Our Story

TIGE began in 2021 with the inspiration to bring life, home. But its story originates in 1904 at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, MO where Brown Shoe Company was introduced to a popular comic strip, the Buster Brown character and his dog, Tige. Later, the little blonde boy and his dog became the emblem of the Brown Shoe Company and a fixture of 20th century American culture.

Meanwhile, a young boy in Leipzig, Germany named Henry von Keil began to develop an eye for art. As his homeland became the epicenter of a shifting world order after the Great War, he boarded a ship for New York City, where he studied art and engineering.

Generations later, descendants of both Brown and Keil continue the legacies of creativity in art and design, influencing culture and business across the United States. TIGE builds on the union of the families with a bond of delicate craftsmanship and creative expression inspired to bring life, home.