I've been waiting ever so patiently since I caught wind this past summer of Carson Footwear, a start-up based in Milwaukie (our Milwaukie) that's in the development phase of producing running shoes right here. The company's Everett Carson just wrote to let me know that they are about five weeks from launching their first shoe, the "10/10 Carbon Neutral." Of it, Carson says, "It is made from materials all sourced in the USA, stitched and assembled in our Milwaukie shop, [and] I'm very happy with the results the new state of the art foam sole materials have produced." And! They are currently searching for wear testers:

I am looking for some help with the final development and need some runners to help me do some wear testing. Test runners should wear a men's size 10.5-11 and prefer a minimal type shoe. These shoes are 10 mm off the ground under the toe and 10 mm off at the heel. If you are interested in testing please send me an email at ecarson@carsonfootwear.com. Please include the following info (you must be at least 18 years of age): Contact Info; Type of shoes you currently run in; weekly miles; type of running most preferred (trail, road). Let's see if we can destroy these things.

I am like eight sizes too small for this, but if you qualify you should do it just to make me die of jelz. Here's hoping that by the time I'm due to replace my current runners—the saddest shoe purchase of the year—there'll be a homegrown and built Carson waiting for me. Devastatingly photos are not yet available but I'll sure post 'em when they are.