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Crockett & Jones MTO Central

oldworldelegance

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CALL TO ARMS: can i reinvigorate interest here in a GMTO for C&J Harlech's in Colour 8/Burgundy Horween Shell ? i fear we have but a few weeks to get our order in to avoid a price hike...we need 3 more punters!
I might be interested (looking for a cordovan boot with rubber soles), but I've never tried on a Harlech. I have a Chelsea 8 which uses the same last and I found it a bit tight on the toes although it's ok now after breaking it in. However, it's made of suede, so perhaps that made it more flexible? I have a Coniston too but the 325 last seems slightly wider. Any advise?
 

john_coburg

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I might be interested (looking for a cordovan boot with rubber soles), but I've never tried on a Harlech. I have a Chelsea 8 which uses the same last and I found it a bit tight on the toes although it's ok now after breaking it in. However, it's made of suede, so perhaps that made it more flexible? I have a Coniston too but the 325 last seems slightly wider. Any advise?
Thanks for interest. I'd be up for a Ridgeway sole. I think the Harlech' 341 is a narrower, slightly more dressy last than the Coniston's 325. Not a lot in it i don't think. Attached a photo of them side by side. From the chap at C&J:
"the difference in the 325 Last and the 341 is that the 341 would be a little shallower on the toe. If you look at the photo you will see that the Harlech dips on the toe where the Coniston is roomier and blunter."
 

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oldworldelegance

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Thanks for interest. I'd be up for a Ridgeway sole. I think the Harlech' 341 is a narrower, slightly more dressy last than the Coniston's 325. Not a lot in it i don't think. Attached a photo of them side by side. From the chap at C&J:
"the difference in the 325 Last and the 341 is that the 341 would be a little shallower on the toe. If you look at the photo you will see that the Harlech dips on the toe where the Coniston is roomier and blunter."
Thank you. I wonder if it would make sense to go up half a size or go with an F width?
Is there some sort of unofficial deadline? I will be in London on the 25th so I can try the Harlech then.
 

shoeinvestor

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I just got confirmation from C&J that there will be a price increase in March. The percentage has not yet been disclosed.
Thus, if you are planning any MTOs or GMTOs, better hurry with the order.
 

harveyrabbit

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I just got confirmation from C&J that there will be a price increase in March. The percentage has not yet been disclosed.
Thus, if you are planning any MTOs or GMTOs, better hurry with the order.
I received the same message. Time to try to move some of the list across the finish line 🤞🏼
 

Marmite89

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I received the same message. Time to try to move some of the list across the finish line 🤞🏼

We had so much interest and momentum only a very short while ago. In the spirit of trying to get some of these moving again, is it worth summarising some of the GMTO's that looked like they were getting to the point of crossing the line:

Burgundy Shell Cordovan Harlech - price quoted £975 - requires 6 participants at that price. We are at 4 names on the Google sheet and had been close but had a couple drop as we confirmed specs.
341 Last / Standard Harlech make-up: 4x blind eyelets / 4x speed hooks / storm welt / but with Ridgeway sole

Bakers Russian Grain Coniston - price quote £925 - requires 10 or 12 participants. The Google sheet has 8 names listed.
325 Last / Standard Consiton make-up: 4x blind eyelets / 4x antique brass speed hooks / storm welt / but with Ridgeway sole and half bellows tongue

Rough Out Suede Brown Islay - price quoted £510 - requires 12 participants at that fully MTO fees waived price. The Google sheet has 9 names on it at the time of writing.
365 Last / Standard Islay make-up: 4x exposed brass eyelets / 5x brass speed hooks / storm welt / but with Ridgeway sole

There are a bunch of other proposals on the Google sheet, but the ones above had the most momentum last time this thread was super active a few weeks back:

Navy Shell Coniston - Flat Welt / Double Leather Soles - 3 names down
Black Shell Coniston - Flat Welt / Double Leather Soles - 4 names down
Whiskey Shell Coniston - Flat Welt / Double Leather Soles - 2 names down
Teak Oiled Sides Coniston - Standard make-up other than half bellows tongue - 3 names down

Link to Google Sheet - there are other old and already in process make-ups for inspiration. But if we are to try and get anything over the line before the March price rise we will need consensus quickly and within the next 10 days max as, from experience, it tends to take a few days to round up all the payments.

As things stand I only have a dog in the Burgundy Harlech fight but if that isn't going to happen could be interested in the Russian Grain Coniston or Rough-out Islay.
 
Last edited:

Gustaf

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We had so much interest and momentum only a very short while ago. In the spirit of trying to get some of these moving again, is it worth summarising some of the GMTO's that looked like they were getting to the point of crossing the line:

Burgundy Shell Cordovan Harlech - price quoted £975 - requires 6 participants at that price. We are at 4 names on the Google sheet and had been close but had a couple drop as we confirmed specs.
341 Last / Standard Harlech make-up: 4x blind eyelets / 4x speed hooks / storm welt / but with Ridgeway sole

Bakers Russian Grain Coniston - price quote £925 - requires 10 or 12 participants. The Google sheet has 8 names listed.
325 Last / Standard Consiton make-up: 4x blind eyelets / 4x antique brass speed hooks / storm welt / but with Ridgeway sole and half bellows tongue

Rough Out Suede Brown Islay - price quoted £510 - requires 12 participants at that fully MTO fees waived price. The Google sheet has 9 names on it at the time of writing.
365 Last / Standard Islay make-up: 4x exposed brass eyelets / 5x brass speed hooks / storm welt / but with Ridgeway sole

There are a bunch of other proposals on the Google sheet, but the ones above had the most momentum last time this thread was super active a few weeks back:

Navy Shell Coniston - Flat Welt / Double Leather Soles - 3 names down
Black Shell Coniston - Flat Welt / Double Leather Soles - 4 names down
Whiskey Shell Coniston - Flat Welt / Double Leather Soles - 2 names down
Teak Oiled Sides Coniston - Standard make-up other than half bellows tongue - 3 names down

Link to Google Sheet - there are other old and already in process make-ups for inspiration. But if we are to try and get anything over the line before the March price rise we will need consensus quickly and within the next 10 days max as, from experience, it tends to take a few days to round up all the payments.

As things stand I only have a dog in the Burgundy Harlech fight but if that isn't going to happen could be interested in the Russian Grain Coniston or Rough-out Islay.

Thanks for this @Marmite89.

I can confirm that 10 names are enough for the Russian Grain Coniston.
 

john_coburg

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Thanks for this @Marmite89.

I can confirm that 10 names are enough for the Russian Grain Coniston.
I think i have someone else (from Reddit) in for Burgundy Harlech. Do they need to be members here (for admin), or can they give an email address or other contact details to whoever is running with the order?
 

harveyrabbit

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I think i have someone else (from Reddit) in for Burgundy Harlech. Do they need to be members here (for admin), or can they give an email address or other contact details to whoever is running with the order?
GMTOs are not styleforum member specific. That person just needs to be ready to provide details and payment when needed ☺️
 

Coolhand0302

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I dunno… I think that floating a bunch of cool makeups at the same time (and during the holiday season) might’ve led to lack of commitment from folks that normally would jump at the chance for an individual GMTO - they either liked multiple makeups and weren’t sure on which makeup to put their hard-earned money; or they weren’t sure which makeup they liked best and are waiting to see which one gains enough momentum to jump on board during the final call… either way, there’s no FOMO incentive to jump on board, because there are always a) other cool makeups still available, and b) none are closing out anyway, so they can always commit “later”… so the proposals just kind of sit “out there” for discussion, as it were…

My suggestion is to assign each makeup to an enthusiastic “coordinator” who really wants to get that particular boot done (not the same person for multiple, or you have the above situation again). Then, the coordinator makes a push on here, Reddit, SDP, etc., for just that GMTO with the final specs and price to get it over the finish line; justification for the push can be the upcoming price hike, last two spots, etc…

I suspect that an individual that seems committed and in control of the process will have success getting 2-3 more sign-ups for one specific makeup than the same person interested in any number of eight different cool boots will; the last two GMTOs I pushed were concluded in weeks (one within a few days), but they were also the only GMTOs being proposed at the time and didn’t have to compete with any additional makeups - i.e., if someone was looking for a cool new boot and wanted someone else to coordinate everything, they were the only game in town and probably people feared they might miss out...

Currently, there are eight open proposals on the GMTO spreadsheet, and no one fears missing out on anything…
 

Style989

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We had so much interest and momentum only a very short while ago. In the spirit of trying to get some of these moving again, is it worth summarising some of the GMTO's that looked like they were getting to the point of crossing the line:

Burgundy Shell Cordovan Harlech - price quoted £975 - requires 6 participants at that price. We are at 4 names on the Google sheet and had been close but had a couple drop as we confirmed specs.
341 Last / Standard Harlech make-up: 4x blind eyelets / 4x speed hooks / storm welt / but with Ridgeway sole

Bakers Russian Grain Coniston - price quote £925 - requires 10 or 12 participants. The Google sheet has 8 names listed.
325 Last / Standard Consiton make-up: 4x blind eyelets / 4x antique brass speed hooks / storm welt / but with Ridgeway sole and half bellows tongue

Rough Out Suede Brown Islay - price quoted £510 - requires 12 participants at that fully MTO fees waived price. The Google sheet has 9 names on it at the time of writing.
365 Last / Standard Islay make-up: 4x exposed brass eyelets / 5x brass speed hooks / storm welt / but with Ridgeway sole

There are a bunch of other proposals on the Google sheet, but the ones above had the most momentum last time this thread was super active a few weeks back:

Navy Shell Coniston - Flat Welt / Double Leather Soles - 3 names down
Black Shell Coniston - Flat Welt / Double Leather Soles - 4 names down
Whiskey Shell Coniston - Flat Welt / Double Leather Soles - 2 names down
Teak Oiled Sides Coniston - Standard make-up other than half bellows tongue - 3 names down

Link to Google Sheet - there are other old and already in process make-ups for inspiration. But if we are to try and get anything over the line before the March price rise we will need consensus quickly and within the next 10 days max as, from experience, it tends to take a few days to round up all the payments.

As things stand I only have a dog in the Burgundy Harlech fight but if that isn't going to happen could be interested in the Russian Grain Coniston or Rough-out Islay.
Thank you @Marmite89 for taking the effort to make this detailed summary. Hopefully it helps close a few of these GMTOS
 

Crafty Cumbrian

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I dunno… I think that floating a bunch of cool makeups at the same time (and during the holiday season) might’ve led to lack of commitment from folks that normally would jump at the chance for an individual GMTO - they either liked multiple makeups and weren’t sure on which makeup to put their hard-earned money; or they weren’t sure which makeup they liked best and are waiting to see which one gains enough momentum to jump on board during the final call… either way, there’s no FOMO incentive to jump on board, because there are always a) other cool makeups still available, and b) none are closing out anyway, so they can always commit “later”… so the proposals just kind of sit “out there” for discussion, as it were…

My suggestion is to assign each makeup to an enthusiastic “coordinator” who really wants to get that particular boot done (not the same person for multiple, or you have the above situation again). Then, the coordinator makes a push on here, Reddit, SDP, etc., for just that GMTO with the final specs and price to get it over the finish line; justification for the push can be the upcoming price hike, last two spots, etc…

I suspect that an individual that seems committed and in control of the process will have success getting 2-3 more sign-ups for one specific makeup than the same person interested in any number of eight different cool boots will; the last two GMTOs I pushed were concluded in weeks (one within a few days), but they were also the only GMTOs being proposed at the time and didn’t have to compete with any additional makeups - i.e., if someone was looking for a cool new boot and wanted someone else to coordinate everything, they were the only game in town and probably people feared they might miss out...

Currently, there are eight open proposals on the GMTO spreadsheet, and no one fears missing out on anything…
This was always going to be the case when numbers were lowered to six participants. It has worked over the last twelve months because was a more staggered approach to suggestions but also if something is going to fly it’s going to fly. It’s impossible to regulate and as a beneficiary of the green Harlech it’s hard to determine which will win as that was an outsider.
 

Churchill W

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if something is going to fly it’s going to fly.

This.

Not saying if you've got the majority and just need someone to push it over the line it won't happen.

This is the case with a Group order regardless of what is being sold. People will drop also if you can't get critical mass quickly.
 

Gustaf

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I dunno… I think that floating a bunch of cool makeups at the same time (and during the holiday season) might’ve led to lack of commitment from folks that normally would jump at the chance for an individual GMTO - they either liked multiple makeups and weren’t sure on which makeup to put their hard-earned money; or they weren’t sure which makeup they liked best and are waiting to see which one gains enough momentum to jump on board during the final call… either way, there’s no FOMO incentive to jump on board, because there are always a) other cool makeups still available, and b) none are closing out anyway, so they can always commit “later”… so the proposals just kind of sit “out there” for discussion, as it were…

My suggestion is to assign each makeup to an enthusiastic “coordinator” who really wants to get that particular boot done (not the same person for multiple, or you have the above situation again). Then, the coordinator makes a push on here, Reddit, SDP, etc., for just that GMTO with the final specs and price to get it over the finish line; justification for the push can be the upcoming price hike, last two spots, etc…

I suspect that an individual that seems committed and in control of the process will have success getting 2-3 more sign-ups for one specific makeup than the same person interested in any number of eight different cool boots will; the last two GMTOs I pushed were concluded in weeks (one within a few days), but they were also the only GMTOs being proposed at the time and didn’t have to compete with any additional makeups - i.e., if someone was looking for a cool new boot and wanted someone else to coordinate everything, they were the only game in town and probably people feared they might miss out...

Currently, there are eight open proposals on the GMTO spreadsheet, and no one fears missing out on anything…

I am mostly in the "if something is going to fly it’s going to fly" camp.

While I agree that pushing one's preferred makeups should help (which is why I do it) I am yet to see any real results of those efforts.

So as for your hypothesis that too many simultaenous makeups may be counterproductive, you may be right but I am not so sure. One may also argue that pushing multiple makeups at the same time creates more buzz, which could lead to more interest. But I am no marketing expert. What I do know is that historically, the time to fill all the spots has varied greatly, even when the proposals were staggered and far between. So although your two example observations suggest otherwise, I believe we would need more data points. Not sure how we could test that practically though. I guess the real question is what sacrifices are you prepared to do in the name of science? :)
 

Metrosey

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I’ve viewed a few pages after being on a long boot non-purchase spree and already regret clicking on this thread. Time to look for some Shell Cordovan, my first pair.
 

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