In the first Q&A Special of the Shoegazing Podcast reigning world champion in shoemaking Daniel Wegan of Catella Shoemaker answers questions from listeners / readers, resulting in a very interesting talk about everything from his view on the more casual turn of classic footwear to a breakdown on why bespoke shoes cost so much.

 

The Shoegazing Podcast is back, this time with a new type of special edition episodes that will pop-up every now and then, called Q&A Specials. Basically you listeners and readers of Shoegazing.com get to ask questions to some famous names from the classic shoe industry.

Daniel Wegan.

Daniel Wegan.

This round is with Daniel Wegan, the Swede who made a name of himself working at the bespoke department of Gaziano & Girling in England for ten years. He placed second in the World Championships in Shoemaking 2018, and then won the title in 2019. Last year he left G&G to start his own bespoke brand, Catella Shoemaker. If you’ve missed it, you can hear Daniel talk about dedication in episode 3 of the Shoegazing Podcast, a very popular episode.

In this Q&A Special though, which was recorded when he visited Sweden last week, it’s you who have decided the topics. A big thanks to all who sent in questions, couldn’t fit in all, but we got a lot covered in the near hour we talked, among other things Daniel’s view on the current boom of more casual footwear and how he thinks this will affect his business, a breakdown on why bespoke shoes cost so much, about preventing work-related injuries as a shoemaker, how he works with the bottom of the lasts, why he is often wearing cheap New Balance shoes himself, and much more.

Listen to the episode below, or in your preferred podcast player (just search for Shoegazing Podcast and you’ll find it at for example Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts and so on). All episodes of the Shoegazing Podcast can be found here. If you appreciate the podcast, please give it a good rating, and make sure to subscribe in your player.

No new podcast episodes have been recorded yet, and as I’ve mentioned before corona makes things a bit more complicated, since I prefer doing the interviews in person, I think they come out better when you can sit face to face and talk with the interviewee. But, fear not, the Shoegazing Podcast will be back with a new episode eventually.

Also a reminder that, as you might know, those that want to support Shoegazing and the continued work producing high level content, can become a patron and contribute with anything from three dollars a month. See Patreon.com/shoegazingblog for more info on this. Both big and small contributions are much appreciated!