A friendly cheerful man with an invariable Hemp Rope on the hair is known, probably, by all Zhytomyr citizens. Oleg Zemnukhov – designer of hemp shoes, founder of Netps company, leader of the Ukrainian Spiritual Republic of Zhytomyr region, wonderful family man and friend. Oleg agreed to open the secrets of his business and welcomed us to the holy of holies – a workshop for the manufacture of hemp shoes

«It started with the fact that for seven years I was selling regular shoes at the market. Later the idea came to sew hemp shoes. My musician friends wanted hemp clothing for themselves, started looking for it in Holland, ordered it. I decided to help find such manufacturers in Ukraine. It turned out that we are not engaged in this. There is only one expert who develops threads and experiments, he is a researcher at the Kiev National University of Technology and Design. I started collaborating with this university and studying for a technologist in absentia. At the same time, I was collecting ancient fabrics and saw that there is a whole world where there are such canvases: at special antique markets, festivals, where authentic things are transported, in particular and on the web»

«Creating each pair is a creative process. There is a customer who needs quality service. The shoe often has a whole story of a person in it because the feet are very problematic and the shoes should be comfortable, light and insensitive on the feet»

«Most pairs are original custom work. People are different, but quality shoes should be had by all. As a doctor, I have to treat everyone calmly. It makes no difference what the patient (or the client) addressed to me. Some relish enthusiasm for the shoes they make and some do not like them. Everything should be perceived calmly and openly, sincerely and working on its shortcomings»

«My shoes are usually ordered by positive people who saw it at festivals, exhibitions, they liked it, and they want to get into authentic dreams, to carry, so to speak, the bond of generations. I believe that to be connected with the past and our culture, which has a deep history, is very honorable. Now people live differently. We only occasionally try to get in touch with our ancestors through song. It may sound fantastic, but I am convinced that the times of the modern times coexist, our ancestors live with us in parallel reality»

«The shoe cloths I use are the former, which were made many, many years ago, contain special energy and power. I find them in old chests, ask for them in the antiques. This fabric is already 80 or even 100 years old: it was made by hand, dried in the sun, collected flat, rolled up scrolls. It is a living tradition and a whole layer of Ukrainian culture. In such fabric, energy is unusual, Ukrainians understand it»

«Of course, the people who made this fabric couldn’t even think that in 100 years, a designer would create shoes that would travel the world to Canada or Italy, where they would be delighted and admired by their contemporaries. I feel responsible, because these things seemingly belong to museums, and I give them a new life»

«Each fabric scroll is filled with the special energy of several generations, because both grandmothers and mothers and children, who once helped their grandparents or mother to coil the yarn when she weaved on the machine, participated in the fabric creation. These same children had the task of spreading the canvas by the lake while walking and wetting it with water. The fabric was bleached under the scorching sun, then it was again soaked and dried. Note that at those times, children didn’t wonder around, they did important things. These fabrics are the whole layer of someone’s life, with the joy of being laid back. Unfortunately, we have lost it now. This culture is coming from us, and in my things it continues to live»

«Our people lived like this: there were traditions (such as weddings) that had been prepared for years. Every Ukrainian carefully adhered to traditions and rituals. Now such discipline is lost, anarchy in customs, permissiveness is born, and people in general do not know anymore how to properly teach a child. There is only a small segment left in pedagogy. Yes, modern life is multi-vector. If we manage to maintain this bond of generations, we will be rewarded»

«In addition to the mental and energy benefits, such shoes have a really beneficial effect: they breathe, give natural comfort to the foot. Since this is the most natural material of all, there is never an allergy, annoyance or other inconvenience … It is worth dispelling the myth of the narcotic properties of tissue. During the production of hemp cloth, all dope substances were weathered in the process: dried out, washed and disappeared»

«One pair of original shoes is usually sewn for 10-15 days. It can be delayed for 2 months or even a year. It depends on many factors that I do not fully understand»

«It takes a few people to create shoes, such as a cutter that cuts out parts, a seamstress who collects parts and sews, a shoemaker, who shapes shoes, and soles … Creating shoes is a constant search. There are various techniques, technologies that masters share in social networks. I keep a close eye on all this. Prominent craftsmen work primarily with leather and various combinations, but there is much to be learned in their techniques. Now ideas to use, perhaps, wooden elements, combine them with fabric. I think about it, then critical mass accumulates, and then the idea is realized»

«My wife helps not only morally: she makes appliqués for shoes, shirts insoles on the machine, can sew a bag. I am glad that my environment always has a desire to do something, to master, to help somehow. I already allow my children to turn on sanding machines, even with a screwdriver and a drill. It is good that near the workshop are our family «recharges»: oaks, which have been around for many years. My kids and I have our own place to get energy»

«I plan to expand the hemp spectrum: hemp can be used to make medical cosmetics, and fenugreek is used to build hemp houses (in the world, especially in the US, this is already practiced)»

«The plans are to create a hemp lab – a hemps lab – an area where you can taste hemp flavors (such as making candy with hemp nuts right now), take part in the creation of, for example, shoes or clothing made from hemp, join traditional folk traditions in modern times»