GRENSON SHOEMAKERS FOR 150 YEARS

One of the English sayings is "Don’t throw old shoes away before you have new ones" Nothing is more correct than this, but with an offer like Grenson has for this Fall/Winter 2016 it won't hurt your feelings to get rid of your old Broque's. 

In 1866, William Green begins making shoes in the loft above the Corn Merchants in Rushden, Northamptonshire. At this time shoemaking was done by hand in the houses of outworkers and William would hand out the work by visiting them individually on a daily basis.

As his business grew, he needed to increase production, and machinery had just been introduced so he moved in 1874 into his first "factory" at Green Yard. This was one of the first factories in the World to use the Goodyear Welted method of shoemaking.

The business had grown enough to require bigger premises and their success was such that they could afford to build a state of the art new factory at the corner of Queen Street and Cromwell road. This is the factory that they left in 2013 to move to the current factory.

WOLVERINE COMPANY STORE - NEW YORK,NY

Last week during my visit to New York, I stepped by the Wolverine Store in Elizabeth Street.

The store opened it's doors 2 years ago, next to find the best selection of Wolverine boots you also can find General Knot Ties, Filson Bags, Left Field Chino's and much more in this well curated and decorated store.

The Wolverine brand has been the sturdy sole that helped shape the nation for over 130 years.

Founder G.A. Krause believed in the possibility of opportunity. He dreamed of owning a shoe company and tannery that employed his values of quality craftsmanship and incessant innovation. In 1883, he founded a small company with a handful of employees.

By 1901, Krause organized the Rogue River Electric Light and Power Company to bring power to Rockford, Michigan, allowing him and his sons to build and operate a shoe factory. By 1903, they were making 300 pairs of shoes a day. Krause was a true revolutionary, later selling shares of the company to its own employees, becoming one of the nation's first profit sharing plans.

In 1921, flush with success, the company took the name Wolverine Shoe and Tanning Corporation. Wolverine’s headquarters still remain in Rockford, Michigan today.

GREVE SHOES SINCE 1898

Stitching a mocassin

Preparing the lasts for a custom made pair of shoes

Leather apron worn by the master shoemakers

Calf-skin from the Alps

Tools and patterns

Wooden lasts

The famous Mohawk mocasins

Crocodile leather Greve Shoes

A portrait of the Founding Father Hermanus Greve

On the outskirts of Waalwijk, once the shoe capital of Holland, you'll find the shoe factory of Greve.

Hermanus Greve opened here his shoemaker's shop in1898. His workshop had only one goal: To make the Netherlands’ most stylish and superior shoes. Greve therefore always remained one of the smaller workshops in Langstraat, yet simultaneously the most exclusive. Today’s firm is still very much reminiscent of its rich history. The family business is currently run by one of the fourth generation of Greves, Jos Jan Greve.

At this very moment there are still 6 master shoemakers working at the Greve Factory in Waalwijk. I had the pleasure to meet 2 of them, both working for the brand as long as 30 years.

They told me there was a time in the 80s that the Mohawk moccasin had a delivery time of 9 months, because of it's popularity. 

Today, they make your custom made shoes, It starts with a visit to the workshop in Waalwijk, where they will measure your feet and produce a last which perfectly matches your foot and your personal preferences. You have a choice of numerous Greve models, types of leather, lining, finishes and personal touches, up to and including embellishing the shoes with your initials. Your custom-made shoes are then manufactured entirely by hand.

VATER & SOHN - A DREAM COMES TRUE

Last week I spent some great days in Hamburg, Germany and I had the chance to

visit a store called Vater & Sohn. I talked with Tobias Pflug. Together with Sascha and Stefan he made his dream come true.

It all started some 20 years ago when Tobias started to wear Red Wings, he was so fond of the brand that he started to work for the Red Wing store in Hamburg. The next step was to open a store where guys would like to go to have a coffee and find their needs. From the perfect shoe up to a nice Stetson hat. They found a great spot in a part of the city called Eppendorf, with brick walls ornamented ceiling and a great tile floor. The perfect place to start their dream. And a dream it is to work with brands like Red Wing, Tricker's, Wolverine, Rising Sun, Filson, Iron Heart and Gitman Vintage. Whenever you visit Hamburg go to the Eppendorferweg 54 to see it yourself.

CHAD MEETS OAK STREET - BOOTMAKERS

I met George Vlagos @ Bread & Butter, Berlin in the L.O.C.K. Fire dept. He is the founding father of

Oak Street Bootmakers. His father has a shoe repair shop in Chicago and in this shop he learned the craft of shoemaking from an early age. Today, George seeks to preserve the heritage of fine shoemaking through thoughtfully designed and attentively crafted shoes.

All Oak Street shoes and boots are handcrafted in the USA by shoemakers with over 20 years of experience. The highest standards of production are employed to yield shoes that are as durable as they are comfortable. Each pair makes use of replaceable outsoles, a feature normally reserved for formal footwear, to ensure a lifetime of wear. 

As Chicago is also home to Horween leathers it ain't a surprise that Oak Street shoes and boots are constructed from renowned Horween Chromexcel leather. Chromexcel undergoes 89 separate processes taking 28 days and utilizing all five floors of the Horween facility in Chicago. Over the past 100 years very little has changed in the formula. Food-grade beef tallow, cosmetic-grade beeswax, marine oil, chrome salts, tree bark extracts and naturally occurring pigments are combined. The mixture is then applied using heat, steam pressure, the hands of craftsman and time. This ultimately yields the soft, supple and durable leather that is used for your shoes or boots.