Back in May I had the opportunity to visit the Grenson Shoe Factory along with Togs + Clogs and Hypebeast videographer Santiago Arbelaez. Filming was taking place for a collaboration coming this AW. My iPhone alarm was set for 4 am the night before, I anticipated it was going to be a long old trek down the Rushden, Northamptonshire but I also knew that this was not an opportunity to be missed.
We arrived in Rushden at around 10:30 am in what seemed like a regular English town, with no obvious factories to be seen. A few whacks of the sat-nav later we stumbled right into shoemaker's-central. Nestled between rows of residential housing and several other prestigious footwear factories up pops the humble, red bricked building that is the Grenson Shoe Factory.
Grenson Shoe Factory, Rushden, Northamptonshire. The "Good Shoe" Since 1866.
We spend hours in awe around the factory, being shown the whole shoe-making process from start to finish. Designer's sketches to the finished product and everything in between. It really was a wonderful process to witness, with such a high level of craftsmanship and love for the company. I have a memory card chock-a-block full of photos but hopefully the few that I chosen to share explain the process of a Great British Shoemarker.
A big thank you to Grenson for inviting me to have a look around. I hope you enjoyed this post as much I as did putting it together.
Have a great weekend folk, any exciting plans?
Have a great weekend folk, any exciting plans?
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amazing! i love seeing how items i love so much are made.. it makes me treasure them even more! :)
ReplyDeletexxx
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I love factories and I love "proper" shoes! This is a truly brilliant blog post. I will have to share it with my shoe making friend in Japan.
ReplyDeleteFavorite post! haha. But really, so awesome. I think anyone would be stoked to get the opportunity to check something like that out. Traditional shoe making is so ridiculous... in a good way. So much precision and time/ effort. Thankfully I am not out trying to make dress shoes. At least not now. None the less I've been able to acquire quite a bit knowledge on how to do so. Still wouldn't turn out like these beauts. I mean doing welts, really? That's some work there.
ReplyDeleteReally great post and photos though, definitely inspire me.
Never quite saw them videogame-ish before but now that you say it I definitely see it, and I'm liking that. Considering I was making them by taking a break from playing games? haha. Are you much of a videogame player yourself?
Thank you for the comment though. I wanna try and dish out some more pieces soon. They are quite fun not time consuming really.
Pick up a board, possibly even a cruiser. I want one so I can do this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcv3v6XfEvM
Just seems so much fun going down what would be a low grade hill for me, but just carving around. Just as if you were surfing.
Oh and over with the Höss we've created a floral print that we have got printed on some shirts. You might like it. If you really do we can always work out some sort of deal so it doesn't cost an arm and leg to get it to you. And we were just talking about a shopping ban and here I am telling you this? haha. I apologize.
ReplyDeleteI'll let you know when I post something about, although I'm sure you'll see it.
Have a good weekend man!
Awesome, I love seeing where the magic happens!
ReplyDeleteOh I really want to go there and have a look. I bought my first Grenson brogues a couple months ago, they're so comfy and it was worth the investment.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the favorite post ever club too. This is so awesome.
ReplyDeleteWow, this must have been super interesting! Sounds like you must've had an enlightening day.
ReplyDeleteWowsers, their shoes are amazingly beautiful, why don't I own any Grenson shoes?! Love all the old equipment and machinery too, bet it was great to have a nosey round.
ReplyDeleteI can't get my head around how people have the skill to things like this. Worth every penny I imagine.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos too.
M
Such an interesting process-- thanks for sharing a glimpse!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see where my favourite shoes were made! Thanks for an interesting post, Matt.
ReplyDeletehttp://welldresseddad.com/2013/04/26/favorite-items-grenson-x-barbour-marske-country-brogues-kicking-it-countryside-style/
What beautiful craftsmanship! I love that places like this still exist. It must have been cool to see the whole process!
ReplyDeleteVisiting a shoe factory is a dream of mine and I'm so envious you got to visit one and Grenson's at that! Wow! Love that shot of the unfinished sole; the amount of detail that goes on in a quality pair of shoes is apparent.
ReplyDeleteThis is -really- cool... Such beautiful shoes. Plus I love the way you captured it. I can almost smell the leather!
ReplyDeleteFantastic post as usual Mat, very interesting
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your help thank you. Comfort and Stylish leather shoes available import from Bangladesh.
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