LONGWING

The Shoe

Every now and then I check in with the JM Weston website in the vain hope that it no longer exists. Even though I consider myself a fan of those venerable French shoemakers (hence the visits) trying to navigate your way through that cumbersome site is like swimming in treacle.

It clearly must have cost a lot of money but every image and page takes an age to load and it goes to show that however much money you throw at something it won’t always result in a good user experience.

It’s ironic if you look at the web presence of most mens ‘traditional’ shoemakers, many have spent very little without any negative impact to their brand, then somebody like Weston can spend a significant amount demonstrating their desire to embrace the web as a form of communication but by getting the execution wrong it results in a poor user experience.

Personally i’d like to see brands make more use of their web presence, it’s just important for them to connect in the right way that will not only protect the heritage of their brand but also enhance their reputation by having a better connection with their market.

Back to JM Weston,  as I want to finish on a much more positive note. Over the last couple of months I have parked a few ideas for posts but unfortunately not got around to posting (I’ve been busy, apologies - normal service to resume in the new year). One of those posts also relates to Weston so only fair that I include it now;

In September, French man-about-town André Saraiva (graffiti artist, filmmaker, hotel and nightclub impresario) collaborated with JM Weston to make a short film entitled ‘The Shoe’ to celebrate the Weston loafer. So I was pleasantly surprised when I made my routine check in with the site to find a great trailer for this film pop right up on my screen (unfortunately, same old site lurking behind!). You can watch the trailer by visiting the JM Weston homepage and clicking on your preferred language version, it should pop up straight after. You can also buy the full length film from Colette.fr it’s 20 odd minutes long and comes in a box with some extras including a soundtrack CD.

I liked the trailer enough to purchase the film and I’m glad I did. It’s worth it for the soundtrack alone! Congrats to Saraiva and Weston for a nice piece of marketing, now please sort that website out!

Happy holidays, Christmas and New Year, see you on the other side…

Carmina

Carmina is a Spanish shoemaker founded by José Albaladejo in 1997 and based in Mallorca. Albaladejo has a rich family history in shoemaking and Carmina uses the same techniques, quality and attention to detail as it’s more recognised British counterparts.

Carmina has a deserved growing reputation and recently revamped and relaunched it’s website and announced the imminent arrival of a webshop. The ability to purchase online should be well recieved as until now you would struggle to purchase Carmina outside of Spain and Paris (where they have boutiques).

At the time of writing Carmina is in it’s summer shutdown period for a couple of weeks but I hope to bring you news of the launch date for the webshop soon as well as another post with more detailed information about the characteristics of each last.

In the meantime, enjoy the images and have a look at the site, and also take a look at some of the great examples the guys at The Armoury in Hong Kong have had made.

Alcudia Last

Alcudia Last

Deia Last

Forest Last

Queens Last

Simpson Last

Simpson Last

Soller Last

Soller Last

Soller Last

Calzature at Pitti Uomo 80

Photo: Tommy Ton

The next series of posts will be images from the recent Pitti Uomo 80 in Florence, apologies for the lateness as the show has been and gone but as we all know, great footwear is timeless!

BOOT BLACK, Shoe Care Video

                                                                                                                                                                         

Columbus is the Japanese company behind the premium shoe care brand ‘Boot Black’ featured previously on Longwing. They have just produced an informative and detailed video guide to shoe care complete with English subtitles. It covers the basics as well as some more advanced techniques and is well worth a look if you have a spare 12 minutes.

Koronya - Ready To Wear

Koronya is a small family run business based in Budapest, Hungary. The first written proof that it existed dates back to 1876 but present owner and master shoemaker Marcell Mrsan had to restart the business from scratch after 40 years of socialism before the Hungarian revolution ravaged all small family businesses. All Marcell had to work with was his knowledge gained from graduating as a shoemaker in 1989 and the memories of his 95 year old grandmother.

Marcell is doing his best to preserve the future of shoemaking through the increasingly popular Koronya shoemaking courses that vary from short intensive courses to full 6 month apprenticeships. 

Koronya have recently relaunched their website www.koronya.com, and even though they are best known and revered for their bespoke shoes they have now launched a mens ready to wear line. The collection consists of a cap toe Oxford, a wholecut and a plain Derby all built on Last no. 224 and available in six different colours. See images below.

Marcell was kind enough to give me some of his time recently to answer a couple of questions;

Q: What is your shoemaking philosophy?

MM: Well, these days we have to cope with mass production, and misuse of the term “hand-made” to describe factory made products. I believe we shoemakers have to show with our work that this concept means something else, something better and much higher quality. Do not misunderstand me - I don’t have a problem with machines - they are needed, as we couldn’t produce enough footwear with hand work alone. On the other hand I really believe that we have to preserve the same quality and techniques that we inherited. I want to produce shoes which aren’t worse than the old ones, and made exactly the same way - if someone needs that quality and fastidiousness - you might want to buy Koronya shoes.

Q: Does the RTW collection currently just consist of the three styles featured on your website? 

MM: Yes, we are a small workshop and a short menu means a good restaurant! we will be adding to the collection in due time.

Q: Which other shoemakers do you admire?

MM: There are many but let me mention my Swedish friend Janne Melkersson, a great person and highly skilled and knowledgable shoemaker.

Q: What shoe advice would you give to a man?

MM: A few things;

1. Every gentleman should have at least one pair of bespoke shoes - so if you can afford it, get a pair. Consider this; a badly made bag or suit won’t affect your health, badly fitting footwear can cause serious problems.

2. Learn a bit about shoes.

3. Don’t but any crap, which claims to be “made by hand”. We, hand working shoemakers wouldn’t write those things on our shoes.

Ready To Wear:

Bespoke:

For more information on Marcell, Koronya and the shoemaking courses, visit their recently redesigned website www.koronya.com