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Philosophy: |
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Worldwide, 11 billion pairs of shoes are
produced each year. So, in terms of quantity, Vein is not a
big player. And that’s a fact we’re proud of. You
see, we make “designer” shoes for exceptional
individuals, like you. Men who value superior footwear. |
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What
it means to
be “designer”. . . |
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The term “designer”
is often used loosely in the fashion industry, and certainly
so by a number of factories mass producing shoes that copy the
fashion leaders.
We do it differently. How you’d expect a true designer
shoe to be created for you. At Vein, each original design is
sketched, first as a conceptual, and then worked and re-worked
into final drawings with graphite on paper, by head Vein designer,
Christopher McCallum. Then, a prototype shoe is meticulously
crafted by hand.
This is why Vein shoes are worn on the runway by Australia’s
hottest clothing labels at Mercedes Australian Fashion
Week and L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. For runway
pictures, see the Press/Events or Blog sections in the menu
above. |
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| Why
make shoes? |
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Vein shoes are
for men who understand that why a shoe was made is just as important
as how it was made.
At Vein, the why is very simple and clear … we
handcraft shoes that say everything you want to, without saying
a word. |
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| How
is it done? |
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It only takes a
minute to answer how we do it, but it takes a lifetime to master.
Every Vein shoe is made by experienced cobblers that are experts
in all facets of shoe-making. We use a gruelling “check-point”
system to both train cobblers and make shoes. For a cobbler
to complete the check-point system it will take at least
10 years of his life. It is more arduous than studying
for a Bachelor Degree, Masters Degree and Doctorate combined.
Amazingly, a cobbler that has completed this check-point system
still cannot call themselves a Master Cobbler.
There are three major check-points. Each check-point
takes at least 40 months to complete. The first is
“leather”. It includes selection, drawing and cutting
of the leather. The second is the “upper”. It includes
stitching, sewing, and edging the design. The third is “formation”.
It includes lasting, soling and finishing the shoe. To become
a cobbler in charge of making a pair of shoes, all check-points
need to be mastered. It will take at least 120 months,
or 10 years.
Each shoe passes through the entire check-point system on its
journey to your foot. A check-point is both a physical
and a mental space on the workshop floor that a cobbler
is responsible for. Your shoe cannot move from one major process
to the next without being accepted by the next check-point.
Each cobbler is responsible for the shoe that he accepts and
receives into his check-point. He is also responsible if the
next check-point rejects the work he has just completed.
Our workshop runs in stark contrast to most factories which
are using a machine-intensive conveyor belt system. If one or
many of their machines’ processes are faulty, the shoe
defiantly continues down the line until its ugly “completion”.
New cobblers begin their career at the first check-point. Only
after 3 years and 4 months at the same check-point will he have
the opportunity to graduate to the next check-point. After graduating,
he will be receiving shoes passed up from the first check-point
by a cobbler junior to him. That more junior cobbler in the
first check-point is engaged in activities that the more senior
cobbler, now in the second check-point, has become an expert
in. After all, he was doing those exact same processes for at
least 40 months prior to his graduation.
A cobbler feels a great sense of pride in graduating
to the next check-point. There is pride in the work that they
used to do in the previous check-point also. Therefore he will
only accept shoes passed to him from an earlier check-point
if they are at least of the standard of workmanship that he
would have achieved had he done the work himself. Needless
to say, that standard is high!
A cobbler that has completed all three check-points has the
opportunity to become a Head Cobbler and oversee his own workshop.
Vein’s head cobbler has over 35 years experience
making top end men’s shoes. He is responsible
for training and overseeing the cobblers at all of our check-points.
He must put his name to every completed shoe. On every
finished shoe he stakes his reputation…his life’s
work.
After some time, a Head Cobbler can apply to study under a Master
Cobbler to learn the skill of pattern making. This is the most
difficult skill of all. It requires turning the designer’s
challenging 2-Dimensional vision into a 3-Dimensional object.
Then turning that 3-Dimensional object into 2-Dimensional patterns
to be cut out of flat leather…so that it can be reassembled
as a 3-Dimensional shoe. Once this final skill has been mastered,
the cobbler is known as a “Master Cobbler”. Vein’s
own Master Cobbler and pattern maker has over 40 years experience
making fine footwear.
99% of “designer” shoe labels do not employ
their own pattern maker. Ask them! Vein Wear does.
In fact there are only a handful of Master Cobblers scattered
around the world. It’s one of the many reasons you can
wear Vein shoes with peerless pride.
You want shoes that really stand out. Yes, our new designs are
eye-catching from any distance. But it’s up close
where the intricate detailing comes into its own. Exceptional
detailing and a technically demanding pattern require skilful
and fastidious cobbling. Each new design requires new skills,
techniques and knowledge. From start to finish, we practise
cutting, lining, bonding, stitching and baking. The end result
is higher qualified cobblers and of course, the amazing Vein
shoes.
Also rigorously tested is the leather for colour, strength and
consistencies. Each pair of shoes is made from the same
piece of leather so that they match perfectly. Vein’s
founder personally hand picks the highest grade leathers directly
from international tanneries. The leather bonding is tested
in both hot and cold environments to ensure the shoes endure
both summer and winter extremes. In contrast, mass production
shoes are just that, produced in mass. |
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| Ultra
exclusive: |
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Vein Wear has become
adept at making many different styles in very small quantities.
It's just not possible to do that in almost any other factory
in the world (including Italian factories) because they need
the economies of scale that warrant machine-making and the communication
between machines just is not there. In our workshop the communication
is hand to hand, eye to eye, cobbler to cobbler.
So you get a shoe that very few other people in the world have
the opportunity to wear. In many cases, only 10 pairs
of a particular style are ever made. In some cases
it is only one. We accept special made to order requests from
gentlemen that refuse to compromise. |
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| Vein
Wear Ethos: |
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Several shoe masters
have expressed their disdain for the way the consumer world
has gone. Materials and comfort don't seem to matter. People
buy ill-fitting shoes in synthetic materials and wear them only
a few times then throw them away because they are uncomfortable
and unhealthy. This cycle continues because they are so cheap
to buy. After middle age, few will realise that the aggregate
of this cycle is that they wore unhealthy footwear their entire
lives (albeit many different pairs) and the total amount of
money spent on shoes was many times higher than had they looked
after and repaired high quality shoes.
Hand making shoes is a lot slower than machine
processing shoes. However you can prevent or fix minor mistakes
as they arise. The end product is a lot better. It is
the essence of quality, not quantity. Just the pure
fact that many experienced human eyes are looking at the one
shoe for hours upon hours means that errors are definitely going
to be noticed. Machine assisted shoes may only have human eyes
on them for less than an hour, and those eyes may be inexperienced.
When the shoe is made by hand it comes to life.
It takes on the life of the skilful craftsmen that impart the
best of their knowledge and technique into every little process.
Step by step they give birth to a customer's pair of shoes.
The shoes have meaning to the customer because they have meaning
to the creators. The shoe manifests the fusion of skill
and emotion.
The end result of all the extra care and effort we take at Vein
is a flawless shoe and the accompanying satisfaction and pride.
Every shoe created by a Master Cobbler is a masterpiece.
Is it expensive to do? Absolutely! But we do it because we want
you to get what you pay for, and more.
Shoes drawn by hand. Made by hand.
Envy no one. |
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