Also we now have a laser embosser and are thrilled to be able to laser logos or names. Wether it’s a bag, belt or apron it can be done. Check out the video on our Facebook page.
But what hasn’t changed is the care and attention we put into everything we make!
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Welcome to our second post about the making of Soul Shoes, where we take you through the process, step by step. In part one we looked at the raw materials. Once we've got these and they've arrived at the workshop (sometimes by cargo ship, sometimes in the back of the car!) we need to do something with them! The preparing of all the materials for assembly takes two things; machines and man power!
The Machinery;
We have some pretty cool machines in our Wharf workshop, some that we picked up many years ago, some from our friends in the shoe business and some that we've had to painstakingly move!
Cutting: One of our most used machines is our press. This is what we use to cut out the seperate leather pieces and also the rubber soles. We use 'knives' that we have designed and had made with the shoe patterns. The press brings down 15 tonnes of pressure onto the knife, cutting the leather/rubber, leaving you with the seperate pieces ready to be assembled.
We have some designs that are entirely handout and we also sometimes have to do some hand cutting when customers need the pattern adjusting. We use templates, or sometimes just expertise and a good old stanley knife.
Sewing Machines: Of course! We use sewing machines to stitch all of the separate leather pieces into the 'uppers' of the shoe. We have different sewing machines for different products, including a couple of lovely old singers and we also do some hand stitching, which takes a lot of elbow grease!
The 'Shoe Oven': Not it's official term, but that's what we call it! It's actually a 'high intensity cement activation unit' but that's a bit long! Once the glue goes onto the sole, it needs to be heat activated for super stickiness. The uppers and the soles go in glue side up for 30 seconds to get the glue going and it also doubles as a nice hand warmer in winter!
The 'Stomper': Another machine with an unofficial name...this machine uses a spring foot lever the apply pressure to the join where the sole has been stitched to the upper, after gluing and before stitching so that the shoe is held together when being put through the sewing machine. The Stomper has a notoriously annoying squeak sound!
The Grinder: We have a nice big, noisy belt sander that we use to grind down the rough edges of the sole, and where it joins the upper. We do this right at the end of the assembly and just before the shoes are shaped.
The Lasts: When the shoe has been assembled, it needs to be made into an actual shoe shape and also have the seam opened up so a foot can get in! The shoes are steamed and then placed on a rubber last (the wooden ones are a bit old now, but you can still see them around the workshop) and left overnight to stretch and shape.
We also have some extra stretching equipment like 'The Doofer', but that's a trade secret!
Manpower: Of course this all happens in the hands of shoemakers (and bag makers-but that's a different post!) shoemaking is hard graft and there's a lot of physical work that goes into making a pair, sometimes you'll see three of us wrestling to get one shoe on the last for stretching! Every pair of shoes is made by hand, from scratch, from start to finish by a Soul Shoes craftsman.
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Leather, leather, leather!
We love leather and think it's a fantastic raw material that is comfortable, durable, versatile, wears beautifully, is classic, stylish, the list goes on. It's also a by-product of the meat industry, so we think if we can take that by-product and treat it with respect and make something awesome that doesn't fall apart and is made by local artisans, we're doing a little something good for the world.
Where our hides come from...
NZ Leather: We source our New Zealand leather from Tasman Tanning in Wanganui.
Tasman Tanning began as a family business in 1953 and has grown to 280 staff producing high quality leathers for leading manufacturers around the world. Their tannery is situated in the North Island of New Zealand, in the city of Wanganui where the Wanganui river flows out into the Tasman Sea.
New Zealand’s hides have a reputation for reliable high quality with few blemishes, markings or other inconsistencies. The cattle are strong and healthy. It’s no wonder when you look at the beautiful natural environment they grow up in. Some would say it’s the best in the world!
Tasman tanning states on their website that they respect outstanding NZ hides,
'by endeavouring to minimise our impact on the environment through our choice of processing. At every stage of manufacture we work to design and utilise formulations that minimise the production of waste. Water-based products are used so that we don’t emit the volatile organic compounds associated with solvents.'
We use NZ leather as much as possible, and Rob will go to the tannery and hand select hides for the workshop. We get our stock colours but we also love to find unique and unusual one-off hides to make exciting individual pieces.
Italian Leather: Our Italian Leather is sourced from Volpi Conciere, in the leather district, Tuscany, Italy. Every hide is vegetable tanned.
Veg tan leather became unavailable in New Zealand so we decided to go to the source and find our own. Tuscany is home to some of the most famous and prolific traditional tanneries. Once a year Rob flies to Italy and hand selects hides there too!
Vegetable tanning is an amazing process, take a look at this video...
Other bits and bobs...
We also need a few other materials to make our shoes. We use rubber soling and runners (the squishy bit between the soles and leather upper). As much as possible we use recycled rubber and our famous recycled conveyor belt soles. We've just found some great soling that is 99% recycled, which we're very excited about.
We use copper and steel rivets sourced from New Zealand. We use NZ thread from Footcom, we use glue, we have essential machinery and tools (more about that in part 2!) and of course, most importantly...man power! Everything is made in our workshop, by hand from start to finish by one of us!
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The first 10 people to enter the code BAG50 at the checkout (where it says discounts) will get $50 off any Soul bag worth $300 or more!
If you've had your eye on a bag for a while, grab your chance now before 10 other people!
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Read her interview on page 5 of the Raglan Chronicle here.
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