Hanna,

Welcome to the Crispin Colloquy.

You've come to the right place! Reading, discussing, asking questions...that's what we're all about. I hope we can be of help.

Emmett

Hello all,
I am a shoemaker working in London for the bespoke trade, making traditional hand sewn and finished boots and shoes. I know next to nothing about western boots but have read your threads with interest although some of the terms used are new to me so I dont always understand all of it !
My main work is 'making' ,lasting sewing and finishing the shoes. I also fit lasts and close uppers really as a hobby. I have 2 singer closing machines flatbed 110 and post136 .Have had to put a lot of work in to get them right but they are now running spot on and I have plans to make some shoes for myself when I get time.
Regards Mack.

Welcome Jim,

We are not only about western boots but all kinds of shoe and bootmaking. More than a few of us who started making boots have become enchanted by shoes and vice versa.

We welcome your contributions, advice and questions and are looking forward to seeing some of your work.

Who do you work for in the London bespoke Trade?

Emmett

Thanks for the welcome,
Over the years I have worked for most of the West End shoemakers. We are a small trade and we all know each other in one way or another. I trained at John Lobb and still do some work for them .I also work for Foster and Son and G&G.
I'm not sure if I can post pictures of this work as it does not belong to me and I have to respect customer privacy , but I could post some pictures of my private work as it comes along.
Regards Mack.

Dear Mack,
Welcome aboard.
Nasser. Bespoke shoemaker from Canada.Do you know cooky? shoe maker for Lobb.

Hello Nasser,
Yes I know Cooky .We were taught by the same Polish guy at Lobbs, but Cooky was a maker already when I first started. He is a very talented guy in all kinds of leatherwork. I havent seen him for a while as he lives away from London now.
Regards Mack

Dear Mack,
Is Henery Been, Last and Boot-Tree Maker. unit 22 Newington Industerial Estate, Crampton street, It it still there?

(Message edited by dearbone on January 14, 2008)

Mack:

Welcome to the Colloquy! What a thrill to have you here -- I am told you are the one of, if not the, best makers in London (so say Pelle K, Terry M, Tony G., Jason A. and others in the trade). I hope you will visit often, as I would love to learn what you are willing to teach.

I am of the impression that Cooky has died -- he also trained Pelle, and I think Pelle told me Cooky is no longer alive.

If you don't mind, I can share the following pic which has been published elsewhere and was given to me by one of the companies you work for.



Lance

ps Just for clarification, Mack did the 'making' of these shoes. The lasts, clicking, and closing were done by others, as is the standard practice in London.

pps - Moderator -- please feel free to move this picture if it is not appropriate in this location.

(Message edited by lancepryor on January 14, 2008)

(Message edited by lancepryor on January 14, 2008)

(Message edited by lancepryor on January 14, 2008)

Jim,

Good grief!! What a beautiful Monk! What is the leather?

I too will hang on everything you are willing to share.

Thank you for joining us.


Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

Lance, Mack,

Saw your edits...

The "making" is just the things that are the most difficult part of the shoe (aside from carving the lasts, of course).

The finish is some of the best I've seen. The welt stitching looks to be hand done at about ten to the inch? And although we don't see the bottoms, I've no doubt they are just as well executed.

I'm gonna have questions...unfortunately there's a time difference.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

DW:

I certainly didn't mean to diminish Mack's accomplishments, just to make it clear what he did with those shoes. As you wrote, the 'making' is a very difficult process, although people like Mack make it LOOK easy. Having spent some time with one of Mack's contemporaries, it is humbling to watch them at work -- everything looks so straightforward and relatively simple, then you try to do it yourself.....

For them to stitch an outsole at 10 or 12 to the inch, to do it without getting any stitches out of line, to have the stitches make that beautiful bead, and to do it all (breast to breast, by the way) in about an hour .... aaargh! The same, of course, could be said for the lasting, the mounting of the toe puff, the sewing of the welt, the building of the heel, the finishing of the sole -- basically, every step of the 'making.' It's awesome to watch.

Lance

Lance,

I know...maybe I said that awkwardly or something. What I meant was that these processes were "just" the very ones that I know need upgrading in my skill set.

Dern if I could just "outseam" half that good, in twice that time.

And believing as I do that "presentation is everything" I am always interested in refining my finishing technique. I am guessing that's crust though...it's got a depth and a tonality that you don't get with most finished leather.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

DW:

My guess is that is not crust, because those shoes are black, which is one color that does not start out as a crust leather, AFAIK.

Lance

Lance,

Black?! Well, my monitor must be too hot or something 'cuz they look dk. brown or burgundy or black cherry from here.

Whatever it is, it's pretty.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

Hi Jim,

Also a warm welcome - also from Europe. I hope I can see soon a picture from your shoes.

Hello all, thanks for the warm welcome. Let me try and answer your questions.
Nasser ....... Do you mean Peen,last & tree maker. I believe they are still around but I'm not sure of the address.
Lance ........ Thanks for your kind words.I have the highest regard for all the people you mention we all work together trying to make the best shoes we can.Cooky is alive and kicking to my knowledge
The man who taught Pelle is dead so maybe you are mixing the two.The picture you have is of an Edward Green bespoke I think. The leather is a medium weight calf in black, the colour looks slightly different due to the high polish.Soles are stitched 10 per inch with a bevelled waist, this is pretty standard for this weight of shoe
sole is quarter inch, heel inch & one eight ( sorry we work in old imperial still ) .Your right, crust leather comes mainly in shades of brown and can be polished to a wonderful range of rich colours
DW.....the pictures of your work show me you are a very skilled craftsman. My making is how I earn a living but I love playing around with lasts ,closing etc when I get time ,which is in short supply !I have taught myself closing and am really still a novice but I only do this for myself and friends so I work at my own pace. We all go on learning in this trade.I have some crust leather which I will be using for my personal shoes so I will keep you posted.
Marcell...... I will have to search the forum to find how to post photos, tec is not my thing.
If you look at Jun Kuwanas website and pick the Fosters and Maxwell pages there are some photos of my 'making'. I did not make the lasts or close the uppers, but I will try and post some pictures of my personal work when I figure out how to.
Regards Mack

Mack,

Let me add my welcome here too. I'm not sure if I met you briefly in '99 or '00 when I last toured the West End shops with my host Peter Schweiger (James Taylor & Sons, Paddington, long-time member of our guild)--it was a whirlwind tour. Is Bermodsey Bootmakers still going? I first visited Lobb's cellar work rooms in '78, and then about every year (or two) there after all through the '80s, so many of my contacts are a bit "old", or perhaps gone on by now.

Brace yourself for questions lad... This mob will have a lot of then, me included, as the world has just shrunken an order of magnitude by you joining us

Mack,

I though an initiation was in order ...so I have posed a question for you over in Open Forum: Techniques, Crans and Visualizations: Outsoles.

Please do not feel any obligation...despite all the enthusiasm, we are a pretty laid back bunch and we all know that time is in short supply for all that needs to be done. Just hoping to welcome you into the "living room" and out of the front foyer--maybe stick a glass of Lagavulin in your paw and help you settle in.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

Mack,welcome first.From reading these last few post sounds as if a shoe building party is about to start......and I am proud to be in that number.A right good V.I.P. guest card to start "08" in.

Ed

Mack:

Oh yes, now I realize that I confused Pelle's teacher with Cooky -- I have heard Cooky's name in conversations with Jason and Pelle.

Nasser & Mack:

I thought Peen's has been out of business for some time -- their equipment was bought by somebody else, who did quite a bit of work for the trade in London, but I understand that his business has been bought by Lobb, so other folks now have to source their shoe trees and last blanks elsewhere.

Lance

Lance,
No hard feelings or anything, But thank God about your confusion about Cooky, because, I went to bed last night weeping and found out in the morning that was not so. They say tears cleanse the soul, I guess, I had my share.

Thanks once again for your welcomes.
Mr Saguto....... We may have met although I have not worked in the basement at Lobbs since about 78 I remember Peter Schweiger as he offered me my first job in about 74. I started at a different firm before going to Lobb .Bermondsey Bootmakers is long gone. David Lobb took it as far as he felt he could but I remember making some fancy pumps for them,I was just finding my way along as a self employed 'maker' then.
Lance........You know plenty of people in the west end trade.I think the firm you are thinking of is Allens, they were bought out some time ago and I think Lobbs then took over more recently. As far as I know Lobbs and Peens are still linked
DW.....I will try and answer your question in the open forum.
Lagavulin happens to be one of my favourite Scottish malts, it is one of the smoother Islays.I have visited some distilleries in Scotland as I have spent many holidays up there
We toyed with the idea of visiting Islay to tour the distilleries but it never got organised,if you get reasonable weather Scotland and its Islands are stunningly beautiful
Regards Mack.

Hello from Jenny in Nova Scotia.
I'm thrilled to have found a place where I am not the esoteric weirdo for making shoes, and even more pleased that I am not the expert, so I get to learn lots. It is both inspiring and intimidating to see what others have done. Around here, and in the historic costume world, I am generally proud to show my shoes I made, but here, of course, I know that people know what they are looking at and all that,but still, I sometimes have a lot of nerve, and know I will only get better, so I'll post some pics later on. I've been doing leather repair as a business, as my day job for 14 years, I also study historic clothing and make outfits I see in museums or books. My favourite is 1770-80, and I NEED (yes, Need, I'm sure you understand) to make some button boots, whch are one of my passions. I have made a few pairs of shoes that copy mid 18th c shoes, and I've worn them just fine. I have a workshop at home, where I do my sewing and leatherwork. My bread & butter products has been making leather flower jewellery, and sporrans (the kilt pouch), and purses from soft & bright leathers. Repairing Scottish Country Dance shoes (Ghillies) led me to making them, and then they grew to have soles and carved wooden heels. I have 3 old Singers - a post machine, a treadle patcher and a big old extra heavy wheel one from the '30's. My dad was a leatherworker, the last machine was his, he did different things from me, and left the family while I was a wee thing. Offering me his tools jump started me into the leather repair business and here I am. A stubborn customer made me learn to tmake flowers, and I thak her for it.
I so look forward to learning from the wealth of experience here, and shall first seek a tennis ball to help moderate the speed of my post machine, then later see what more I can learn about it, I only found it last year.
I live in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, 2 & a bit hours southwest of Halifax, where I go several times a month. I study historic shoes, and write up on them for the NS Costume Society newsletter, and anyone else who cares to read it. I am amazed at what lurks in my own back yard, so to speak, in terms of historic shoe treasures. I'm also interested in Concealed Shoes, and have seen a number around here in museums. I guess my Sociology background emerges and teaches me history through culture costume and accouterment.So that is me in a handful of rambling babble.
Looking forward to getting to know you all, I remain,
Jenny in Bear River

Jenny Stewart,
Special welcome to you,And God bless Bonny Nova Scotia, And please do not be intimidated, we are all learners and seekers and I am proud to say, There is no shortage of Real Good people in our forum, Glad to hear, you are making button boots, If you need help with pattern or materials,let me know, Anonymous people have been generous to me by shipping me buttons. Sorry to hear about your father,Glad to see you carrying on with some of his tools.keep up the good work on historic shoe treasure.
Regards
Nasser.

Welcome to the Crispin Coloquy.
You'll find that you can spend hours reading the discussions on shoe and bootmaking. Everyone here is very friendly here especially to the new members. I live in BC but I'm very familiar with your part of the country. My parents owned the General's Place just down the road in Clementsvale. They ran it as a B&B but have since moved back to Calgary. ( I hear it burned down last year) My girlfriend is a Cape Breton gal. Her sister in law was just named the Chief of the Bear River reserve, so lots of contacts in your part of the country.
Maybe I'll contact you to see your workshop when I fly out that way in the Fall?

Best regards,
Sean