Working Shoe for Young Exec - Part 2

[darthsid11111]

not sure if anyone experienced this but i found robinsonsshoes very slow response. bought a pair of shoes last week and they have no stock so i want to cancel the order. but every message took at least 2 days to see response. now whole week pasted, still not received refund.

unlike pediwear, they charge paypal immediately regardless stock availability.

You paid via paypal or credit card? If via paypal then you can get your money back at least.

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[josephkjc]

Hey guys! May I ask, those that order from meermin website before.. Roughly how long did it take?

It really depends if they have it in the inventory currently. Mine took 1 week from payment to delivery to my doorstep.
Others have had to wait a whole month.

Yes depends on whether they have the stock to ship to you. Mine took nearly 3 months

 

[liuhao]

You paid via paypal or credit card? If via paypal then you can get your money back at least.

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it's just the reply/refund so slow. havent thought about raising dispute since it's really not necessary.

any difference between paying by paypal and creditcard? whatever case i should be able to get my money back right? they dont have stock. it's that simple.

 

[thundermarch]

Guys, this is just an update for you shoe lovers.

Not an advertisement, by any means.

I recall that some time ago, someone had mentioned Josh Leong. He's a local guy who had spent some time learning shoemaking from Stefano Bemer.

I met with him recently, and spoke with him at length regarding his experiences in Italy, his upcoming plans, and also, more importantly, how he makes his shoes.

First of all, what struck me about him was how down to earth and humble this guy was. He definitely has his head screwed on right, and I'll tell you why.

Prior to going into the shoemaking trade, he'd been a tennis coach for some time. He has also had some exposure to leather work and had briefly dabbled in wallet / briefcase making. He's also a shoe lover at heart, naturally.

His family background, well, suffice to say that there are no shoemakers in among them.

It certainly took some guts to do what he did, IMO.
in terms of his schooling, he actually spent a total of 9 months in Florence. The first leg he had spent in Accademia Riaci, the syllabus there actually also covered the "industrial", "factory made" processes of shoemaking, different types of welting techniques, and a holistic approach to the entire subject of shoemaking in general. The second leg was spent in Stefano Bemer, where the classes focused on handwork and bespoke shoe making. So he's got a pretty well-rounded skill set IMO.
After some consideration, his intended business model, at least as of now, will be focused on MTO and bespoke.

I think this speaks volumes of the craftsman in him. And the pride he takes in making shoes himself. His priorities are damn straight, and that is to make a quality, hand-made pair of shoes.

I know the term "hand-made" gets thrown around a lot. But after speaking to him about his processes, I am pretty confident about saying it's probably as close to hand made as you can get, that's bloody admirable, ESPECIALLY from local folk.

Let's start with materials, right.
1) Uppers from Annonay.
2) Linings from Du Puy.
3) MC from Ilcea.
This is pretty standard from all the top makers, even the Japanese. No corners cut here.

Oh, yes, his insoles and outsoles, will eventually be entirely JR. That's pretty good news too. The current insoles that we are used to, in most (if not all) our RTW shoes, are not even leather, FYI.

One thing, Josh has his bespoke lasts crafted in Italy. This is not unreasonable. Honestly. Not all bespoke makers are trained last makers. And not all shoemaking brands that offer bespoke make their lasts in house as well. Ultimately, it's the final fit that will matter.

Now let's talk about construction methods.
His uppers are closed with a sewing machine. This is not unreasonable either, hand closing is almost unheard of nowadays. Even the Japanese makers close with a sewing machine.

All shoes are hand lasted, and fully hand welted, even the waist. Of course.
By comparison, G&G's benchgrade shoes, and even their Deco line, which demands a king's ransom, are GYW. Essentially, very much machine made shoes.
St Crispin, also costing a pretty penny, only handwelts the anterior portion of the shoe, and pegs the waist. Josh handwelts the waist. For aggressively bevelled waists, this demands a lot more work, and very specific tools.

His shoes have hand stitched, channeled outsoles.
By comparison, Vass, Enzo, Meccariello standard line, G&G bench, St Crispin, (even some Japanese makers offer this) , stitch the outsoles by machine.

These are all really really tedious processes, and I've barely scratched the surface. But suffice to say, most of my boxes are checked.

Anyway, I think the path he has chosen, is a promising one. Prices will not come across as cheap. Granted, it will put him into Gaziano / St C territory, but I feel, he has put in significantly more effort in a bid to produce an artisanal product. IMHO, I think that price point, is not unreasonable, by any means. We're also talking about someone who is pretty darn transparent about his processes. No outsourcing (apart from lasts), no made in Vietnam. This is made in SG, with pride.

My $0.02.

Disclaimer: Yes, we are now friends on some level. But I had not known him prior to him returning from Italy. He is cousins with a very close friend of mine, but I have no vested interest whatsoever, in writing this review. I do not aim to be a Simon Crompton.

 

[darthsid11111]

it's just the reply/refund so slow. havent thought about raising dispute since it's really not necessary.

any difference between paying by paypal and creditcard? whatever case i should be able to get my money back right? they dont have stock. it's that simple.

For cc its a pain in the ass to get a refund after money has been deducted.

Paypal has a dispute policy which covers you up to x amount of days after transaction even after the $$ has been deducted. Much easier to get refunds esp with uncooperative merchants IMO.

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[urbanturban]

Thanks for sharing @thundermarch.

Does he have an Instagram account? I can see you getting a pair commissioned soon.

 

[thundermarch]

Thanks for sharing @thundermarch.

Does he have an Instagram account? I can see you getting a pair commissioned soon.

Hey there.
His IG account is joshleongshoemaker.
Give him some time, his business is still in it's infancy. He's still building it and setting up shop.
So I'm sure there will be more updates with time.
He will definitely have my support no doubt, just need to clear off some stuff on my plate.

 

[likehotbutter]

Pruss huan to Thunda

Da shooman

Thanks for potentially (rather inevitably) making me spend more money

 

[BallGag]

Hey there.
His IG account is joshleongshoemaker.
Give him some time, his business is still in it's infancy. He's still building it and setting up shop.
So I'm sure there will be more updates with time.
He will definitely have my support no doubt, just need to clear off some stuff on my plate.

+1

He's a cool guy, that entertained my questions about Daniel Day Lewis.

 

[thundermarch]

Pruss huan to Thunda

Da shooman

Thanks for potentially (rather inevitably) making me spend more money

Haha, I really did mean it when I said I didn't intend for the post to be an advertisement.
I am just rather excited that a local guy is going out of his way to make quality shoes. I certainly respect the man.

 

[thundermarch]

+1

He's a cool guy, that entertained my questions about Daniel Day Lewis.

Now THAT, was certainly a surprise.
I am referring to the DDL part.

 

[liuhao]

got my Loake Perth. my 1st pair of gyw shoes. the construction looks very sturdy. tis morning wearing it to work. walked 50 meters...had to turn back to change back my old rubber sole shoes. hehehe....felt the sole hard and slippery. not used to it. only 50 meters i already slipped a few times on tiles. worry i would fall in mrt station.

shall choose a relaxed day for a start. not busy day like today.

 

[urbanturban]

got my Loake Perth. my 1st pair of gyw shoes. the construction looks very sturdy. tis morning wearing it to work. walked 50 meters...had to turn back to change back my old rubber sole shoes. hehehe....felt the sole hard and slippery. not used to it. only 50 meters i already slipped a few times on tiles. worry i would fall in mrt station.

shall choose a relaxed day for a start. not busy day like today.

bring it to the office, and wear it in the office to break them in whilst you adjust to wearing leather sole shoes.

Welcome to the club.

 

[xtreamzz]

got my Loake Perth. my 1st pair of gyw shoes. the construction looks very sturdy. tis morning wearing it to work. walked 50 meters...had to turn back to change back my old rubber sole shoes. hehehe....felt the sole hard and slippery. not used to it. only 50 meters i already slipped a few times on tiles. worry i would fall in mrt station.

shall choose a relaxed day for a start. not busy day like today.

Some pics would be nice too

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[darthsid11111]

got my Loake Perth. my 1st pair of gyw shoes. the construction looks very sturdy. tis morning wearing it to work. walked 50 meters...had to turn back to change back my old rubber sole shoes. hehehe....felt the sole hard and slippery. not used to it. only 50 meters i already slipped a few times on tiles. worry i would fall in mrt station.

shall choose a relaxed day for a start. not busy day like today.

My experience is brand new leather soled shoes are slightly more slippery because the sole is smooth and the leather is stiff.

Like Urban mentioned break it in a little more gently first so the leather soles are more flexible, thereafter it gets more "marked" and you'll get better traction.

 

[liuhao]

My experience is brand new leather soled shoes are slightly more slippery because the sole is smooth and the leather is stiff.

Like Urban mentioned break it in a little more gently first so the leather soles are more flexible, thereafter it gets more "marked" and you'll get better traction.

understood. sure pictures will be available this evening, bcos left them at home. hehe

 

[dark_aLLeY]

Anyone's attending Stefano Bemer Trunk Show at Kevin Seah ?

30 October - 31 October
30 October at 11:00 to 31 October at 17:00

 

[darthsid11111]

understood. sure pictures will be available this evening, bcos left them at home. hehe

Anw not to belabour the pt but, I typically wear my new gyw shoes for about 3-4 hrs/day for abt 10 wear before wearing them out.

I find the soles get more flexible and the insole moulds slightly to your feet which helps with slip issues.

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[liuhao]

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[liuhao]

In the middle is the loake Perth UK size 7.5. Left and right are Rockport Essential Details us Size 8 and Rockport Evander(polish leather) us size 8. Can see the loake is slightly longer than Rockport. Overall the 026 last is similar as capital last. The shoes shape is similar as loake 771.

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