I really liked the Cheeky Little Soles which are suede soled.

I know it's not what you're after yet, but I've found the See Kai Run shoes the only rubber soled shoes with flex in them (and I seriously mean a lot of flex). DS outgrew soft soled shoes before he was two and I don't want him in hard soles, the See Kai Run ones are fantastic. I would actually class them as an early walker (from memory they start from about 12 or 18 months, and go up to the average size for a three year old).

They also do leather soled shoes as well I think. Really expensive though, but as my DS can actually run in them without tripping over constantly, I figure they're worth it.