About us

TABI brings the Japanese split-toe into everyday life – designed in Denmark, made to move.

The founderEast x WestThe journeyThe teamStockists

The founder

Eik Braun-Ottosen

Balance and feeling barefoot – that was Eik’s first sensation when he walked in split-toe surf boots from the surf shop to the ocean in Cape Town, South Africa. With more than 20 years in the shoe business, he wanted to share that feeling with the world.

Tabi were invented more than 1000 years ago in Japan, worn by geishas and ninjas. Eik learned the craft from a fourth-generation mentor and manufacturer in Okayama, Japan.

Read Eik’s story

East x West

From Japan to Denmark

The journey

Two shoe brands before TABI

Eik founded Rubberduck when he was 25 years old in Los Angeles. It became popular amongst A-list celebrities like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton & Lindsay Lohan.

He sold Rubberduck and founded Nature – a wide toe box shoe made for feet. That footwear journey made TABI possible.

Early stages