England Archives - Shoegazing.com

London Super Trunk Show 2023

2023-02-27

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On Saturday May 13 it’s back – one of the world’s largest open event on quality shoes, The London Super Trunk Show, organised by Shoegazing and The Shoe Snob. In the middle of London on 12 Regent Street, we gather 11 brands from all over the world, partners exhibit, there will be the World Championships of Shoe Shining and Shoe Patina, plus the World Championships of Shoemaking have its award ceremony and competition shoes displayed, and for the first time we have a second hand shoe marketplace on site.

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Buying tip

Buying tip – Three independent British bespoke shoemakers

2023-01-29

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Jesper Ingevaldsson

In England you’ll find many more interesting bespoke shoemakers than just the usual suspects. In this article I highlight three of them: Efe Laborde, Sebastian Tarek and Tony Slinger. Also briefly about an article in the world’s largest financial newspaper, Nikkei, about the Japanese success in last year’s shoemaking world championships.

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The picture

The picture – Factory finishing

2022-11-13

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Jesper Ingevaldsson

This is a photo from the finishing department at the Crockett & Jones factory in Northampton, where the factory worker is going over the final details. One of the strengths, in general, of the British shoemaking factories is the very solid, even quality level, which certainly isn’t the easiest to achieve.

News – Church’s sales drop to record low

2022-09-18

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Jesper Ingevaldsson

The famous British shoe brand Church’s Footwear is going through tough times. After a disappointing 2020 they raised prices with around 40-50% last year to try a new approach, which resulted in a drop in sales with another 57%. This means that they’ve dropped a whopping 81% of their turnaround in just two years time, and losses are huge. Question is if they can turn things around.

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News

News – Masaru Okuyama relocated to London

2021-10-22

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Jesper Ingevaldsson

The Japanese bespoke shoemaker Masaru Okuyama has moved from Hong Kong to England and London, where he is now setting up a workshop and preparing for a new chapter in his shoemaking life.

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News

News – Paul Sargent Shoes launched

2021-09-24

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Jesper Ingevaldsson

When Alfred Sargent went into liquidation last winter, fourth generation of the founding family, Paul Sargent, quickly announced that he was leading a project to restart it all under a new name. Now Paul Sargent Shoes has officially launched.

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News

News – Gaziano & Girling launches Optimum range

2021-05-14

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Jesper Ingevaldsson

Today the British brand Gaziano & Girling introduced their new Optimum MTO range, it’s shoes made by their bespoke workshop to bespoke standards, but on their regular RTW lasts. The ambition is to make the absolute best craftsmanship available to more people. Shoegazing has had a look at a sample from the new range.

27 Comments

News

News – Church’s raise their prices with ~50%

2021-04-17

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Jesper Ingevaldsson

The British brand Church’s has raised their prices with approximately 40-50% across the board of their entire offerings. Over one night a pair of their Custom Grade Goodyear welted shoes went from to €570 to €830. In their newfound decision to enter a new segment they are likely to lose a lot of their existing customers.

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Picture special

Picture special – Catella Shoemaker austerity brogues

2021-03-06

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Jesper Ingevaldsson

Catella Shoemaker is the brand of bespoke shoemaker Daniel Wegan, previously head of the bespoke department at Gaziano & Girling and world champion in shoemaking in 2019. This is my first pair from his own venture, and as expected they are made to a superb standard. Here’s loads of photos and a film of the shoes.

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Interview

Interview – Paul Sargent of Alfred Sargent

2021-02-21

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Jesper Ingevaldsson

Many questions came up after the fact that the British shoe manufacturer Alfred Sargent have gone into liquidation went public. In this large open-hearted interview with Paul Sargent, part-owner and Factory Manager at the now closed company, you’ll get answers to most of them. The history of why the company ended up where they are, what will happen with the Alfred Sargent brand, and what will happen with the factory. Most importantly – this is not the end for the Rushden factory, Sargent will once again show that they are the phoenix bird of Northampton.

24 Comments