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I'm catching up on the posts in this thread, hence the deviation from the ongoing orthopedic discussion...
Derek, if I understood you correctly, you are suggesting that it is best to work with a shoemaker who does everything himself, from measuring the client's feet, all the way through closing. But with the exception of shoemakers like @ntempleman and @DWFII (and perhaps @Manuel) who (I believe) indeed do most of the work themselves, I understood that most bespoke makers have different people involved in the various steps. That is, the person measuring your feet may make your last, but he will not necessarily be the person who creates the upper and does the lasting. Ditto for the handwelting. So, at the end, there could be a handful of artisans involved in the creation of your bespoke shoes.
Sorry, but I find the bespoke clothing analogy tenuous. With clothing, you have 3 (or more) fittings for a coat and it is possible for the tailor to make corrections along the way. The cloth and canvas have some give and the tailor is also able to shape lapels, etc. using pressure and steam. With shoes, if the last is slightly off, you will not know until a test shoe has been made and then corrections can be made to the last. Of course you could get a second test shoe to see if the modifications have properly addressed the issues with the original last, but even then, the final shoe can feel different from the test shoe, since the shoemaker will generally use a different grade of leather, there will be a leather sock, etc.
In my (limited) experience working with shoemakers (just 2 so far) time has been the most challenging factor. I mean, if a sleeve is too short of the waist is a bit too snug, you can tell your tailor and he can make an alteration, sometimes within the same day. But with shoemaking, the time between client comments to getting the modified article can be months or even more, leading to a very long feedback loop. Say you felt the instep was too tight with the test shoe and your shoemaker should loosen it. When you try on the next test shoe (or get the final shoes), your perception over time could have changed or the shoemaker did not modify it enough to make a difference. Either way the end effect is difficult to judge, since so much time has passed in between.
Going back to my original question regarding having a shoemaker work with a third party last, I can understand Nicholas' point (paraphrasing here) regarding the shoemaker blaming the last maker and the last maker blaming the shoemaker for any potential fit issues. But in my case, I would like to see first if having a last made by someone other than my shoemaker would give me the result I am after. I guess there is only one way to know.
No, I don't think you have to find someone who does everything from start to finish. Like with bespoke clothes, where you have someone who drafts a pattern and then people who make the garment, in shoemaking, as I understand it, you often have someone who does the last and the other people who do the making.
My points were:
1. It's useful to have the person in charge of your pattern/ last present at the fitting process.
2. Many companies try to separate out the measuring process from the pattern making/ last making because it's easier to find someone who can pull a length of tape across the body or foot. It's hard to find someone who can do the technical bits. Often times, particularly in tailoring, the cutter is an older man who doesn't like to travel. So the grail in many custom tailoring/ shoemaking operations is to have a trained salesperson who can do the measuring, and then have the technical person just focused on the technical bits.
But, in practice, this doesn't work out too well. Salespeople may be highly trained at fitting and measuring, but for whatever reason, garments often don't turn out well if the actual technical person behind your product isn't present at fittings. This leads me to believe that measuring isn't an exact science since it's can't be easily separated out or even automated through body scanners.
I only have experience with two shoemakers, Nicholas and Cleverly. My Clevs turned out terrible; my Templemans turned out great. This is along two dimensions, the fit and the make. Clevs were terrible in terms of fit despite something like three fittings. The make was also terrible. The Templemans were great all around, and I assume some of this is because the person making my last measured my foot and was present at fittings. The Clevs were like some other bespoke tailoring operations, where a salesperson is present at your fitting, takes measurements and jots down some notes. Then passes that info along to someone back home, who invariably doesn't really get it right because they're working off someone else's notes, not their own.