ReBorn Designs LLC

Launched creative practice helping major name-brand shoe companies and start ups innovate with new designs, styles, and product/marketing strategies.

Founder & Footwear Design Director

Sperry

Leading the design team for the Men’s product category, aligning designs to creative direction and target margins, while leveraging consumer insights to meet commercial needs and enhance bottom-line.

Senior Footwear Designer- Men’s Team Lead

Designed and executed volume product offerings to drive newness and commercial appeal.

Senior Footwear Designer - Women’s

Charcu Catery

Co-Owner, Founder

Timberland

Led the Women’s Classics product from 2014-2018, the highest revenue-generating franchise in the Women’s Casual product category.

Women's Footwear Designer

HH Brown

Design and development contributor for Söfft Shoe, Isolá, and Softspots brands.

Product Developer & Designer

Coordinated design assets for marketing, including publication design, corporate communication, and special event management.

Graphic Designer & Web Designer

Hi, I'm Erin. 👋🏻

I’m an experienced design leader specializing in Men’s and Women’s footwear. I bring a unique ability to merge tradition with innovation, crafting designs that exceed market expectations.

With global experience leading design teams at Wolverine and VF, I excel at translating brand identities into captivating, sales-driving products. My design philosophy blends comfort and style seamlessly, always keeping the consumer in mind.

I’m your go to for:
• Footwear Design
• Creative Direction
• Storytelling
• Strategy
• Trend Analysis
• Color & Materials
• Team Leadership
• Consumer Insights
• Product Development
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Presentation & Communication

Some of my career highlights:
• Launched a private label in just 1 month.
• Designed a sneaker franchise that generated $550K in its first season.
• Boosted product margins by 3% in one year for a global brand.
• Elevated consumer sentiment from 30% to 95% in just 12 months.
• Completed the Harvard Leadership Essentials program in 2023.

I use strategic design to help footwear brands and entrepreneurs stand out and grow their bottom line.

Ready to create the next big shoe sensation? Let’s collaborate.

☕️ Book a coffee chat: https://lnkd.in/eBMicF29

📂 Submit your portfolio/catalog: https://lnkd.in/epb2QsG7

📅 Schedule a FREE 30-minute Discovery Call: https://www.reborndesignsct.com/discoverycall

WEBSITE: www.reborndesignsct.com
EMAIL: erin@reborndesigns.com

Erin Bornstein 👟

Being overlooked stings.

But it makes you dangerous.

Why? It gives you:

- Freedom to experiment
- Less pressure of expectations
- Room to surprise with results

I’ve seen this play out over and over in my career.

The designers who catch my eye the most?
They’re never the loudest in the room.

They’re the ones who quietly keep you on your toes.

The type of work you only create when nobody is watching and no one expects anything from you.

Being underestimated is gold. It creates space for 'Surprise and Delight'.

And that is one of my favorite design philosophies.

When expectations are low, you’re free to exceed them in ways nobody sees coming.

Here’s how to turn underestimation into your superpower:

Focus on skill, not approval
 ↳ Master your craft. Let results silence doubt.

Use low expectations to your advantage
 ↳ No spotlight means freedom to push boundaries.

Deliver quietly, shine loudly
 ↳ Let your work speak. Impact is unforgettable.

P.S. Does being underestimated fuel your drive?

Repost this ♻️ if you agree!

CEO & Footwear Design Director, Delivering holistic, market-ready footwear solutions through strategy, design, and development.

Some moments hit different.  

This year’s TRE was packed with them.  

We got to reconnect with familiar faces.  

And finally meet others we’ve collaborated with for years in person, for the first time.  

That kind of energy? It doesn’t fade.  

One moment stood out:  
Patrick, our lead developer, met one of our clients at the show.  

They’d never met before.  

But they had built something powerful together.  

That client shared he had just sold his first pair of custom shoes designed and developed with us.  

He was proud.  
We were proud.  

Because that’s the work that matters.  

Not just the product.  
The partnership.  
The personal wins.  

At ReBorn Designs LLC Designs, we don’t just make footwear.  

We help people bring their vision to life.  

That’s the fuel.  
That’s the spark.  
That’s why we keep showing up.  

Here’s to more ideas made real.  
More firsts.

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My holiday wish?  
Fewer knockoffs.  
More guts.  

We don’t need another watered-down version of what’s already out there.  

We need teams willing to take creative risks.  
Founders who know the difference between inspiration and imitation.  
Retailers who back originality, not just what’s trending.  

Because the world doesn’t need *more* shoes.  
It needs better ones.  

Footwear that solves real problems.  
Design that reflects real people.  
Innovation that actually moves us forward, not just around in circles.  

If you’re out here copying, you’re not designing.  
You’re decorating.  

And if you’re leading a team, ask yourself this:  
Are we following the market?  
Or are we shaping it?  

The ones who dare to do it differently?  
They’re the ones we remember.  

Let’s make more of those.

End-of-year jet lag is real.  
But so is the magic of walking factory floors with the people who bring your product to life.  

We just wrapped our team travels across Italy and Portugal.  

Not for the wine or the scenery...though, let’s be honest, both delivered.  

We went to reconnect. To listen. To see with our own eyes what’s working and what could work better.  

Because when you’ve got partners who’ve been crafting footwear for decades, you show up.  

You ask questions. You learn.  
You build trust the old-school way, face to face, over espresso, next to the machines.  

These trips aren’t glamorous.  
They’re essential.  

They remind us that behind every silhouette is a supply chain of real people with real skill.  

Design doesn’t stop at the sketch.  
It lives and breathes in the hands of those who make it real.  

And when you invest in those relationships, the product tells a different story. One of integrity, not just aesthetics.  

Here’s to showing up.  
To building better.  
To ending the year grounded in what matters most.

Performance running has dominated the conversation. And I'm excited to see who’s ready to push the category forward at TRE next week.

Patrick and I will be there on Wednesday.
If you will be too, send me a DM. Would love to connect.

Innovation can come from anywhere.
That’s why the emerging brands matter.

Here are a few I’m watching:

910 NINETEN
→ Woman-owned. Confident. Sharp point of view.

hylo athletics
→ Sustainable performance with real intent.

Swift Running
→ BIPOC-owned. Woman-owned. Fresh energy.

Veloci
→ Quiet mover. Interesting potential.

XO-Nano Smartfoam
→ Material innovation that could shift the category.

Emerging brands keep the industry moving.
New ideas. New voices. New possibilities.

See you in San Antonio!

------------------

At ReBorn Designs, we turn clarity into momentum by helping brands create intentional, intelligent, and impactful footwear. DM me if you’ll be at the show and want to meet.

Most teams sprint into what’s next.

Very few stop to study what just happened.

But the truth is simple.

The mistakes you skip this year become your biggest opportunities next year.

At ReBorn Designs, we build better by design.
That includes the unsexy rituals.

Like the year-end debrief.

Not to dwell.
To distill.

We map what worked.
What flopped.
What dragged.

Then we extract the insights that turn stumbles into strategy.

This isn’t finger-pointing. It’s clarity.

Because in this industry, the difference between good and great isn’t talent.

It’s self-awareness in motion.

And the best ideas of 2026 are hidden inside the misfires of 2025 if you’re willing to look.

As I wrap this year, I’m deeply thankful for the clients, partners, teammates, and industry friends who make this work possible.

Your trust, collaboration, and honesty are what fuel the insights that drive us forward.

So take the pause.
Audit the noise.
Walk into next year

like a team that learns faster than it launches.

I became a shoe stalker long before I became a designer.  

Not the creepy kind. The curious kind.  

I’d scan airport lounges, grocery aisles, city sidewalks.  
Not for faces, but for feet.  

What are they wearing?  
Why that pair?  
How is it breaking down?  
What does it say about how they move?  
How they live?  

That’s how you start thinking like a real designer.  
Not in sketches. In context.  

Because the best shoes aren’t born in mood boards.  
They’re born in motion.  

Every blister, scuff, and worn-in crease is a data point.  
Every unlaced eyelet or doubled-up insole is a story.  

You want to design something that connects?  
Start stalking.  

Not the latest trend.  
Not your Pinterest board.  
Real people.  
Real wear.  
Real lives.  

This industry doesn’t need more designers working in isolation.  
It needs more shoe stalkers in the wild.  

Check out what they are wearing in NYC today

The volume of this season is loud.  

Deadlines. Deliverables. Holiday chaos.  

But I’m pausing to dial in two things: gratitude and direction.  

Gratitude for the clients who trust me with their vision.  

For the collaborators who show up with heart and hustle. 

For the students I mentor who remind me to keep asking better questions.  

For the women in this industry who are still pushing boundaries even when no one’s watching.  

And direction because I’m not here to move fast and break things.  

I’m here to move with intention.  

To build products and partnerships that outlast the trends.  

To challenge what’s outdated and design what’s needed.  

To scale creativity without shrinking humanity.  

This year has been filled with pivots, sparks, and some beautifully hard-earned clarity.  

Next year?  

It’s about deeper roots and bolder moves.  

More strategy. More storytelling.  

More voices at the table who’ve been underestimated for too long.  

Gratitude sharpens your lens.  
Direction gives it purpose.  
Design is how I bring both to life.

One of my favorite pastimes? 

Cutting up shoes. ✂️👟  

Not in a rage.  

In curiosity.  

Because if you want to design better, you have to deconstruct first.  

I’ve sliced open Air Max units, peeled apart Strobel boards, and dissected overlays like forensic puzzles.  

Every layer tells a story.  

Of cost decisions.  
Of shortcuts.  
Of brilliance no one sees.  

You learn what matters.  
What holds.  
What fails.  
What was designed for marketing versus performance.  

And most importantly what’s worth replicating, and what’s begging to be reimagined.  

The truth is, most of us are trained to look forward.  
But great design?  
It also looks under.  
Inside.  

If you’re only sketching what you *think* a shoe is made of, you’re designing blind.  

Want to level up your understanding?  
Get curious.  
Cut something open.  
See what holds it together and what doesn’t.  

Curiosity isn’t just a trait.  
It’s a tool.

In our next installment of the "Designer's Anti-Gift Guide" let's talk about clarity.

We throw more meetings, more decks, more rounds at the problem and call it “collaboration.”  

But what we really need is shared vision.  

A creative brief that actually says something.  

A concept strategy that makes decisions easier, not harder.  

A north star that isn’t just another Pinterest board.  

Because without clarity, time gets wasted.  

Resources get scattered.  

Teams burn out building something that doesn’t even stay on the line.  

I’ve worked on both sides.  

I’ve watched top-tier designs get watered down until they’re unrecognizable.  

Not because the team lacked talent. But because no one agreed on what “great” looked like.  

This season, skip the shiny tools and trendy templates.  

Give your team the gift of clarity.  

It costs less than another round of revisions.  

And it delivers more than another moodboard ever will.  

--------------------

Don’t forget, our newsletter for footwear professionals, Creative Caffeine, is back Monday.

I hit pause to build, rethink, and get my hands deep in the work again, and that clarity sparked new insights worth sharing.
If you’ve been wondering when the next one was coming, here it is.
Sign up today: https://lnkd.in/exPNr5UV

Your brain doesn’t need more caffeine. 

It needs permission.  

(Though caffeine definitely helps.)

Permission to pause.  

Permission to step away from the screen and let your mind wander.  

Because the best ideas?  
They rarely show up when you're forcing them.  

They sneak in while you're folding laundry.  
Driving in silence.  
Walking the dog.  
Halfway through a shower.  

That’s not a coincidence.  
That’s a creative system at work.  

But most of our industry still rewards the grind.  
The always-on, always-producing, always-proving culture.  
Like if you’re not sketching or pitching or posting, you’re falling behind.  

The truth is, rest is not the opposite of productivity.  
It’s part of it.  

As a designer, I’ve had million-dollar ideas hit while cleaning crayon off the wall.  
As a founder, I’ve solved business problems mid-hike with my kid.  

We don’t need to hustle harder.  
We need to normalize the space where ideas actually live.  

So take the walk.  
Close the laptop.  
Let your brain breathe.  

Permission granted.  

P.S. I’ve officially traded my Starbucks-and-Dunks era for La Colombe this month, and loving it! Anyone else on this wave? 

----------------

If you want a little creative boost, you can join my newsletter Creative Caffeine: https://lnkd.in/eB2Ps5fq

Unlock the 30–50% creative output you’re losing with this gift.

Most leaders don’t realize it.

But 30 to 50 percent of their team’s creative output? Gone.

Not because of bad ideas.

Not because of weak designers.

Because of 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗹.

The chaos that comes from unclear briefs.
Misaligned teams.
Last-minute pivots that torch morale and burn time.

We glamorize the hustle.

But most of it is just expensive inefficiency.

So this year, instead of coffee cards and company swag…

Give them clarity.
Give them time.
Give them a process that protects their brains and their bandwidth.

Because the best gift you can give your design team?

A system that doesn’t crush their creativity trying to chase yours.

And start building product that actually moves the needle.

That’s why I wrote the Designer’s Anti-Gift Guide. 
Right in time for the holiday season.

Coming Monday. Don’t miss it.
Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/exPNr5UV

–––––

Creative Caffeine is back Monday.
I hit pause to build, rethink, and get deep in the work again… and the clarity that came out of that is worth sharing.
If you’ve been waiting for the next one, this is it.
Sign up: https://lnkd.in/exPNr5UV

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