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Visit to the Allen Edmonds Factory in Port Washington, Wisconsin on Tuesday, December

ld111134

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My friend Gerard/"Gman-17" over at AAAC visited the Allen Edmonds factory back in June to observe first had the crafting of his special order double monk strap Moras (the trip is documented here: http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/f...d.php?t=95708).

He now has a pair of shell cordovan Strands on special order, and AE CEO Paul Grangaard has generously offered to host a sartorialist tour of the factory in Port Washington, Wisconsin (just north of Milwaukee) on Tuesday, December 22nd, where we'll observe the crafting of Gerard's Strands firsthand. So far, "Francisco d'Anconia" and I have committed to joining this visit.

Paul, AE's Director of Manufacturing Jim Kass and Director of International Sales Colin Hall all attended our Chicago meet-up on September 24th, and we all appreciated their generosity and time.

Please let me know if you would like to attend, either by posting to this thread or by PM, and I will follow up here with more details (e.g. organizing transportation). I'd like to get an idea of the headcount so we can deal with transportation, lunch, etc.
 

MyOtherLife

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Take lots of photos & videos and share. We would be very appreciative.
 

Wes Bourne

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Thanks for the AAAC link. Look forward to pics of your tour!
 

NukeMeSlowly

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Originally Posted by ld111134
a pair of shell cordovan Strands on special order

That should be a beautiful pair of shoes. What color cordovan?
 

ld111134

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Originally Posted by NukeMeSlowly
That should be a beautiful pair of shoes. What color cordovan?

Numero ocho (I think), but I'll double-check with G.
 

ld111134

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We are planning to be at the Allen Edmonds Factory at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 22nd. The facility is located at 201 East Seven Hills Road in Port Washington, Wisconsin: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...91104032501254

Here are directions from downtown Chicago: http://www.mapquest.com/mq/3-ytsHABRwxS0umBcbbk3S

The phone number of AE's offices is (262) 235-6000.

However, we are going to rendezvous at Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters in nearby Cedarburg, Wisconsin at 9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. before heading over to AE. This coffee shop is located at W62 N605 Washington Avenue in downtown Cedarburg.

Here are the directions to Fiddleheads from downtown Chicago: http://www.mapquest.com/mq/7-a*tTSXGlNR14

Please PM either "Francisco d'Anconia" (Josh) or me (Lou) if you are interested in joining us. We should be able to provide AE with a headcount for the tour if they ask.
 

ld111134

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Here is a link to the photo album of our visit to the Allen Edmonds factory in Port Washington, Wisconsin with Josh ("Francisco d'Anconia" on SF and AAAC) and Gerard ("gman-17" on AAAC): http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/j...monds%20Visit/

It was great to watch the assembly of Gerard's special order - shell cordovan Strand semi-brogue balmorals.

Many thanks to CEO Paul Grangaard, VP of Operations Jim Kass, International Marketing Director Colin Hall and Brenda Depies of Customer Service. You truly treated us like honored guests and we appreciated both the opportunity to hear about new developments at AE and provide our own input. All three of us acknowledge and appreciate your ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction and service.

One note: We actually saw the work related to the soles prior to watching the process of creating uppers; however, I reordered the photos to reflect the actual manufacturing process.
 

robin

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Thanks for the report. I like the look of some of the new models.

IMG_2518.jpg
 

ld111134

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Originally Posted by srivats
Thanks for sharing the photos!

YBN6b.jpg


The saddle shoe looks awesome. I also like the brown split toe derby.

DoctrDamage just posted this old catalog photo from 1982 over at AAAC - the 5 last looks so nice:

ae19821.jpg



You're welcome, Sri.

Paul Grangaard stated that they want to emphasize AE's traditional, classic shoes.
 

luftvier

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That was an enlightening photo essay. Thanks!
 

ld111134

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Originally Posted by luftvier
That was an enlightening photo essay. Thanks!


Lufty, you would have truly enjoyed the tour. We spent 90 minutes with CEO Paul Grangaard, VP of Operations Jim Kass and International Marketing Director Colin Hall discussing AE's new models and providing input (e.g. less "fashion forward" stuff, more traditional styles, combination heels rather than rubber heels). The AE execs were genuinely interested in what we had to say, and we appreciated that acknowledgement.
 

Chips

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I just went thru that whole thread on AAAC. Very interesting read. I have to admit, some of there stuff is looking a lot better than it used to. I'd consider picking up a pair in the future based on how cool they were to allow someone to come check out the process and write it up in an unfiltered manner.

Seems like a rebirth going on at AA to me. Emphasis back on quality. What's the verdict on that black insole though? I have it on one pair, but I put wetsuit style inserts in ALL my shoes, so I can't form a specific opinion. My foot does slip more when I try to wear my AA's without the insert though, and they fit very well.
 

ld111134

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Originally Posted by Chips
I just went thru that whole thread on AAAC. Very interesting read. I have to admit, some of there stuff is looking a lot better than it used to. I'd consider picking up a pair in the future based on how cool they were to allow someone to come check out the process and write it up in an unfiltered manner.

Seems like a rebirth going on at AA to me. Emphasis back on quality. What's the verdict on that black insole though? I have it on one pair, but I put wetsuit style inserts in ALL my shoes, so I can't form a specific opinion. My foot does slip more when I try to wear my AA's without the insert though, and they fit very well.



Chips,

The AE folks were great - showing us the new models, solciting our ideas, explaining the direction of the company, etc. VP of Operations Jim Kass led us through the process of attaching uppers to the insole and then welting the sole; we even got a chance to try our hand at carving channels into the sole (very, very difficult, I must say). After that, we were allowed walk around on our owne and watch the assembly of uppers - we observed the ladies cut the upper components from sheets of tanned calfskin and then watched some other women sew the components together to form a complete upper.

The black insole has raised some questions - Paul Grangaard himself stated on AAAC that they are leather (not a synthetic material as some have suspected).

Cheers,
LD
 

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