It Started With 100 Pairs

100 pairs of shoes. All of my savings went into them. I stepped in at full risk, with nothing behind me if they didn't sell.

That was the start of Paper Straight. If you had told me then that 2 years later more than 28,000 of you would have ordered from us, I'd have called you crazy. It has gone up and down the whole way, and it still doesn't feel real.

The idea was simple. Bring casual and street closer together. I never understood why those had to be two separate wardrobes.

And we noticed the derby coming up more and more. It fit. A derby works with a tailored trouser and it works with wide denim. It sits between the two worlds we wanted to connect. So we built the brand around it. We sold our first derbys in December 2024. Since then, more than 8 out of 10 pairs we've sent out have been derbys.

I keep writing "we". In the beginning it was just me. The team behind me came together slowly, and somewhere along the way Paper Straight stopped being mine and became ours. It's our baby. We believe in it one hundred percent.

That doesn't mean we get everything right. We face a lot of challenges, and the brand isn't where it needs to be yet. I'd rather tell you that myself than have you think we don't see it. Our stock has to get better. Growth usually brings more challenges with it, and we're right in the middle of that.

What I can tell you is why we do it. Everything we do comes from love for this brand, and from wanting to give something back to the people who wear it.

So thank you. You're in more than 60 countries now. From the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Germany to right here in the Netherlands, where we're based. As the owner of Paper Straight I'm grateful to all of you, and I don't say that to be polite. Without you we wouldn't be anywhere close to where we are now. You're part of how this brand gets built. We believe in Paper Straight, and it means a lot that you believe in us too.

If I had to put these 2 years in one line, it's the one that's in our name.

The coming year gets more colour. New models are on the way. We're working on better stock. And there's a lot planned that we get to do together.

I'm not putting dates on any of it here. I'd rather show you than promise you.

We want to take this brand somewhere bigger, and we want to do it with you. Thanks again. Keep believing in us. Together we are stronger.

One love,

Randell Vliet
Founder, Paper Straight