Softstar Shoes Wins 2018 DeMuro Award

PHILOMATH, Ore., Oct. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Softstar Shoes has just been named a 2018 winner of Restore Oregon's annual DeMuro Awards, which celebrate and honor exceptional historic rehabilitation and architectural preservation projects across the state of Oregon.

Softstar, an Oregon-based manufacturer of handcrafted leather footwear, received this honor for recently restoring a 1940s roller rink into the company's new workshop and retail location. Previously known as the Phil-O-Rink, this wood-trussed structure served as a community skating rink for a quarter century before closing in the 1970s. Vacant since the 1990s, the spacious barrel-vaulted building has been fully and sustainably repurposed and now offers both tours of its manufacturing facility and a peek at its roller rink past via exhibits that dot and enhance Softstar's retail space.

This building, once a hub of activity and a center of joy in the community, had become an abandoned eyesore along Philomath's Main Street. Now it has been restored to its original glory along with many modern upgrades to make the building's features functional and sustainable. Softstar teamed up with designer and contractor Alan Ayres to bring the vision for the old roller rink to life. The company's CEO Tricia Salcido says she's incredibly excited to have won the DeMuro Award, in large part because it honors Ayres's skill and dedication to the community.

"I'm so proud to have worked with Alan on this restoration project. Alan is not only concerned with beautifully preserving and reinventing historic structures, he's also a benefactor to local businesses," Salcido says. "He's helped so many businesses flourish, and he sees the big picture—the community, social and cultural impacts of the projects he takes on."

Restore Oregon says all of this year's DeMuro Award winners were selected for extraordinary quality, creative problem-solving and notable community impact. Restore Oregon launched the DeMuro Awards program in 2013 to publicly recognize teams of architects, designers, contractors and property owners for committing to restoring and honoring Oregon's historic architecture and cultural heritage. The award is named in honor of Art DeMuro, whose redevelopment of historic properties set the standard for quality, creativity, persistence, and business acumen. The DeMuro Award is the only statewide award in Oregon recognizing the creativity, persistence, and craftsmanship required by outstanding restoration projects.

"Our goal is to both honor outstanding preservation efforts—residential and commercial, urban and rural, private and public— and to share them as inspiration for others," says Restore Oregon Executive Director Peggy Moretti. Restore Oregon will present awards to each of the winning restoration teams at the Restoration Celebration on November 2, 2018.

Download high-resolution photos of the Softstar restoration project, including before-and-after photos.

About Softstar Shoes:

Softstar has been designing and handcrafting minimal footwear since 1985. With an emphasis on high-quality, flexible materials that allow for free and natural movement, the company offers a range of styles for kids, youth and adults. All shoes are handmade in-house from responsibly sourced materials, have a "barefoot" feel, zero-drop soles, and encourage healthy toe splay and strong feet.  Softstar ships worldwide from its workshop in Philomath, Oregon.

Contact:
Alison Brody
541-936-9300 ex401
[email protected] 
Softstar Shoes
914 Main Street
Philomath, OR 97370

SOURCE Softstar Shoes

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