of the world found themselves in the same situation where all nearby shops, restaurants, bars, gyms, clubs, places of work etc. were closed whilst we tried to get control of the dreaded C word that brought the world to standstill.
For those brief moments where you were allowed to step outside your front door and stretch your legs, it really made you appreciate some of the smaller things in life or to put it another way, some of the extremely vast things that are completely free and often taken for granted such as nature!
So when we came around to naming the first sneaker from our newest Hand Stitch Collection, it seemed to make perfect sense that we name it after arguably the town's most beautiful forest - Harlestone Firs. Known for its towering fir trees, and varied landscape, Harlestone Firs was an outdoor space that offered great relief to many Northampton locals throughout lockdown.
Take a look below at the images from our day out around Harlestone Firs, with a selection of namesake Harlestone sneakers and also a few pairs of Forest Green Horween Chromexcel styles set against natural backdrops.
You can't beat a bit of nature.
Photography below: Joe Woolls , followed by Alex Natt
Photography below: Alex Natt