Lapstone and Hammer

In 1898, the Saucony Shoe Manufacturing Company began operations on the banks of the Saucony River in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, 75 miles from where Lapstone and Hammer would eventually open its doors in Philadelphia. Two Pennsylvania brands, rooted in craft and quality, had never formally collaborated. When they finally did, the mandate wasn’t a standard capsule colorway. It was something harder: create an entirely new silhouette. Take Saucony’s heritage Courageous runner and build something that had never been made before, the first hand-stitched Saucony in decades. Therum was brought in to help make sure the creative direction and visual narrative behind that shoe was worthy of the object itself.

We worked as strategic and creative partner on the collaboration, contributing to the design direction, storytelling framework, and the visual language that carried the shoe from concept to market. This wasn’t art direction applied after the fact. We were part of defining what the release meant and how it communicated.

The name says everything. “Saucony” comes from the Lenape word saconk, “where two rivers run together.” Two Pennsylvania brands. Two rivers. One shoe. The concept had structural integrity before we touched it. What it needed was a visual and narrative system rigorous enough to carry that weight across every surface, from the shoe itself to the packaging to the campaign, without over-explaining or undercutting it.

We started where the story started: the origins. Saucony’s founding on the riverbanks. Lapstone’s roots in Philadelphia’s culture of craft and curation. The Courageous silhouette, a mid-80s heritage runner that hadn’t seen a proper retro until 2008, now being handed to a collaborator to rebuild entirely. The design cues we developed, materials, color direction, construction details, all traced back to that foundational story. Horween leather and buttery suede for the upper. Hand whip-stitched moc toe as the centerpiece construction detail, referencing traditional moccasin craft and making this the first hand-stitched Saucony in decades. Cork inlaid into the midsole wedge. Calfskin leather sockliners. Sherpa fleece on the tongue. A marble-printed box referencing the actual marble in Lapstone’s back room.

Two colorways: Bone White, light suede with blue and coral accents, exclusive to Lapstone, and Black Sand, dark suede with purple and olive, released to select global retailers. Each detail was a decision, not a decoration. The apparel capsule, made entirely in Philadelphia, followed the same logic: hand marble-dyed French terry, cognac leather patches, garment-dyed tees. Everything rooted in the same ethos as the shoe, made with intention, made here.

The Courageous Moc Two Rivers sold through at Lapstone and Hammer, received global distribution through select Saucony retailers, and was covered across every major sneaker platform. More importantly, it held up to scrutiny, the kind of detailed, knowledgeable scrutiny that sneaker culture applies to collaborative releases. The whip-stitched toe, the cork midsole, the marble box, reviewers noticed every detail because every detail was worth noticing. That doesn’t happen without intentional creative direction from the start.

The Two Rivers story didn’t need to be told heavy-handedly. It needed to be embedded, in the construction, in the materials, in the name, in the packaging, in every touchpoint that touched the consumer before they ever put the shoe on. Therum’s job was to make sure that embedding was coherent, that nothing contradicted the story, and that the release felt like an inevitable expression of what these two brands share. When the work is that specific, people feel it even when they can’t articulate why. That’s the goal every time.

This case showcases Therum’s commitment to bridging design and brand evolution. When you’re working with heritage brands and new creation alike, our process ensures the output is both rooted and forward-leaning, and that new product work resonates with visual and strategic intention.