In our third autumn issue we’re excited to announce the launch of our new Kickstarter campaign to launch the Saltaire Clog and still buzzing from Luca Bosani’s performance finale as Costume Design Residency at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Finally we’re gearing up for Oxo’s annual Christmas Shopping Evening.

Pop Thursday 28th November, 5pm - 8pm in your calendar and hope to see you then!

Deborah & James

Our heritage clog kickstarter is LIVE!

To get you hands on a pair of clogs click on the links above.

There are fantastic early bird pledge clog rewards from £269 in…

• UK clog sizes 2 - 13 or bespoke clogs

• Four colours - Black, Brown, Petrol Blue and Burgundy Red Walpier vegetable tanned leather from Italy

• A VERY special few in British Pasture Leather from regenerative farming

WHY CLOGS?

They have strong eco and fashion credentials:

• Made by Phil Howard in Otley, Yorkshire

• Made in naturaly tannedl leather

• Wooden soled in sycamore wood from Northumberland

• Hand stitched in waxed polycotton thread for durability

• Riveted with brassed steel and steel nails and brass toeplates

• Relatively indestructable but repairable and recyclable if needed

• “Stylish with a hint of menace”

OTHER REWARDS

There are a host of other rewards to show your support including beautiful, cosy and cool British-made socks by Genevieve Sweeney in merino wool, alpaca and organic cotton

bespoke shoes with ridiculous discounts; workshops; a trip to Saltaire and to visit clogmaker Phil Howard and a talk by yours truly on the history of the Cordwainers of London!

We’ve included lots of guidance to work out your Clog size on the Kickstarter site, but if you’re in or near London we have a range of clog sizes for you / and footbed templates at the workshop. Let us know if you would like to make an appointment to pop in to try on a pair or why not come along to the Christmas late night shopping event at Oxo and kill two birds with one stone!

A project with a difference supporting Luca Bosani in bringing his platform boot to life using heritage shoemaking skills.

Luca’s grandfather was a shoemaker and he wanted to combine his creative exploration together with traditional shoemaking skills. we were delighted that he approached us to work with…love a challenge!

As always we started with the last, sourcing a wooden boot last with a rounded toe and 2 last used to make the Victorian inspired lace-up boots.

The design was drawn onto the last, details were finalised and the colours and layering agreed. You’ll note the ‘nose’.

Whilst Charlotte worked magic creating the uppers from our drawings, working in pliable Italian softee, we created cork platforms, blocked footbeds and insoles and trimmed them to the lasts.

Luca lasted the uppers to the toe, stopping at the toe puff, before we stuffed the ‘nose’ with wadding. It was tricky to get them even but once similar we covered the noses with a card cone so they wouldn’t be damaged during making.

Luca welted the foreparts, fitted and covered a metal shank and then shaped the sole before cementing it in place. The forepart was channelled and traditionally stitched before the sole was dyed and the waist was nailed with small brass nails.

Luca designed and made the wooden heels separately, drilling them to create texture and giving them a high gloss finish before they were cemented and screwed securely into place.

This month we’re doing a deep dive into…

THE BUCKLAND SNEAKER

We developed the Buckland because we wanted to be able to offer our bespoke customers a full wardrobe fit-out and the missing piece was casual wear i.e. sneakers / trainers that shared our shoemaking values and could be repaired.

LASTS

The last is especially developed for sneakers with a long cone, curved heel, low toe profile and almost-flat sole.

a contrast shield riveted in at the heel

and a double layer of foxing with the two layers saddle stitched together

UPPERS

The original Buckland was made from veg tanned calf skin from Italy in a warm caramel which we chose to match the foxing made from British oak bark tanned skin from Bakers in Devon.

The topline is padded using a process called bagging where the upper and lining are reverse stiched and then turned the right way round with foam added for that classic soft trainer feel. The same thing was done on the tongue.

Unusually, the lining was the same leather as the upper which gives the uniformity we wanted but also a touch of luxury.

MAKING

The Buckland is made with the following features

• Hand lasted

• Hand welted foxing, similar to a storm welt

• Second hand-stitched decorative foxing strip

• High density EVA soling in the foxing

• Retro rubber soling with zig zag tread

STYLE

The Buckland has a retro vibe with elongated facings extending down towards the toe, and large eyelets.

ITERATIONS

We went on to make many bespoke pairs for customers. Below is a selection, with the foxing dyed to create a contrast or to match the leather. It was great fun to see the colour combinations our clients chose.

There’s lots going on in the workshop just now:

• A variety of different bespoke techniqes and styles. The pink croc have gone to Spring Line for trees to be made, but on the bench at the moment we have a pair of loafers in for repair, biker boots and gaiters being made and a pair of vegetable tanned leather Chelsea boots being built.

• We’re doing everything we can to attract backers for the clog Kickstarter campaign with poster and the film showing in the windows

• And we’re gearing up for Christmas!

• We’re getting the workshop ready for the annual Oxo Christmas Shopping Evening on Thursday 28th November from 5 - 8pm when all the studios here will be open. Please come and join us for a festive drink and to get a few items crossed off your Christmas list…on the day, we’ll be offering 25% discounts across our leather accessories and vintage shoemaking tools and a 15% discount on new shoemaking tools (in-store and online).

• The wonderful designer maker community here has got you covered, with everything from jewellery, pottery, neon lighting and bridal to millinery, leather accessories, interiors and scarves.

New In The Toolshed

To enjoy a 10% discount on one of these fabulous tools, click on this link to go to the web page, add them to your basket and then enter the code FUDGE10 at checkout.

Reading: Yellowface, best selling novel by Rebecca F Kuang about lonliness, plagiarism and cultural appropriation set in the cut-throat world of publishing

Watching: Penguin, Colin Farrrell is unrecognisable in this excellent DC Comics spin off, definitely no super heroes.

If you know someone who would enjoy The Journal please copy and share the link below with them.

We promise to publish once a month, not to share your details with anyone and to try to make sure that there’s something of interest for you whether it’s new shoes, tools, materials, events or projects.

And if there’s something you’d like us to include, please email us with your suggestions [email protected]…what would you like to hear about?

Many thanks

Deborah & James