Hi, my name is Daniel Raes and I am a footwear designer, illustrator and storyteller. I grew up in a small town called Slater, Iowa where I dreamed of designing shoes. 

I went to Iowa State University and studied Industrial Design while working at a local Footlocker store. After graduation I moved to Portland for the Summer to compete in the World Sneaker Championship at the PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy. 

Upon completion of the competition I received a contract position at KEEN footwear and was eventually hired on full time as a Jr. Technical Designer. At KEEN I designed shoes for all of the categories including: Men's, Women's, Kids, Lifestyle, Trailhead, Waterfront, and Utility.

I started a new position as a men’s footwear designer at Sorel in October of 2018. While at Sorel I have worked on the men’s line to add core styles to keep the business growing while also working on many side projects. some of the projects include; a sustainability initiative, 3D/VR design, a suite of custom hardware pieces, presentation layouts, photoshopped colorways for catalogs, and illustrations for various company needs.

By day I design shoes for Sorel and by night I dream up stories and work on my art.