About Herreen
The name Herreen has been associated with making and supplying Custom Footwear and Orthotics in Australia for over 55 years.
John Herreen started his shoe making career in 1946 as an apprentice at Rossiter Boot factory in Adelaide at the age of 14. Over the following 16 years he worked at Slatters, Hush Puppies and Harrisons before taking his first step at custom making in 1962 at the Repat-RALAC.
After 6 years at RALAC he left in 1968 to start his own business.
His son Chris joined him in 1974 and youngest son Jonathan joined in 1985.
After finishing his training in 1989, Jonathan purchased the business from his father and formed J.Herreen & Sons Pty Ltd.
John Herreen was one of the 3 founding members of what is today the Pedorthic Association Australia.
By the mid 1990s, branches had been established in Melbourne and Sydney resulting in total employees of 22 across the three locations making Herreen the largest provider of Custom footwear in Australia.
Herreen was the first provider to DVA for their custom footwear needs in NSW and SA when RALAC closed in 1993. Herreen was amongst the first group to supply DVA in Victoria.
Between 1997-2000 Jonathan expanded the specialist nature of the business by providing bespoke footwear to the high fashion industry for use in specific parades and fashion shoots.
Recipients of this tailor-made service were some of the best known fashion houses in Australia.….Carla Zampatti, Collette Dinnigan, Akira, Tigerlily-Jodhi Packer to name a few.
Jonathan’s shoes appeared in 5 Mercedes Fashion Weeks (Sydney) 1997-2001
Through the high-profile fashion clientele, he connected to some of Australia’s best known people and provided private, exclusive bespoke footwear to them….James Packer, Lindsay Fox, Sara Murdoch, John Laws, Len Ainsworth and most recently Gina Rinehart.
From 2001-2007 Jonathan concentrated on the development of a more specialised product whilst maintaining services to a loyal client base.
In late 2009 Jonathan relocated to Sydney and began working on a product which had a PCT Patent registered in the USA. A modular shoe/support device with changeable uppers.
In 2013 Jonathan established a modern facility in Guangzhou China and worked with several hospitals, disabled federations and private companies in China and Hong Kong.
In more recent times has developed a 3D foot and leg scanner which is being used by Podiatrists and Orthotists around Australia/NZ……currently there are around 60.
In October 2016 Jonathan’s SmartFit scanning and software system was named the winner of Ministers Innovation Award, South Australia Health Awards
By 2017 Herreen’s CAD software cadAdjust was completed, allowing for Orthotics, Shoe lasts and midsoles to be designed in minutes and removing all the hand work.
In more recent years Herreen is providing footwear to Canada, Malaysia and USA.
In 2023 new footwear services have been established in NSW, NT and Tasmania giving Herreen total coverage of Australia.
TelePED™
The world’s first Virtual Pedorthic Clinic is convenient for Patients, saves potential delays from 3rd parties, keeps costs down and most importantly the Healthcare Professional stays in control of the full process from ordering Custom Footwear and Orthotics to monitoring the outcomes.
