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Shoes, Handmade in the United States for $1000.00

post #1 of 158
1/28/12 at 12:42pm
Thread Starter 
It has been brought to my attention that I should be able to readily find shoemakers in the United States who will make a totally handmade shoe for approximately $1000.00

I personally find this difficult to imagine. But I have been mistaken more than once in the past so it is not unreasonable for me to assume that perhaps my perceptions do not match reality.

Thus I kindly request recommendations in this regard from the forum, if you please.

Do please remember the criteria is Handmade (including welt) in the USA for approximately $1000.00.

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post #2 of 158
1/28/12 at 12:48pm
http://julianboots.net/
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post #3 of 158
1/28/12 at 12:52pm
by handmade, do you mean bespoke?
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post #4 of 158
1/28/12 at 1:31pm
I can't help regards shoes in the US but I too feel it is unlikely unless the shoe scene in the US is very different than the UK. I Can get a fully bespoke shoe here by using a shoemaker who works in London but does other work as well for about 1.700 dollars depending on material and style,this is fully handmade bespoke . I believe it is possible to get something cheaper but this may involve machine stitched soles and machine finishing and the quality of leather may not be as good. To me it seems to some extent you get what you pay for sometimes. I should mention I have my own last so this gives me an advantage with price. I wish you luck with your quest and will be interested to see the results.
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post #5 of 158
1/28/12 at 3:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpooPoker View Post

by handmade, do you mean bespoke?

Not necessarily. Most specifically I mean hand welted.

Again - I don't believe this to be possible. But an expert here has told me it is true so I am merely attempting to verify that expert's assertion.
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post #6 of 158
1/28/12 at 3:58pm
Sorry, just to be clear in my last post I meant $1700 as best I can convert currency.Costs are on the up in UK generally so I suspect things may change,
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post #7 of 158
1/28/12 at 6:58pm
Here are some recommendations from DWFII. You'll have to contact those shoemakers to find their price, though.

Jon Gray's in Canada, and that's the ballpark of his price. It might be a bit over or under a grand, but definitely below what John Lobb might charge, for example.

I'm still waiting for my fitting model, so I can't speak to the quality of his work or his final price, but DWFII says Jon's a good guy.
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post #8 of 158
1/28/12 at 7:18pm
You should contact DFWII.
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post #9 of 158
1/28/12 at 8:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asian Afro View Post

Here are some recommendations from DWFII. You'll have to contact those shoemakers to find their price, though..

Thanks for that. I couldn't find that thread. I think there's another one that also explores the same question.

Frankly, I don't feel like reiterating that list or even making an updated one just to satisfy the doubts of people who all too readily rely on third parties for information they can't be bothered to verify for themselves.


That said, when that thread was written I knew one shoemaker...very, very well...whose prices for fully bespoke hand welted shoes began at $1k. Today, his prices are a little higher...if he decides to take the order.
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post #10 of 158
1/28/12 at 8:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gdot View Post

Not necessarily. Most specifically I mean hand welted.
Again - I don't believe this to be possible. But an expert here has told me it is true so I am merely attempting to verify that expert's assertion.

I suspect I am the person who last made mention of this to you, so I feel compelled to say that if it is me you are referring to as an "expert," let me disabuse you. I don't claim to be an expert. Not now not ever.

I do have a long and intimate involvement with shoemaking and shoemaking techniques that is vanishingly rare in the world at large much less on this forum. That gives me a unique perspective--one that may, and even maybe ought to be, useful to people here but which cannot be even simulated by speculation and fantasy.

None of that makes me an expert, however...unless it is by comparison--until a real one comes along IOW.

More to the point, I am not now nor will I ever be an expert on what other shoemakers charge, all I can do is pass on what I've been told...by other shoemakers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Isaac Asimov--Newsweek, 21 January 1980 
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
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post #11 of 158
1/28/12 at 9:08pm

I was also curious after reading posts around the forum about the cost of handmade shoes in the US. I went to the Cordwainers' site HCC in DFWII's sig as my starting point. On the discussion board (http://www.thehcc.org/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi), I clicked on Topics, then the Gallery (sorry, but the site uses frames, & I don't know how to get the URL to take me straight to the Gallery) to see pics of what people were making. I then googled a couple of the regular posters. Here's 1 whose Chelsea boots & shoes are less than $1000: Rick Roman. I don't think I found any others that way in the $1K range before I got distracted by life & went back to lusting after the usual SF suspects: C&J, AS, Carmina, Meermin, etc. I'll post again if I find any others.

 

Nick D.

(formerly of Sandy Springs, GA) 

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post #12 of 158
1/28/12 at 9:48pm

I am interested as well.  I am in the process of contacting couple local shoemakers.  Maybe something good will come out of my search.

 

Besides the hand welting/lasting, the key thing I am looking for is fit and good foot/arch support similar to the use of orthotics (custom or generic).  Sizing up for sole insert sucks.

 

I read that Delos is capable of making orthopedic insole, which is a huge plus.

 

My orthopedist recommended me Mizuno Wave and their fit website is definitely very educational for footwear http://www.myprecisionfit.com/test/welcome?lang=en_US&noAnswerSelected=

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post #13 of 158
1/29/12 at 12:31am
About a year ago I strolled by an orthopedic shoe maker, I happened to poke my head in his workshop and saw a beautiful whole cut on a custom last. It piqued my interest and after about an hour he said he could do a bespoke shoe on a custom last for around $1000 including a trial shoe to check for fit. Ge seemed to know his shoes, and we discussed G&G, vs Lobb, vs. US manufacturers. He's based in LA and I may pay him another visit soon.
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post #14 of 158
1/29/12 at 1:10am
I'm using one who's doing it for roughly $800 but he's cutting me a deal as he just opened shop (has been doing it for years though, european trained), in the PNW, you can pm me for details since im not sure if he wants to advertise here or not just yet.
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post #15 of 158
1/29/12 at 2:32am
Is he "Russian" or exSoviet? All these people who boast "European" trained or "European" expertise in the states tend to be Russian one way or another. I have no problem with the verbiage but their version of quality is quite low.
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