About Us

If a Livie & Luca shoe could whisper in your ear it would say...Spread Joy! It would tell of its journey from a sweet bubble of an idea to a final inspired design. You would hear of its crafting in the hands of artisans where beautiful materials are combined with touches of whimsy and joy to create a shoe unlike any other. Working passionately is our way of life at Livie & Luca, and you will see and feel it in each shoe we make.

Our Story

It all began one spring morning, when co-founder Mitzi Rivas was strolling her baby Luca, asking herself a time-old question, How do I live a meaningful life that sets an example for my child? The thought popped into her head I want to spread joy! It wasn’t about a particular profession or path, but a feeling, an ethic, a way of working. Right on cue, a small parcel arrived in the mail from a friend. Enclosed, a beautiful pair of hand-made red leather shoes with a fox design. Mitzi, and everyone who saw them, including her dear friend and future business partner, Amie Garcia, fell in love. They were unlike anything she’d seen before. Whenever Luca wore the shoes, the refrain from strangers was constant “Where did you find those shoes?” And so the idea for Livie & Luca was born: it was to create something like they had seen and felt in those darling little fox shoes, while keeping in their hearts the spirit of spreading joy. Livie & Luca was launched in 2005.

We're about whimsy and joy. We embrace bold designs and fanciful modern touches that capture the playful, jovial essence of childhood. Our designs are inspired by nature, folklore, vintage and the rich imagination of children. We’re about comfort and durability – We want kids to be able to navigate playgrounds, city streets and dirt pathways with style and ease. Livie & Luca uses brightly colored velvety soft leathers and other textiles to bring the utmost comfort and resilience to our shoes.

We're about giving back. Livie & Luca strongly believes in creating a better world for our children and donates 10% of online sales to charity. We also partner with our customers and Art for Humanity (artforhumnanity.org) to facilitate the donation of gently-worn shoes to children in Honduras. You send us back your gently worn shoes and we send them on. Children living in poverty are given possibly their first pair of shoes for school and protection from soil-borne infections caused by walking barefoot.

We're about sustainability. Whenever we can, Livie & Luca incorporates sustainable and eco-friendly practices to tread lightly on the earth. We are committed to social responsibility. We chose our materials and our providers carefully, making efforts to work with companies that use no harmful chemicals in their leather tanning process, for example. See below for more specifics about our practices, factories and materials if you want the nitty gritty.

We're about handmade. We want people to remember that our baby and toddler shoes are made by hand. We take great pride in our artisanship, from the design, to materials, to their construction, and because of this, we consider them a work of art. No pair of shoes is exactly alike, each pair as unique as the child who wears them.

We design our shoes and run our company with a passion, emotion and dedication that is inspired by light hearts. Livie & Luca took off skipping with a bucket full of joy and an eye towards the sky - now that we’re aloft we’re here to pass it all along. Our ethic as a company and as contributors to our global community is summarized eloquently by the words of Dr. Bertice Berry: "When you walk with purpose, you collide with destiny."

Treading Lightly:


Here are some ways that we do our part to reduce our footprint on the planet:

• Factory workers are from the local town, or live on-site, mostly walking or riding a bicycle to work.

• We make efforts to work with companies that use no harmful chemicals in their leather tanning process.

• All our leather is lead free.

• Non-toxic glue is used in the production of our shoes.

• Customers can send back their gently-worn Livie & Luca shoes for donation to a non-profit that coordinates the distribution of shoes for families in need.

• Our shoe boxes are made of 50% recycled paper.

• Brochures, business cards and postcards are printed on post-consumer product and use soy ink.

Factory Conditions:

At Livie & Luca we feel that it is imperative to have first-hand knowledge of how our shoes are made. For that reason, we have personally visited our factories in China and Mexico for an extended period, meeting with both managers and employees. Here are details that we’d like to share about our factory’s practices:

• They pay a competitive salary, which is significantly more than the minimum wage.

• The factory maintains its worker base because it offers steady year-round work, which is not typical.

• Employees work seven hours a day, six days per week and accrue vacation time apart from the national holidays.

• Housing is provided for employees who do not live locally.

• Apart from the mandatory health insurance that is provided for each employee, the factory also coordinates and provides yearly medical exams for its employees.

• Factory equipment and work environment are checked for safety on a regular basis.

• Factory owners care about their employees and are very much involved in the shoe-making process.

• As owners, we noticed immediately that factory employees are not only hard working but also enjoy their work.