Keeping British Tradition of Handmade Shoes Alive
There is a great deal of tradition and innovation in shoes and especially handmade shoes which Poyter shoes is proudly part of.
Traditionally Northamptonshire is renowned as the home of quality English shoemaking.
Conventional wisdom has it back in the 1600s there was lots of tanning leather available which was very handy for the armies needing to be reshod at the time of the Battle of Naseby.
Bigger developments still came later when the shoe families started to get organized in towns and villages in Northamptonshire. At the time, many people were engaged in the making of shoes, but rather than make the shoe from start to finish they would specialize in one part of the process.
Typically craftsmen often worked in backstreets ‘shops,’ or sheds at the bottom of gardens for those lucky enough to have them, who would do ‘their’ part of the process or piece before sending the shoe to a different shop to do its part.
Such was the attention to detail and care paid to making shoes one early manufacturer used to walk round the different shops giving out work and chatting with the craftsmen to make sure things were going well.
When the shoe was finished it would go to a collection point before being shipped on using the railways which were starting to emerge at this time.
Towards the end of the 19th century family firms started to bring these different processes under one roof in purpose built factories where everything from cutting out the leather pieces to that ready-to-wear and feel so proud final polish was given.
Moving into factories also allowed the introduction of new technologies and processes, another part of the tradition which Poyter is proud to be part of.
Hugely important here and its worth a thinking about next time you slip on your shoes is the Goodyear Welt. Here the shoe’s upper is stitched firstly to a leather band, ‘the welt.’ which in turn is stitched to the sole.
Factories in Northamptonshire were among the first in the world to use this technology. Poyter plans to keep to that tradition of being on the frontline of innovation without losing the benefits backstreet craftsmen bring.
Also coming into use at this time was the Blake Stitch. This was especially popular in Italy where they know a thing or two about style and shoes. The Blake Stitch, sometimes referred to as Blake’s Construction sees the outer sole directly stitched to the insole. This offers more flexibility and is lighter in weight compared to the Goodyear welt which creates a sturdier shoe.
All this supported something that has been with the industry since, the opportunity to reach discerning non-local customers as shops in London first, but later throughout Britain, and now the world, could sell tailor shoes made to the preference of individual clients.
It is important not to forget the other point up till now being a shoemaker was a local job. The technology and new means of transport meant shoes could be made, better, elsewhere and sent to a client in another city and still be a made-to-measure item.
Commercial innovation didn’t stop there. One manufacturer who toured America in the interwar years discovered Indian moccasins and brought the idea back to Britain. After the war other manufacturers were ahead of their time by looking at other sources of leather and turned to exotic skins.
Some of those factories and firms are still there, some into their seventh generation, although some firms were successful enough to move on to bigger and better premises. Poyter is part of that tradition with its own clear emphasis on quality, sustainable production achieved by using backstreet shop production worldwide.
Successful as some of these were as family firms, with some even going for stock market listings the emphasis was very much on the craftsmanship of a highly skilled and individual workforce, similar to the type Poyter has today.
Stories are told of production stopping so local sporting events could be followed and it’s hard not to feel sympathy for a sales rep whose criticism of working practices saw him thrown in a pond. Those who did it were fined five pounds each – a big amount then – because no matter how passionate a craftsman (or woman) is about how he does his work respect should always be given and Poyter intends to keep to that tradition.
Poyter’s own version of this is very much one for the world as it is now, a global village.
Using advances in shipping and technology it taps the skills of backstreet shoemakers worldwide and ensures personalized shoes, of the quality you deserve, are made much cheaper, at a third of the original cost but still with the all the feel and comfort of the tradition changed only for your specifications.