Our Story
Evensen builds on a family tradition that started in 1916, when Johnny Evensen set out to create quality products that could withstand the Nordic seasons and last for generations. These values became the foundation for a family tradition of heritage craftsmanship.
Today, they form the basis of our commitment to our design philosophy and European production, with repair and recycling services. A product is only as good as the materials and people behind it.
That’s why our fabrics and production choices lead each decision, with price following. Our products are worn, tested, and improved in real conditions—from cities to fjords—to meet the highest standards, for you.
Johnny Evensen
Master shoemaker Nils Jonny Evensen was born in 1893 in Oslo. He served his apprenticeship under royal court shoemaker H. A. Solberg in Oslo. Further education included a pattern-making course in Germany and study stays in Leipzig and Nuremberg. He worked in Denmark until 1916. Many will still remember the shoemaker in the small house built by Peder Dahl next to Øiestad’s house on Osloveien, also known as Grytebua. The workshop, called Askim Shoe Repair Workshop, was run by Rolf Evensen and his father, and remained in operation well into the years after the war. In addition to ordinary repair work and the production of new footwear, they also stitched football boots.
— Original text from Askim museum, Norway
Rolf Johnny Evensen
Born in 1918 in Stavern. Apprenticed under his father and qualified as a shoemaker. He served as foreman at Norrøna Skofabrikk outside Hamar until retirement. In 1936, he crafted bespoke football boots called “Even Spesial,” tailored to each individual player.
Proverbs sometimes receive confirmation in the most surprising ways. “Necessity teaches a naked woman to spin,” goes an old proverb, but Rolf Evensen could testify that necessity also teaches shoeless people to shoe themselves. During the war, people brought old handbags, suitcases, and similar items to be converted into footwear whenever possible. A suitcase on one’s feet was preferable to the paper or fish-skin shoes of the time. In 1954, Rolf Evensen left the business, while Evensen senior continued for a while longer in the old premises.
— Original text from Askim museum, Norway
Knut Evensen
Born in 1954 in Hamar. He followed in his father’s footsteps, made moccasins, and worked in his father’s factory.
Martin Evensen
Born in 1990 in Oslo. He studied retail and shoe design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. In 2017, Martin Evensen, fourth-generation cobbler and founder of New Movements, chose to take that legacy in a new direction: one defined by circularity, innovation, and a modern understanding of what responsible craftsmanship looks like.
