DWF from SF:

http://the-shoe-snob.blogspot.com/

Last edited by meister (2012-01-21 03:42:24)

http://www.styleforum.net/t/283836/part-ii-jesse-thorn-interviews-raul-ojeda-of-don-ville-custom-shoemaker-in-los-angeles#post_5127239

Interview with LA shoemaker Raul Ojeda

Last edited by meister (2012-01-22 06:52:08)

god its been to long since ive visited the forum, sounds like you two has an awesome time. i keep going to gigs at the palace theater and every time i walk past american tailors and wish i was there during the day time so i could pop in.
glad to see your still fighting the good shoe fight!

so is your blog up yet or still being worked on shooey?

Being fitted for a shoe - 1930s style

http://www.styleforum.net/t/75007/the-art-of-making-and-fitting-quality-footwear

fancy that, carreducker use springline too

lk have just found out that there is another bloke who can stitch welts and soles by hand also. He can't make a shoe from start to finish, but he can stitch and can also `hand last' to perfection. The stitcher works in construction during the daytime and does hand lasting at night occasionally. The problem is that he is tough to get access too because he doesn't speak hardly a word of English (he speaks Turkish) and the factory that he helps would require bribes for me to be able to have access to him. Mr X said it is best to give it a miss.

lt just goes to show you have much talent is still around for making shoes the old way, but it is near impossible to find. There are probably dozens who can do the work, but they are all retired or working in other industries after being sacked so production can move to China and lndia.

William Lennon (UK) boot factory

Most people here will be familiar with traditional British boot or shoe construction, like the Goodyear or military-style Veldtschoen. William Lennon offer something completely different, a unique construction which goes back to an old German style of boot, made with wooden pegs. Walking around the factory is like a history lesson – one that invokes dozens of names of defunct brands, as the world turns to cheap Chinese or Indian-made footwear. While the company – overseen by Les Lennon, grandson of the founder, and directors Dan Walker and Libs Slattery - is busy, you sense it's a constant struggle sourcing supplies. In the past their rough-out leathers came from Hull; now it comes from Switzerland. Zug grain used to come from the Bridge of Wear Tannery – now it comes from Horween in Chicago, as does nearly all of the waxy, chrome-tanned leather used for the uppers, which previously came from the Fitzroy Tannery in Australia. Sole leather is vegetable tanned, and still comes from a company in Northampton. Commando soles, a staple of British footwear, came from Itshide – a historic company, which apparently went through several owners in the last decade before moving to Bulawayo and ceasing trading. So now Lennon have sourced replacements from Viberg and Corinium. At the same time, this constant change represents an opportunity: Lennon picked up many new customers when they returned to making Shepherds' boots after the last major manufacturer, Tebbutt and Hall, ceased trading.


http://loomstate.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/william-lennon-factory-stoney-middleton.html

Ah, it looks as if Melbourne, indeed is a place where one is likely to find shoos.  I had thought that Perth & Darwin had the market cornered, but apparently I was wrong.

l see Bruce Millar tomorrow morning for a fitting for a new bespoke last. l love visiting Bruce at the factory, it is the best fun ever. When l go to Bruce's factory l NEVER EVER wanna leave, l wanna stay there all day and night....even camp out for days if l could. lf l was Bruce l would never wanna leave the factory, i'd stay there forever!

Last edited by The_Shooman (2012-08-29 04:17:49)