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To make a well-executed contrasting sole stitch is an artform. Normally, you either darken the entire sole edge and seam, or you leave all natural coloured. When one do it the middle way and darken the edge and part of the welt but leave the stitching light coloured, it’s tricky to make it neat looking – which makes it all the more lovely when achieved well.
Usually exotics aren’t really my thing, but this exquisite vintage lizard leather in a subtle dark brown really spoke to me. The pair is made by the Italian shoemaker Calzoleria Carlino, who currently runs a campaign with no upcharge on orders of lizard leather for their MTO, MTM or bespoke.
One of the oldest remaining shoe and bootmakers in the US are going for a renaissance under new ownership. Shoegazing has visited their store and workshop on central Manhattan, and got a glimpse into the high ambitions of the company to create a new American powerhouse for custom made shoes and boots.
We now open up the fifth edition of the World Championships of Shoemaking, where the final takes place during the London Super Trunk Show on May 4 2024. We have £6,000 (€7,000 / $7,400) and handmade shoemaking awls in the prize pool, and a chance to be showcased in shoe stores around the world. This year a loafer is the competition shoe to be made. Here’s all the info about the competition.
I’m currently in Japan, and one of the highlights this far was picking up my fourth pair from the bespoke shoemaker Eiji Murata, alias Main d’Or. An exquisite pair of split toe derbies in a medium brown embossed grain leather, made to the same extremely high standard as he’s known for.
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Yesterday the legendary Swedish bespoke shoe and bootmaker Janne Melkersson sadly passed away. After over 45 years in the trade there wasn’t much about shoemaking he didn’t know, and he spent the last decades passing this knowledge on to others. A beloved man that will be truly missed.
New podcast episode with the British-based bespoke shoemaker William Efe Laborde, in a talk where we focus on connecting historic shoemaking, materials and tools with today’s. Among many things you’ll learn which area of shoemaking that he thinks is at an all time high now in present time, why the tools never can be made as good as they were before the World War II again, and much more.
Here’s a substantial review of all the amazing competition shoes – 29 black balmoral boots – that entered the World Championships of Shoemaking 2023. Info about the makers and the shoes, comments, pictures of the shoes and in some cases also the manufacturing process. So much shoe greatness.
This is part two of the big walkthrough of all competition shoes in the World Championships of Shoemaking 2023. Here position 11 to 29 are reviewed with comments and pictures.
The shoes above all have a really high stitch density on the sole seams, with from the left 18, 16 and 14 spi (stitches per inch). Already the lowest one is a high spi for bespoke shoes, but Eiji Murata of Main d’Or isn’t really an ordinary maker. Now, the 18 spi version doesn’t really go well on actual customer shoes, with today’s leathers it becomes too fragile, but 16 spi I have on my latest pair from him.
