January Was Rather Quiet!
Sitting quietly in an AirBnb in majestic Prague while sipping some warm coffee while writing this brings me calm and joy. It also reminds me how relatively quiet January 2020 was when it comes to Goodyear Welted Shoe News!
Now, it’s not to say that nothing noteworthy happened. Quite the contrary actually! We finally have the Amsterdam Shoegazing Participants for example. Many companies are through their winter sales and gearing up for the S/S 20 Collection release whereas others keep pumping out content and models.
In all truth however, it is increasingly difficult to filter all the spam from the internet and find what you want! At the same time this presents a welcome chance for a breather for me! Let’s take a look of what happened last month.
This will be a Good Year gentlemen! Good-Year Welted ?
News From The Noble Shoe
First of all I would like to thank all of you. January was the best month for both The Noble Shoe and Misiu Academy. It would not be possible without your support!
I am incredibly thrilled that the Handgrade Algarve GMTO went through and it spurred me to create even more amazing combinations. Additionally, I am having some exciting new arrivals that I want to share with you. Let’s start with those!
New Arrivals!
Not only 1, but 3 New Carlos Santos Models are here or on the way! The first one is the absolutely gorgeous Carlos Santos Chelsea Boot in Guimaraes Patina. I got a sample for a client back in December and the reception was overwhelming so it is already available for pre-order on the website. I expect delivery within February.
My goal is to expand the Premium Handgrade Line and this is what I did with the 9393 Austerity Brogue in Guimaraes. It was an older GMTO that I gambled on as I had only a stock picture but the result was incredible. There are a few sizes left at the moment, but you can also pre-order the new batch coming in March.
Speaking about March, I thought a lot about Black Oxfords. The epitome of formality and a man’s classic wardrobe, it just has to be the best possible. And I believe I found it through the Carlos Santos Handgrade 9899 in Black Calf. A classic cap toe oxford with a small twist which is reverse stitching. This means you will not see the visible stitches on the top of the uppers which equates to a very clean, formal look. Not only that, it also comes on the new 445 Last that fits similarly to 401 and has a bit more of a curvy front. You can Pre-Order it now on the website in a lot of sizes!
GMTO Alert!
I had high hopes for the Black Suede/Calf Balmoral. However I do think it was a little too adventurous to start with. Nonetheless I believe the 9115 model by Carlos Santos is one of the most gorgeous clean Balmoral designs out there. This month I am bringing the crowdfunder back but with full black calf and on the 445 last instead. It will be glorious! Click here!
Lastly, we have the Carlos Santos 6942 Double Monks in Coimbra Patina on a Handgrade make up. I wanted a classic more dark double monk-strap and this fits the bill perfectly. It is on the 401 last with a closed channel leather sole and is truly a flexible shoe capable of matching all your outfits.
Both GMTOs will run until the last day of February and come with a 10% automatic discount during the Pre-Order phase. All you need to do is head to the respective page in The Noble Shoe or click the links above directly.
The Shoegazing Amsterdam Trunk Participants List
Finally we got information about the upcoming first edition of the Shoegazing Trunk Show in Amsterdam. As with the Stockholm version, the focus seems to be strong on local or less known shoemakers with the addition of some extremely high quality brands.
You can see them all in the banner or find a detailed description in the introductory article by Jesper. It is a good chance to have some hands on experience with brands like Santoni and Edward Green among more local favorites like Van Bommel.
The Trunk show lasts for approximately 4 hours however you can buy a VIP pass which allows you to enter the venue 1 hour earlier and examine the booths. Alongside that you can stay a little longer after and can even purchase a 100€ ticket to have dinner and drinks with all the brands.
I am still on the fence if I should attend, especially with my upcoming possible visit to the Micam Shoe Expo in Milan in 2 weeks.
NYC Patina Workshop
One of the Patina artists I respect and can almost instantly recognize his work is Gregory Park. His alias on Instagram is Hancore and makes some amazing Patinas for JM Legazel. He and Chris Dillon of American_Patina will host a workshop about the art of Patina in New York. The workshop as you can see in the banner lasts from the 5-7 of June 2020!
Not much to say here! If you are a fan of Patinas or you want to learn from some of the best and happen to be in New York this is it!
Daniel Wegan Launches Own Bespoke Brand
Daniel Wegan is one of the most respected bespoke shoemakers in the world and the inaugural World Shoemaking Champion of 2019. After a decade of working for Gaziano & Girling he decided to make a change. Enter his new own brand: Catella Shoemaker. It fascinates me that he chose his dog’s name for his company!
Anyways needless to say that his work is impeccable and it will be interesting to monitor his footsteps from now on. It is also finally exciting to see the news coming up after a small hiatus and preparation. Daniel will have a few small trunk shows popping up here and there in the US during the first and second weeks of February.
I wish him all the best!
Meeting Maftei Vienna
During the last days of January I also had the chance to meet legendary Austrian Shoemaker Alexandru Maftei. He visited Stockholm with his partners in a small trunk show for Erik Mannby’s Götrich 1730. I would describe him as a classic, reserved gentleman until he begins discussing shoes. Unless you speak German a translator is possibly required but his work is superb.
He creates some very fine handmade products ranging from RTW (around 480 Euros), MTO (580 Euros +100 Surcharge) and bespoke begins from 1300 Euros including some test pairs. I am holding some small talks with them currently to develop an exclusive MTO last.
Very happy to meet him and if you find yourselves in Vienna drop by his workshop for sure. Excellent shoes and craftsmanship.
Excited For The Rest Of 2020!
That’s it everyone! While awaiting more juicy news arising from the upcoming trunks and releases I think this will suffice. I prefer sharing the little good things rather than all the small unnecessary details. There’s probably a lot of things I missed, but you are more than welcome to mail me or write a comment and I will add it.
So I hope you enjoy this short article series of Goodyear Welted Shoe News and I look forward to showing you next week some shoe shining using the beautifully scented Pure Polish Products!
Thank you for reading,
Kostas Mandilaris,
Misiu Academy
