Interview with Carina Eneroth from Skomakeri Framåt
1August 22, 2013 by Ville Raivio
‘I was born 1964 and I am a Bespoke Shoemaker. I have a 2-year high school education as a tailor, 3 years as a repair shoemaker’s apprentice and 3 years as a bespoke shoemaker’s apprentice. I have two daughters, born 1991 and 1993 and I have lived together with my husband since 1984. They all support my choice of profession and help out in the workshop if necessary. My parents supported me 100% but my Grandma did not understand why I chose shoemaking when I could make beautiful dresses. There isn’t so much time for hobbies but I love dancing Salsa and I have a passion for dark chocolate.
Carina Eneroth (far right) with the Framåt team: Åsa Rasmussen,
Emelie Bergman, Anna Lindqvist
I have always loved shoes, like all girls/women do and when there was an opportunity for me to start working in a shoemaker’s shop after High school, I took the job. I was supposed to sit by the sewing machine, repairing shoes, bags and leather goods but I found the job in the workshop by the big machines more interesting, so I started as an apprentice. I worked with shoe repairs for 10 years and then I started a new apprenticeship for a Bespoke Master to learn to make handmade shoes. I have never been interested in just designing things. I love the production, to be there throughout the whole process. I have learned from old masters and from books and other shoemaking friends all over the world. A lot of my vacations has been spent in fantastic workshops around the world. There are so many skillful craftsmen/women to learn from. And when you have the basic skills, trial and error is one of the best teachers. Work, work, work and try new things all the time.
I only wear my own handmade shoes and since I love to experiment, I make a lot of different designs for myself. Flats, pumps, high heels, summer sandals, winter boots and orthopedic sandals for working. I have not bought any new shoes for myself or my husband during the last 18 years, so I don’t have any personal favorite brands, but from what I see in my repair workshop, the best men’s shoes are still produced in England. Gaziano&Girling, Crockett&Jones and Edward Green make wonderful shoes. The American brands try so hard to make “easy to sell” shoes, so the quality is not the same anymore. A good quality shoe needs to be broken in during a long time to be able to last a long time. Soft, comfortable, lightweight shoes work fine from day one, but don’t last for much longer.
I started as a apprentice at Skomakeri Framåt in 1994 and worked together with the old owner until he retired 10 years ago. I have not had any problems being accepted in the shop, even if there still are customers that ask for the Master shoemaker. They accept me and the other 3 female shoemakers when they see all our diplomas on the walls and realize that we have been doing this for a long time. We try to make the shoes that the costumer dreams of. I cannot say that we have a specific [house] style since we produce men’s and women’s, all models. We try to make orthopedic shoes look a little bit less orthopedic and even if I like to show off handmade shoes, a lot of our customers ask for our help because they don’t want anyone to see that they have handmade shoes because of their foot problems.
There are just a few Bespoke shoemakers still working in Sweden and we try to keep in touch with the others so that we can help the customer to chose a maker that matches their needs. We are so few so we are all good friends and we do not compete. I want the customer to choose me and my workshop because they trust us to be able to help them, and solve their shoe and foot problems. We have a long experience of working with orthopedic problems and we try to make all shoes fit both foot and mind.
I get inspired from meeting other shoemakers, reading about old makers, looking at old shoes and working with high quality materials. A beautiful skin could inspire me to make something I had not planned in advance. Right now my mind is set on a set of matching bag, flat and high heels just because I have a new quality of beautiful calfskin that I would love to work with. Hopefully I will manage to put it all together during my vacation.
The word style is like the word quality, something we use as if it tells us something. But it does not. Style is something everyone has, good or bad. You could love your style but someone else will hate it. If a shoe lasts for 15 years it might go out of fashion but still work with your personal style. Your personal style is made of the stuff you use over and over again and that almost makes you cry when worn out. I often see the words style and quality used in ads but it does not say anything. A quality shoe could be really bad since the word quality does not say good or bad quality. It is the same thing with style. Most people like to blend in and not be out of style so they buy the “style concept” and hope that they look stylish.
When you by RTW, try to find a brand that has a last style that matches your feet and choose a shoe design that works with your type of foot.
For example: no Oxfords for the high arch, since the lacing doesn’t look good and there could be a problem with a too tight instep. No soft Loafers for the instable foot that needs an arch support, since that style is often produced without backstiffeners. They break in the back and make the foot even more instable. Uncomfortable and ill-fitting shoes can be adjusted for a better fit. Ask a shoemaker for help.
Choose the style of shoe according to the activity you are doing. Do not wear leather-soled goat suede danceshoes in a muddy field and do not wear heavy winter boots indoors.
If you would like to have a long time relationship with your shoes, you need to start to treat them as your best friends. Clean, brush and polish shoes with the right products more often than you think is necessary. When you polish your shoes, you will see when it is time to go to the shoemaker to repair the worn parts in time. It is so easy to put a well-cared shoe back in full glory instead of having to try and make a wreak functional again. Ask a professional repair shoemaker (try to find one with a diploma) for advice. There are so many styles of shoes and materials so don’t hesitate to ask for help. We like to help out and we want all shoes to have a long lasting life. Even shoes of less quality would last longer if you cared for them.
This is my favorite Latin quote:
Ne sutor supra crepidam Nemo nascitur artifex (Shoemaker stick to your last, no one is born a master/artist).
That means that it takes a long time to master the trade and that you need to be patient, stubborn and passionate to manage to produce shoes that you are proud of.’
Pictures: © Skomakeri Framåt
Category Cordwainers, Interviews, Royal Warrant Holders
Cortina Outlet
0August 22, 2013 by Ville Raivio
Today’s link leads to the Cortina shoe factory’s eBay outlet. Astute shoe nerds will recognise this factory as the maker of choice for Riderboot’s pairs and a fine producer in its own right. The outlet offers some exotic pairs, plenty of oxfords and loafers, some odd boot pairs and dozens of models for women. Most come with calf uppers, Blake-Rapid sole construction, in perfect condition. The best part: all are offered for generous discounts from 30% to 50% off of listing prices. Like all national versions of eBay, the Italian makeup can be used with usernames registered in other national sites.
Category Web stores
Gentleman’s Gazette Meets Michael Drake
1August 21, 2013 by Ville Raivio
Category British Style, Tradesmen, Videos
Interview with Herbert Stricker
1August 21, 2013 by Ville Raivio
‘I’m 53 years old and the “the mind behind” Classic Parfums. I graduated at the Bocconi in Milan with an MBA. I am married and have two children. I think all three of them consider me slightly mad when it comes to clothing. They smile at my dedication to small details and some of my stylistic choices. Maybe they even pick up a few elements here and there but without documenting it further. [As for hobbies,] there are way too many. I like to cook and eat, travel, drink complex wines, smoke cigars and furthermore I’m interested in art, culture and music. As I already said, there are too many. My problem is that once I’m interested in something I aim to pursue it to the fullest degree, for example cooking. I’m not satisfied with cooking one tasty meal. No, I want to reach at least 1 Michelin Star level. Of course this takes a lot of effort and looking into the subject.
My parents died very early and consequently I have been taking care of myself from an early age on. Nevertheless, my father taught me a lot considering clothing. He never once wore a ready-to-wear garment, everything was custom-made. But by simple craftsmen and not by exclusive tailors, since ready-to-wear clothing wasn’t as advanced back then. My father never got to witness the change to ready-made garments.
Due to him I have gained a lot of respect for clothing. To this present day I often think of his advice to hike up the trouser legs before sitting down in order to prevent them from bulging at the knees. This and many other pieces of advice he has passed on to me. Consequently my own dress style has been quite influenced by it. Since my youth I have always worn classic men’s clothing. It just came naturally to me. I had no access to fashion since my size wasn’t available and therefore I turned towards bespoke clothing out of necessity.
With father a few decades ago
[As for my knowledge on clothing,] at the beginning, predominantly through my father. Later on through my own experience. Additionally, I grew up and studied in Italy and was constantly surrounded by style which left quite an impression on me. Because I advanced into bespoke clothing very early on, different tailors and craftsmen have taught me a lot. Books just gained importance later on more or less as a completion. Most of my knowledge I have gained through observation. The art of observing attentively and thoroughly is the key to many things.
I think someone once said that the special thing about me is that I do not have a distinct clothing style or cut. Of course I always choose more or less classical clothing but considering each clothing item on its own the styles vary quite a bit. Ranging from a flamboyant sports jacket from Sciamát to a conservative cut done by my tailor in Florence. Every now and then I regret not having a particular style. I admire people who are able to obtain a steady style but I cannot resist the various style options.
I am familiar with [the style of the 1920s to ’30s] due to books and movies but I would say I draw most of my inspiration from travels and observation which are primarily temporary. Furthermore, I have to admit that I observe ladies’ fashion just as much as men’s. Since the ladies’ fashion is more innovative in my opinion, it is easy to adapt colours, for instance, and draw further inspiration from it.
I do not own a lot of RTW clothing. A Jeans or a jumper here and there but I do not obey one certain brand. I value the quality of a garment and try to buy it as close from the production era as possible. For example, my stockings, which I acquire from an old boutique in Florence that sells stockings in an excellent quality and in my size. When it comes to tailors, I favour my tailors in Verona and Florence, and for more fancy pieces, Sciamát. Nevertheless, I always keep an open mind for new tailors because I’m fascinated by the different approaches and styles.
Classic Parfums developed, like many things in my life, out of a passion. I always attempt to involve my passions into my work. Most of the time I succeed at fulfilling my passions but occasionally I quit at a project like the wine-trade. My prime aim with Classic Parfums was, and still is, to seek for unknown perfume manufactories that work on a high quality level and offer them to the German market. Not an easy task. The unknown often discourages. At the beginning, only a few people trusted my abilities. Over time we worked to gain our customers’ trust and nowadays we are known as a competent business partner.
Although the store’s success grew substantially due to my wife joining Classic Parfums. I have great ideas, that’s out of question, but she is capable of executing them perfectly which is sometimes even more important. We do not have our own perfumery and we only supply specialised trade and therefore no end-consumers. Consequently, your readers can find our products in many perfumeries in Germany. Our product range is visible at our website http://www.classicparfums.com/. Moreover, we are represented in well-known online stores like firstinfragrance.com and essenzanobile.com.
Right: with master perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi
I discovered the Stilmagazin at a time when it was still called Stilblog and was a regular visitor from the beginning. It has changed quite a bit over the years. Having expanded the variety of topics changed it as well. I participated more actively in the beginning for sure but I’m still an avid reader today. I just focus more on the areas which catch my attention.
My first Blog was created by accident. In order to show my daughter how to create an online blog I setup “Grimod de la Reyniere” on Blogspot as an example for her. Then I thought to myself that if I already have a blog, I could use it as well. Later on it got bigger and a little too much to handle for me since I felt the pressure to create content regularly, which wasn’t possible for me due to my workload. In consequence, I shut down the blog and created a Tumblr. I perceive Tumblr as a more relaxed way of blogging. I don’t know why that is so but I don’t feel pressured to post something. Maybe that results from Tumblr being more like an album rather than a diary.
The world and the people and things surrounding me inspire me. A quote by Valentino Ricci comes to my mind „Style is a person’s characteristic and not one of clothing”. My advice is only this much — travel the world attentively and observe with eyes wide open.’
http://www.classic-parfums.com/
Pictures: © the Stricker family
Category Bloggers, German Style, Interviews, Men of style, Quality Stores, Tradesmen
GQ Personal Style with Bryan Ferry
0August 21, 2013 by Ville Raivio
GQ met the very dapper Bryan Ferry in May, 2011. In this episode of the magazine’s Personal Style series, Mr Ferry reminisces his teen years spent working at a tailor’s shop, his tight and pointy look during those years, having shirts and suits made, and laments the nearly disappeared felt hats and dressing up for ballet.
‘I love the tradition of tailoring and think it is something to support. It’s like going to bookshops rather than buying something on an iPad.’
http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/style/articles/2011-05/17/gq-style-news-bryan-ferry-personal-style
Category Links, Reading, Style Icons
Copyright © 2013 Ville Raivio
