Ep. 32 - Q&A Special nr. 3 with Daniel Wegan, Catella Shoemaker

10/20/24 • 54 min

It's time for another edition of the appreciated Question and answers specials, with Daniel Wegan of Catella Shoemaker. Daniel made a name of himself when he for several years ran the bespoke department at the English company Gaziano & Girling, now since some years he has his own bespoke shoe brand Catella. He also won the shoemaking world championships in 2019. In this episode some of the topics covered are how the bespoke shoe world has changed since he started some 15 years ago, we talk about why he has stopped posting on Instagram, we go into how sneakers are influencing the world of classic shoes, and much more.

Previous Episode

Ep. 31 - Jim McCormack, about life as a freelance bespoke shoemaker

For this episode I met up with Jim McCormack, a legendary bespoke shoemaker in England, who has spent over five decades in the trade. For more or less all of these years, he has worked as an outworker, doing bottom making for many different firms. England is the country in the world where the outworker system is the most extended. We talk a lot about the freelance system, how it works, the pros and cons and so on. But before that we cover Jim McCormack's own journey into the shoemaking world, hear stories from for exampleJohn Lobb back in the 70's, go through the different stages of the bespoke shoemaking scene in the UK the past 50 years, and much more.

Next Episode

Ep. 33 - Takashi Horiguchi, Super 8 Shoes, about vintage men's shoes

With this episode we are back in Japan again, back in Tokyo, where I met Takashi Horiguchi, or "Gucci" as he mostly is called, who run the acclaimed vintage classic men's shoe store Super 8 Shoes. A store that focus on American and British shoes from the 1950's to 1980's, known for the overall very good condition of the selection they offer, and quite a large amount of New Old Stock, old shoes that are unworn. The store also has a repair workshop. During the 15+ years that Gucci has worked with vintage shoes, he's been extremely dedicated in acquiring knowledge about old shoes, which he now pass on to his customers, both in his physical store and online. Much of the stock in the store comes from numerous trips to mainly the US, where he's been hunting for good vintage shoes himself. We talk about his journey with Super 8 Shoes, about how vintage footwear differ from the shoes made today, how the interest in vintage men's shoes has developed, and much more.