The earliest shoemakers, also known as cobblers, arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1610. By 1616, shoemakers were found in many regions in America. In 1660, the Virginia Assembly mandated that every county have a tannery and a shoemaking factory.
The Williamsburg, Virginia website mentions that the Virginia Assembly “also imposed tariffs on leather and shoes exported from Virginia to control speculation and profiteering in the local shoe trade, and stipulated that the fees collected go to finance the founding of the College of William and Mary.”
Today, Williamsburg still sports a local shoemaker that trains apprentices. Tourists can visit here and also observe the process of how shoes are made.
The “Americans at Work” website publishes a list of American companies that make all types of shoes, from athletic shoes to cowboy boots, as well as shoes for children, women and men. The “Made in USA” label frequently appears on dancing, walking, hiking, riding and other kinds of shoes or boots.
There are many shoe production companies in the U.S. One company is Hampton Shoe & Repair. It has been in business since 1989 and offers over 250 different styles of American-made shoes. SAS is another, which opened its doors in the 1970s, and is still making handcrafted shoes. Loveless began operations 27 years ago, and produces shoes in a newly built factory. Its former factory had burned to the ground in 2004.
Art of Saddle Making Not Lost
The traditional saddle making profession has shifted gears and now also produces car upholstery, fine leather handbags and sporting gear. Making products from leather in Western countries has not disappeared, despite animal rights protection efforts. Many people, especially those from the upper class or those living in Europe and Asia would like to own at least one product made from leather, be it just a leather belt, one pair of shoes, or a little handbag.
There are still schools that teach saddle making, which can be found in the U.S., Australia, Canada and many other countries. The German city Hamburg alone lists a dozen artisan enterprises that manufacture custom-made shoes and around 20 custom saddle shops or upholsterers.
The Canadian company Okanagan Saddlery has been in business for nearly 50 years. It offers a three week-course that teaches its students how to make a saddle. In North Dakota, the Mike Heisler Company produces saddles and also teaches saddle making. The training commences in a shop that has all the equipment to make a saddle. The student receives one-on-one training.
Traditional training for a saddler includes being taught upholstery skills, interior floor surface applications, wallpapering and the making of window shades. Who knew?
These days, saddlers and shoemakers, having acquired traditional skills, can put them to use in repair work, restoration and creating new types of saddles. There are many different leather types that are used, not just cowhide: hides from horses, lambs, goats, pigs and deerskin, among others. The quality of the hide varies, and the items are often embellished with chains, rings, locks, studs and textiles.
An Artist’s Approach Up Close
“We have an open operation here; people can observe us and see how we work. We are not hiding a thing,” says Lothar Mueller, master craftsman and owner of Mein Schuhmacher 9My Shoemaker), which is described as a “ a dapper mixture of retail enterprise and workshop located in Hamburg-Horn, a suburb of Hamburg.” He continues, “Anyone is welcome to come in and observe how we work.”
The retail area is arranged in a logical and practical manner. The workspace adjoins the sales counter. The workstations have benches with all the necessary ls of the trade to make custom shoes. When entering the shop, the eye is drawn to shelves with leather implements, brushes, shoehorns, window props, leather suitcases and curios. One novelty item is an original, custom rider’s saddle from Paraguay.
Mueller gets his leather for shoe making from a tannery that uses traditional methods and works with natural materials. The leather remains in the oak-tanning solution-filled pit for up to 14 months. He prides himself on the use and sale of natural materials, whenever possible. The shop makes its own shoe polishing crème, using beeswax, natural oils and natural dyes: all made on the premises.
The shop will celebrate its 25th anniversary in June, 2010: everyone is invited to the open house to celebrate, to look behind the scenes, and learn about the trade.
Vocation is Avocation
The customers have all kinds of requests: for dog leashes, handbags, shoes, suitcases, horse gear: unique treasures constantly arrive for repair. An occasional biker shows up who wants a one-of-a-kind motorcycle seat. No one is sent away: they all have come to the right place when it comes to choosing Mueller. Senior citizens and working people appreciate his pick-up and delivery service. Once a week he visits the nearby equestrian establishments.
Mueller lets his intuition guide him in his work. He expresses that “one needs a certain amount of connection to the work.” He is devoted to his vocation, and states: “this is something inborn. I don’t have to study much about it, either. I think one is predestined to do this.”
Mueller, who was raised in Celle, began his apprenticeship at the tender age of 4. His grandfather brought him to see the saddler nearby, who asked him straight out if he would be interested in learning the trade. Mueller maintains this was the opportune time. He muses that he would have very likely became a pastry chef, since he enjoyed baking cakes and creating tortes from an early age.
Preserving Treasures, Fulfilling Dreams
What does he like most about his calling? The interaction with customers! Mueller is glad when customers describe their concerns and wishes and is happy when he can serve them well. “Many people dream of owning a specific leather creation. I will make them as requested, to specifications, no matter if it is a handbag or a leather skirt. Once they have found me, they have realized their dreams.”
Mueller is nonjudgmental, even when a customer’s wish deviates from the conventional. Yes; such interaction does require the discretion and tact he possesses. Several customers sent “thank you” notes, which express their satisfaction with what he created for them. They mention the wonderful hours of enjoyment they’ve received from his creations. “That equates to success for me; that always keeps me going.” Such encouragement spurs him on to fulfill the next customer’s wish.
Apprenticeship
Master Mueller runs the establishment with the aid of his two women apprentices. One is about to finish her training, after three years of instruction. Bettina Neelsen is in her second year of apprenticeship. The 23-year-old can see herself at the helm of her own business. Janine Mueller, the 18-years-old granddaughter of Mueller, is finishing a work experience, and will soon begin her training and apprenticeship.
All share a fondness for leather. Mueller is quite happy with his “charges.” They deal with customers, ask them about their wishes and try their best to give them prudent advice.
“As soon as I hear the bell I want to immediately run and see how I can assist,” says Janine Mueller. “I find the customer interaction a beautiful experience,” adds Bettina Neelsen.
Plans for the Future
What will happen when Mueller retires to enjoy leisure pursuits, instead of such hard work? He plans to hand the business over in 2012. In the meantime, he will work hard to make the business function on such firm footing that the people now in training can continue to run the business on their own. He sets his hopes on his granddaughter, who could continue the business under his name. He has a small workshop at his home in Niendorf, where he can still serve people in need of his skills, on a limited basis. He wants to be available to his successors, still keeping himself in the loop.
Women at the Forefront
Although these professions were male-dominated, one-third of Bettina’s classmates at her trade school are women, “But we are making progress. Girls find fulfillment in the artist’s way,” says Janine. She takes pleasure in redecorating her siblings and friends’ living quarters in her spare time. An artisan trade is her only choice for a profession.
History of Shoes and Saddles
Drawing on cave walls and pictures centuries-old reveal that the ancients that lived during the stone age were already covering their feet, starting with wrapping an animal hide or some kind of cloth around their feet and securing them with leather straps or felt, to insure that the material didn’t come off.
In the early days of recorded history, the shoes were designed to protect the wearers’ feet. As the years rolled on, shoes were made to suit specific purposes, such as shoes for walking, dancing, riding, and so forth.
What are considered to be the oldest shoes date back to 9000 BCE, and were found in the American Southwest—in California and Oregon, among other places.
Sandals appeared around 3000 BCE. From around 1600 to 1200 BC, the sandal was the footwear most commonly worn by the mountain people in Iran and neighboring regions.
Boots, worn exclusively by men, first appeared in the Orient in the 4th century. Highly decorated footwear and a cornucopia of fashions arose in the 15th century. Nobles wore shoes from such materials as soft leather, velvet and silk.
By the early 1800s, people came to realize that a shoe would be more comfortable if the difference of the right or left foot were taken into consideration. The idea, however, did not take old until the 1850s.
Shoes were made by hand until the mid 1800s, when Lyman R. Blake, a shoemaker, invented a shoemaking machine. Around 1875, a machine was invented that distinguished between the right and the left foot.
The first evidence of some type of saddle appeared about 4000 years ago. Man first rode animals bareback. To improve the comfort level, animal hide, felt or some other type of material placed between rider and animal came into use.
Old paintings from around 700 BCE revealed the first type of straps. As time went by, people came to understand that the saddle was not only helpful to the rider, it was also beneficial for the horse. The saddle was improved upon in functionality and appearance. The first saddle made from leather was found in a 5th century BCE Scythian tomb in Siberia.
The main difference between today’s saddles and those from centuries ago, is that today’s saddles have stirrups, while the saddles of the past had 4 pommels, to help insure that the rider would not fall of the horse.
Heide Malhotra contributed to this article.
