A first bespoke commission requires approximately 150 hours of work, from the carving of the last to the final burnishing of the heel.

The process of making your shoes will require our appointment to begin.

We will discuss the requirements of your shoes, consider last shape, choice of leather and details. We will take a draft of your feet using a few simple instruments and a pair of wooden lasts will be hand carved from the information gathered. Once the lasts are complete, now a paper pattern specific to the proportions of your lasts will be produced.

A trial shoe will be prepared to assess the volume and fit, but also confirming that the design of the shoe meets your expectations. With confirmation of these different aspects, we will decide together upon a second fitting or a move to the final make.

The leather archive from which each commission is drawn numbers over 200 hides - among them box calf, goatskin, pigskin, Russia calf, shell cordovan, and materials rarely if ever found elsewhere in the trade: bison, camel, wild boar, and leathers of considerable age recovered from historical sources. Clients are encouraged to discuss the archive at their appointment.

The flax threads, waxes, stain of your heel and solution to finish your soles are all made in house. The lacing used in every pair is produced exclusively for this atelier - no other maker in the trade produces their own. Finishing details include 22 carat gold stamping. Everything carved, drawn, cut, sewn, brewed and burnished in the same place.

The final finish ensured by tools now serving their fifth generation of shoemakers, made by craftsmen in London over a century ago. Finally, hinged and hollowed shoe trees will be made specific to each pair, ensuring they retain shape for years to come. We make slippers, shoes and boots in the traditional method for both men and women.

All shoes are supplied with fully lasted shoe trees; boots supplied with three piece boot trees.



Timings

The process of making hand-sewn shoes is a time intensive work, a first pair requiring around 8–10 months for delivery. Subsequent pairs can be produced
on a shorter time frame.


Pricing

Pumps & Slippers, from £5,900
Leather Shoes, from £5,900
Ankle Boots, from £6,500
Wellingtons, Long Boots and Riding Boots Price on request

Prices are exclusive of 20% VAT. Overseas orders exempt.

QEST Emerging Maker 2024 - Awarded by the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust in recognition of exceptional craft.

A pair of wooden lasts are first carved, on which the shoes are to be made
The lasts are made according to a customer’s exact measurements
Wood carving rasps
Pattern making instruments
The design of the shoe is created proportionally to the customer’s lasts
The resulting paper pattern ready for ‘clicking’ the leather
The hide is studied and mapped, with consideration for grain and stretch – and ‘clicked’
The pieces once cut and prepared, the leather is ‘closed’ to make an upper
‘Closing’. We continue to use a sewing machine specific to the bespoke craft, dating 1924
Details such as brogueing are added
The holdfast is carved out on the insole. Hallmark of a bespoke shoe, this type of construction can only be accomplished by hand
Oak bark tanned leathers for heel and arch support are prepared
‘Bottom Making’. The upper is lasted over by hand
Lasting in the waist to create an elegant shape
The shoes are checked for symmetry throughout the entire making process
Victorian tools made in Soho, the heart of London, continue to serve since the 1870s
Strands of natural linen receive a coating of pine pitch, beeswax and tallow prepared in house, for waterproofing
Twisting the thread
Leather sewing awls
Attaching waxed the thread and bristle
Pine pitch
A delicate and flexible bristle, rather than a metal sewing needle, remains the most adequate technique for sewing leather soles
Hand sewing the sole
Firming up the sole
Building the heels, layer by layer
The finished shoes are polished to a high shine for a final touch, and fitted with a pair of fully lasted trees