Eater Staff
The collaborative shoe is a new colorway takes on Snibbs’ popular kitchen-friendly Orbit sneaker, which is designed to be slip-resistant and made out of recycled and biodegradable materials. As a practical bonus, it’s also waterproof and made with a high stretch fabric for more comfort and flexibility. One of the shoe’s new colorways, Illy, makes a special nod to Hedley & Bennett’s branding with its bright red accents.
Hedley & Bennett’s founder, Ellen Bennett, explains that the loss of her mother’s house in the Eaton Fire was a big driving force for her to help those affected (H&B is also donating proceeds of its LA Purple and LA Blue caps to the Los Angeles Fire Department). Snibbs’ founder, chef Daniel Shemtob, also lost his home in the Pacific Palisades Fire, and explains how that experience helped catalyze the footwear brand’s aid efforts in this essay for Eater. As Shemtob says, “I like the visceral experience of actually picking your hands up and helping people. That’s what cooking is all about.”
For those unfamiliar with Snibbs, the LA-based brand was founded by Shemtob in 2020 to offer a sustainable, modern work shoe perfect for those who work in kitchens. No disrespect to our beloved, albeit crusty Crocs, but Snibbs’ clogs — I’m specifically referring to the electric blue colorway — feel like the lovechild between a Dansko clog and some traditional Moroccan babouche slippers. I’m a recent convert to the Snibbs kitchen clog, and was first introduced to the shoe by Eater’s special projects director Lesley Suter. They’re spill-proof (I have wiped off coffee drips and turmeric juice alike), easy to slip on and off, and just generally make me feel more pulled-together when I dip out to the bodega.
As an LA-based brand, Snibbs has been playing a very proactive role in providing aid to restaurant industry folks affected by the fires. Its team has been distributing free meals and shoes at various drop-off locations in Los Angeles to service workers, and it is donating a percentage of the proceeds from its ROVR sneakers to World Central Kitchen, an organization providing aid to those impacted by the fires (additionally, it’s giving 100 percent of the profits from its Smorgasburg clog to Restaurants Care). It also started a Snibbs Community Giveback Program, which will provide up to $500 and a free pair of Snibbs footwear to select applicants. This latest collaboration with Hedley & Bennett is yet another feather in its initiatives to provide aid within the LA restaurant community.
The Orbit shoe launches Friday, February 7, and can be found at Snibbs and Hedley & Bennett. Snibbs has also launched a GoFundMe alongside The Lime Truck that will benefit fire-affected families.
