Well, here goes, I can officially reveal the location of our second workshop. We are extremely proud to announce that we have opened a concession at Gieves and Hawkes, Number 1 Savile Row, London. That has a good ring to it, doesn't it?
We have set up a fully functioning workshop there, and we will split our time between the there and Bloomsbury. We will see clients and make shoes in both places. Our space is on the ground floor in the shoe section and we are just about visible from the Vigo St entrance. Swing by and say hello if you are in the vicinity.
We are behind a glass partition so that customers in the shop can see us working. We provide a fantastic piece of theatre, and, more importantly, customers can see what we do. This really helps to demystify bespoke and explain what it is that people are buying into when they commission work. I think when people see what we actually do, the whole bespoke shoe process sells itself.
We have had a great response and have taken orders already and it is only our second week there.
We have always thought that bespoke tailoring and bespoke shoes go hand in hand as complementary crafts, and, as far as we know, this is the first time the two services have been available in the same place in London. So Gieves and Hawkes and carréducker, working side by side, now offer a head to toe service for its clients. It is very exciting and a great opportunity for us. Good times!
As you can imagine, life in the last few weeks has been a bit hectic, so making shoes has been slightly sidelined by the move, but, as of next week, normal service will be resumed.
We met Justin Fitzpatrick aka the Shoe Snob this week which was great. We chewed the fat (or is that the sole?) and put the world of shoes to rights. I really like his blog, you should check it out if you don't already know it. Lively opinions and I really like the Shoe of the Week slot.
This week, we also met Stephen Pulvirent of Men's Flair and Simply Refined. Again, we had a very good chat about the world of bespoke and men's style. A real pleasure.
So people, that, as they say, is that. Until next week, happy shoemaking!
