THE STORY OF BEARPAW In 2001, a young Tom Romeo was searching for a sign that
would help him choose between his two passions. Like many people, Tom has a
special spot that is his “happy placeâ€, where he finds time to meditate and
listen to nature. While sitting on the special rock located on the shores of
Lake Tahoe, a massive bear suddenly paused a short ways away from him, stared
directly at him for a moment, and decided to move along without any
confrontation. This magical experience had to be some sort of sign, and it
inspired Tom to seek out the meaning of this encounter. Tom soon learned that
a bear crossing is viewed by many as a sign of good luck and while symbolizing
strength, the bear serves as a guide for many at an impasse. All doubt had
gone away for Tom and he knew this was an opportunity to start his own shoe
company founded on this great animal, with the name BEARPAW as an homage to
his chance meeting with that bear in Tahoe. Shortly after, the very first
BEARPAW boot style was created, called EVA. Since then, the EVA has evolved
into our ELLE boot, and is still the most popular shoe style in the company’s
collection. Both EVA and ELLE embodied the BEARPAW lifestyle with their warmth
and effortless style. The BEARPAW team now creates shoe styles for all walks
of life, so you can live life comfortably wherever you are.